AusBonsai

Hi all,
A few photos of some Maples I have propagated from seed.

i did around 400 of them. i got roughly around 300 that pop.
really fun watching them grow

I would love to do the same thing, could you let me know the process?

Hi Dumper and Hutch11,
Dumper, I also enjoyed the process. I still go out each morning and see If any more have come through.

PROCESS
I laid a layer of bonsai mix in the bottom of the seed tray then made furrows across the tray with a stick. The furrows are made wider and deeper than you need. I then filled the furrows with washed river sand. I then made furrows in the sand at the depth I wanted. Place the seeds in the furrows and cover with the sand. Place a thin layer of mix over the top and wait. Make sure you keep the soil damp. It could take a couple of months before you see anything appear. I would have planted mine about mid June. I am still getting new shoots coming through.

Regards Ray

set mine up in a tray with regular potting mix and put them in a green house and keep them damp

7 to 10 days later u should see something

Thanks guys, much appreciated

can you force properation with maple seeds (like at this time of year) or is it recommended not to??

I learnt a trick from Ray Nesci a few years ago about Trident maples and that was to leave the seeds undisturbed for two years whether in the ground or in seed trays as you get quite a lot of seedlings in the second year as well as th first.

So you could plant Trident maple seeeds now and if nothing came up this year they will come up next year.

Grant

That's interesting Grant.

I recently sowed 500 Trident seeds and so far only 17 have come up. I was going to wait a while longer to see if any more came up and if not, I was going discard the mix. Guess I'll leave it and see what happens.

Thanks for the info

Hi Taffy,
I have just taken some new photos of the Maples. There is over 90 that have come up. You need to be very patient. Depending when you put them in it may take a couple on months or more.
Regards Ray

how are those seedling going now?

i was just wondering, because i have recently had about 40 Japanese maple seeds pop up and there between 5 & 10cm tall now. Also now that it's summer are you finding that some of the leaves are burning?

PS can u chuck a photo up on the forum

cheers, ben

I planted some Japanese maple and trident about six weeks ago after they were in the fridge for three months and still not a single one has popped up ... same result as last year

my first lot was in the fridge for about 2 months and my second lot of Japanese maples were in the fridge for about 4/5 months.

just keep them in the fridge until you see they're sprouting, then plant em in your tray or seedling packets. etc

also if you put them in a paper towel while they are in the fridge like i do remember to keep the paper towel just damp not soaking, otherwise they won't germinate, because the seeds need a bit of air and can't germinate if they are waterlogged.

Ben

Hi Ben,
I will be trying to take some photos of my figs and the maples tomorrow. I will also show you what I have done with some of the seedlings.

Regards Ray

ozzy wrote:I planted some Japanese maple and trident about six weeks ago after they were in the fridge for three months and still not a single one has popped up ... same result as last year

Did you soak the seeds before putting them in the fridge Ozzy?
Some times it is just bad seeds!