AusBonsai

Haha i saw this thread and got quite excited... hard to explain to non growers i suppose, could i possibly get my hands on some of your Chinese quince and english oak seeds?! Maybe some others i might do a little research today and confirm thanks

I would be interested in the english oak, are you planning on sending them ready to plant, or will they have to be hibernated?

Cheers

I would be interested in the english oak, are you planning on sending them ready to plant, or will they have to be hibernated?

I believe that all of the species I have listed will germinate without any additional treatment. This is possibly because the seed is fresh and has not been dried out but I suspect that much of the stuff written about germinating seed is regurgitated theory and many of the writers have never actually tried anything different.
I just plant seed soon after I collect it. It stays dormant all winter then starts to grow when the temps warm up in spring - simples I get really good results this way.

Also noticed a Field maple - Acer campestris with plenty of seed in the garden while I was collecting seed from the snake bark maple so you can add that one to the list of available species.

I can concur with Neil. The seeds I have bought from him were just sown and I ended up with a great success rate.

Is it possible to post some images of the Japanese Maple varieties, Tridents and Acer species?

Here are some pictures for you Allan.
First the species:
Acer davidii AKA Snakebark maple is grown for the attractive trunk. It does have fairly large leaves though and is reputed to be a bit temperamental though the 2 we have in the garden seem ok. Acer pentaphylum - as the name suggests has 5 pointed leaves that are divided right to the base and with elongated lobes. The only photo I have is of a seedling. Everyone knows what a trident maple looks like so no need for any photos of them and I forgot to take a pic of the Field maple - Acer campestris.

Now for some of the Japanese maples.
Here are a few of the named varieties I have growing in the garden.
Acer palmatum has been grown by gardeners for thousands of years and as slightly different varieties turned up as seedlings we have selected the unusual and beautiful ones. The result is hundreds of slightly different VARIETIES of Japanese maples. remember that even though they may look different, all of them are just varieties of Acer palmatum.
Kamagata is a dwarf form with small leaves. Nigrum has dark purple leaves all year round and red autumn colour. Leaves are relatively large. Osakazuki grows to a medium sized tree with reddish leaves all year and red autumn colour. The samaras (seeds) are red which adds a little more interest during summer. Again, it has fairly large leaves. Villa Taranto is another small growing variety. It has very long lobes to the leaves which makes it look somewhat like Acer pentaphylum but the 2 are not related. autumn color is not very spectacular. Seryu is the only upright growing Japanese maple that has finely dissected leaves. Leaves are green during summer but turn red in autumn. note that leaves are relatively small.

There are also many cascading Japanese maple varieties. These ones do not have the gene to be able to grow upward. All branches grow down so they are grafted onto a tall stem so they make a neat mushroom shaped plant. most of these ones also have finely dissected leaves.
waterfall has bright green leaves in summer but turns yellow in autumn Bene Shidare has red leaves all year and turns even redder in autumn. Just now I can't remember the name of the yellow dissectum variety in the background.

Nice maples.
Thanks Shibui, I am thinking about buying Seryu, Waterfall and maybe Nigrum and Osakuzi seeds.


As for Nigrum/Osakuzi, will defoliating them cause them to produce smaller leaf or the same size?

So many maples, so much colour. I'm going to go sit in a corner and sulk.

Wayne R wrote:So many maples, so much colour. I'm going to go sit in a corner and sulk.

Can't you get maples in WA?

Jarad wrote:

Wayne R wrote:So many maples, so much colour. I'm going to go sit in a corner and sulk.

Can't you get maples in WA?

Not wanting to hijack this thread... yes we get maples in WA but the heat / high winds really gives them a hard time. I have one maple (1.5m tall) and have told her that is she doesn't put on a show this year I'll ground her for a month (I have zero patience with recalcitrant teens). I'm also very limited in my opportunity to get out and about and really only have a Green Shed as my source of material.

Normal viewing will now resume. Ty Shibui.

Nice maples.

Hold on there Allen, I haven't finished the tour yet

Here are some of the A. palmatum seedlings I have selected as worth further trials. I think that some of these are pretty special, maybe even better that many of the older named varieties.
This one is a red leaved variety, not quite as dark red in summer as bloodgood but pretty nice at this time of year I haven't thought much of this one until this autumn but that colour is pretty nice . Anyone like to suggest a name? This one looks superficially similar to the last but its spring growth is a vivid lime green where the others have yellow green leaves with a faint pink border Finally, a couple of the weeping palmatum seedlings I have managed to keep alive. These are both grafted onto palmatum rootstock because very few weeping seedlings survive longer than 1 year on their own roots.
This one has red leaves in summer and even more red in autumn This one has greenish leaves in summer and has gone orange/copper in autumn NB. none of these seedlings has reached maturity yet so no seed on any of them this year.

yes we get maples in WA but the heat / high winds really gives them a hard time. I have one maple (1.5m tall) and have told her that is she doesn't put on a show this year I'll ground her for a month

You will be very lucky to see much autumn colour at all Wayne. Deciduous trees need cold nights and warm, sunny days to produce good winter colours. We obviously get the right conditions here but few places in WA would get cold enough at night this early in the year. Even Melbourne does not get cold enough at night and they don't get as much sun during the day this time of year so autumn colour tends to be less vivid there - same for Sydney and most coastal places. You should console yourself that there are loads of species that will thrive in your area that will not grow here - WA banksias, eremophilas, Nyutsia, etc, etc.

Thanks Shibui, I am thinking about buying Seryu, Waterfall and maybe Nigrum and Osakuzi seeds.

I can send you some seed of those varieties Allen but you need to remember:
1. That the seedlings that grow will not all look like the parent trees. Just to make sure any seedlings do not get the same name as the original parent I don't even put the parent name on the packet so you won't get tempted to name the seedlings after their mum.
2. Nigrum is too young and does not have seed yet.
3. Waterfall is a weeping dissectum type. Some of the seed will germinate and most ill also be weeping dissectum type BUT they are almost always very weak. Only 1 or 2 out of 100 will survive until the end of the first summer and only 1 or 2 out of 500 will come into leaf the following spring. You will note that all the weeping seedlings I have in the garden have been grafted. i only have 1 of these still alive on its own roots out of maybe 500 seedlings I have germinated over 20 years.
If you want some seed you will need to send me a PM or email so we can work out the details.

shibui wrote: I haven't thought much of this one until this autumn but that colour is pretty nice . Anyone like to suggest a name?

When I look at this tree it looks like it's on fire (might just be the picture), reminds me of bushfire on a hot day, I'm in the RFS and we sometimes get a little close.

Maybe something like Autumn Flame, Autumn Wildfire or some sort of commemorative name regarding the Black Saturday Bushfires in Victoria.

Hellblazer for the nameless maple