Japanese maples can be grown from seed or cuttings, but they typically produce a basic seedling that is not true to the parent plant. This video demonstrates how to grow Japanese maple trees from seed and from cuttings, highlighting the importance of scarification in propagating these trees.
To grow Japanese maples, soak seeds in warm, not hot, water for 24 hours, then replace the water with warm water three or four times over the 24 hour period. Allow the excess water to drain off, then mix the drained seeds. Water every 2-3 days for the first month, then once a week when no rain or snow cover is provided. If the tree is fall planted, water once a week when no rain or snow cover is provided.
When watering a Japanese maple, it is crucial to saturate the root ball by pouring warm to hot water over the seeds and letting them soak for 24 hours. Once the seeds are completely wet, run hot water from the tap and fill a cup with water. Break off the wings of the seeds and soak them in warm water.
Water newly transplanted Japanese maples every 1-3 days after planting, gradually decreasing the frequency to just once per week for the spring or summer months. When planting in the spring or summer months, water about 3 times per week for the first month after planting. Lower the watering frequency as needed to maintain the health and growth of the tree.
📹 How To Grow Japanese Maple From Seed🌱🍁 Stratification and Germination
In this Bonsai video, you’ll learn how to successfully grow Japanese Maple from Seed using effective stratification and …
How do you start maple seedlings?
Maple trees typically germinate their seeds in the fall, so they need to be stratified. To germinate, place seeds in a resealable bag with moist growing material and store them in the fridge at 33. 8-41ºF (1–5ºC) for 40-120 days. Once the seeds begin to sprout, plant them in moist soil. There are three methods for germinating maple tree seeds: cold stratification, warm and cold stratification, and germinating in the soil.
Cold stratification is necessary for fall-dropping trees, while warm and cold stratification is suitable for spring-dropping trees. Some species require a mix of both. This article will teach you all three methods and answer any additional questions about the maple growing process.
How to tell if Japanese maple is overwatered?
Watering a Japanese Maple tree can be challenging due to subtle differences in leaves. Yellowing leaves can indicate drought, while sponginess indicates overwatering. To create an effective watering schedule, consider the rhythms of the seasons and adjust the watering frequency accordingly. During winter, the tree is on a water diet, while as leaves unfurl, more water is needed to keep the soil drier. Seasonal adjustments are also important, with spring being a thirsty time due to new growth, and summer being a hydration high season.
When growth spurt slows down later in the year, the tree’s thirst decreases, similar to how humans need less water when running a marathon. By adjusting the watering frequency and adjusting the watering schedule, you can ensure your Japanese Maple tree receives the necessary water for optimal growth and health.
Can you water propagate Japanese maple?
To propagate Japanese Maple trees, create the right environment by planting cuttings in moist soil or water, using filtered water for growth, and placing them in bright, indirect light. Patience is crucial as roots don’t grow overnight, and water changes don’t speed up the process. Keep the soil moist and change the water weekly if rooting aquatically. The best time for stem cutting propagation is when the tree’s sap is flowing with less gusto, typically in early summer or just before fall. This semi-dormant state makes the tree less likely to react to the removal of part of its anatomy.
How fast do Japanese maples grow from seed?
Growing Japanese Maples from seed is a slow but rewarding process. In two to three weeks, seedlings start to pop up, producing cotyledons, which are part of the embryo from within the seeds. These cotyledons help nourish the seedling until true leaves appear and take over. Once true leaves appear, the cotyledons wither and disappear, and photosynthesis begins, allowing the seedlings to become beautiful trees with unique characteristics.
To transplant Japanese Maple seedlings, you can pick them out of the flat with tweezers and re-plant them in a flat with more room or into a cell pack. Cell packs are lightweight trays that allow you to remove seedlings in root balls without disturbing the roots.
Alternatively, you can leave the seedlings in the flat and remove and separate them at the end of the growing season when they are dormant. During the first growing season, ensure your seedlings only get about 50 sunlight, as direct sun will burn their leaves. After the first season, they should benefit from at least some sun, and if in a warmer zone, consider some shade.
Japanese Maples are generally sun-tolerant, but they can take a beating in direct sun, with browning around the edges. In your yard and nursery, all Japanese Maples are in full sun, with only the young ones receiving some protection.
How do you transplant Japanese maple seedlings?
To transplant a young Japanese maple tree, it is recommended to do so between Labor Day and mid-October and the end of March through early May. After transplanting, maintain a damp soil but avoid soggy conditions and keep mulch away from the trunk. Japanese maples thrive in afternoon sun and hot summer and cold early-spring winds, making them ideal for courtyards, east side of houses, walls, or fences. They can also thrive under taller trees and windbreak evergreens. To improve soil, add compost before planting and keep the tree watered, especially when it’s young and established.
How fast do Japanese maple saplings grow?
Japanese maple trees grow from 6 to 12 inches per year, with slower-growing varieties growing a few inches annually. Their growth rate is influenced by factors like soil quality, moisture levels, sunlight exposure, and overall care. Despite their slow growth rate, Japanese maple trees are valued for their aesthetic appeal, unique foliage, and graceful form. They are ideal for bonsai or ornamental gardens. Japanese maple trees are deciduous, meaning they lose their leaves in winter, with the timing varying depending on the variety and local climate.
How do I make my Japanese maple happy?
Japanese Maples require shade, particularly during the afternoon, protection from strong wind, well-drained, consistently moist soil, and protection from late spring frosts. They are stunning as solitary specimens, with their fall foliage lasting for weeks and a brilliant pool of color on the garden floor. They can also be grown in containers or bonsai, offering a miniature display of color on a miniature scale. Japanese Maples are excellent season-extenders for summer-interest plantings and provide much-needed dappled shade to understory plantings three seasons of the year.
They are also suitable for shade-loving perennials or annuals in modern gardens. The ideal conditions for growing Japanese Maples include dappled or afternoon shade, protection from strong wind, well-drained, consistently moist soil, and protection from late spring frosts.
How to water Japanese maple?
To ensure the health and longevity of your Japanese Maple, it is essential to water it at least two to three times a month, saturating the soil and allowing it to dry before watering again. This prevents the creation of soggy roots, which can lead to fungal infections like pseudomonas.
When growing a Japanese Maple in a container, it is crucial to remember that you are the tree’s lifeline, providing the necessary water for it to thrive. The tree cannot be established anywhere other than the pot, so you will need to water it more than a tree in the ground.
Ensure good drainage throughout the pot, including gravel at the bottom and leaving the pot raised slightly off the ground with bricks. This will help the tree stay healthy and avoid fungal infections.
How to speed up the growth of Japanese maple?
To encourage growth and color in a Japanese maple, it is crucial to provide the tree with the right amount of sunlight, water, and nutrients. If the tree is planted in too much shade, it may need to be moved to a sunnier location. Regular soil fertilization and mulching are also essential. Addressing pests and diseases promptly is crucial to prevent significant damage. If necessary, fungicides can be used to combat fungal infections, and the soil’s pH should be adjusted.
Proper pruning is also essential to avoid stunting the tree’s growth. In conclusion, Japanese maples are beautiful garden plants that require proper care to thrive. By ensuring the tree receives the right amount of light, water, and nutrients, and promptly addressing any pests, diseases, or fungal infections, it will remain vibrant and healthy.
How to plant a baby Japanese maple tree?
To plant a Japanese maple tree, place the root ball into a hole that is not deeper than it was growing in the container. If needed, backfill the hole with additional soil to raise the root ball to the correct level with the ground. Firm the soil around the root ball by gently pressing down on it. If planting a Ball and Burlap tree, position the tree with the cloth covering intact inside the hole. Remove the ropes or strings and cut down the sides of the burlap. If the burlap is not traditional cloth, remove it as it will not breakdown in the soil.
Water the tree before filling the hole with the rest of the soil to settle the soil around the roots and give them an additional drink. Fill the hole with water and allow it to drain completely. Once the water has drained, backfill with the remaining soil and firm the soil around the base of the tree using your foot. Make sure the planting site is level and the soil does not slope away from the tree to prevent water from saturating the root system.
📹 How To Water Your Japanese Maple
Proper watering is crucial for Japanese maples to thrive, whether they’re planted in the ground or in containers. These trees do …
Great article. I love how you put so much time and effort into this, I mean, you started in September 2022 and the seedlings are only coming up in March 2023. Growing Bonsai from seed is very satisfying, although a lot of people will tell you not to bother. I think if you’re young enough, those trees will be beautiful in 20-30 years time.
I’m tempted to try putting a net over my Maple seedlings, it’s what the Japanese do with young seedlings to put shape into the trunks without using wire. Normally done if you’re looking to make Mame but any shape you put in now will not be a bad thing. Also a big fan of hardening seedlings off and exposing them to the weather, definitely helps make them stronger!
What fun!! Your enthusiasum is so wonderful! And you have way more patience than I do! I would have dug that little over achiever seedling out when I saw it with 2 of it’s real leaves all ready, and potted that baby up! I got a bonsai kit for Christmas a few years ago and it came with 4 different seed packs. They mostly sprouted but I didn’t get far with them at all. I just pulled them out of the back of the fridge where the ultimately ended up, and potted the rest of them. I got nothing yet. But I did order weeping willow “seeds” (or so I thought) but what came were actually cuttings. One very thick and 4 or 5 thin cuttings. I got them in the mail and into a glass of water 6 days ago, and I already have a lot of roots on most of them but I also have buds growing on the thick one. This seems a little more promising than the seeds.
I’m very new to the hobby and want to start it right and accompany my potential Bonsai from day 1 of its life. Therefore I’m choosing to grow by seed! The information you’re giving and the way you’re explaining your experience and process is of great value for me! I’d like to sincerely thank you for this article 🙂 Greeting from Germany and cheers!
Thanks Adam! Great informative article, i started a mess of 100 paperbark maple seeds last winter, I’ve got 6 seedlings and I’ve been searching online for any and all information regarding the survival of maple seedlings, these are extremely rare and difficult to germinate so I’m pretty stoked! Thanks for all your hard work putting these articles together!
I collected Maple seeds from a local park last Autumn and stratified them in a ziplock bag in the fridge and planted them outside fairly recently. I reckon I’ve got going on for about 150 seedlings. I’ve got a lot of pricking out to do in the near future 😂. I agree with you, it’s fun to grow your own just for the experience.
This is the first year I have tried seeds and so far I have three shoots – unfortunately I have forgotten what they are! Nothing from the Maples though. A great article Adam and you are right to encourage others to do this as a ‘part’ of their bonsai journeys. i wish I had started doing this back in 2002 🙂
Great article! I’m about to stratify a bunch of seeds in the fridge for this spring. My local temperature gets warm then freezes too much to do it outside I think. To save space I’m thinking of layering the seeds in a larger container and transplanting them to the seedling trays when I take them out in spring. One thing you didn’t mention is what you would have done if you found mold halfway through? I assume another spray of the anti-fungal? Another cool thing about growing from seed is the increased opportunity to create something unique by providing obstacles for the tree to adjust to. There’s a lot we can do before they get big enough to wire.
Nice article dude! I really like the patience in waiting till they’ve germinated to show us the results. So last year I made a mistake and stratified my maple seeds dry in the fridge. Apparently they need moisture and cold to break down the inhibiting enzyme so i had zero grow 😢 ill try again this winter (im in new zealand so its autumn now)
Hello again! On another site dedicated to the cultivation of Japanese maples, it was recommended that if your damp seeds get a bit moldy in the fridge, to soak them very briefly – no more than one minute – in a weak solution of bleach (1 part household bleach to 9 parts water), then to rinse them VERY thoroughly, several times, in water that has been boiled and allowed to cool to room temperature. (I put water to boil 10 minutes in my largest pot one evening, leaving it covered during and after; some 24 hours later it was cool enough.) My seeds had been kept in folded paper towels, and after two weeks or so there was a bit of mold on the paper towels. (Perhaps they were too damp.) The anti-mold instructions were simple enough, but I had five bundles to deal with – floaters and non-floaters, seeds from two different places and different varieties of Japanese maple, different times of collection (end of June and end of October – I didn’t realize that June is way too soon, but we will see). I wanted to give them all a fighting chance at life. But I wanted to do the bleaching and rinsing of them all together, and found a good way to save time on this step without mixing the seeds all up again. Each group – which varied from 16 seeds to 50 or so – I enclosed in a plastic mesh bag, with a tiny label inside indicating the group. Of course it has to be a fine mesh, or the seeds will slip right out. Don’t bother with the potato and onion bags. The best bags I found – I had them on hand – are from bags of garlic, with a mesh of no more than 2mm.
I tried stratifying japanese maple seeds in the fridge before but failed spectacularly! Dont know if the seeds were bad or if i did something wrong. I collected the seeds from a maple not far from my apartment at the time. I also find it very satisfying to grow trees from seed, and if youre not aiming to get a super big bonsai it dont have to take that much more time either befor you can start working on it 🙂 thanks for the article! will try my luck with japanese maple seeds again soon!
In this article you mentioned that you weren’t stratifying your seeds because it was already Autumn when you were planting them, which makes sense. Is there an ideal time to be stratifying seeds? It’s early July right now, if I were to take a month or two to stratify my maple seeds and then plant them in late August to early September, would that be too close to winter to have them as seedlings? I live in an area where it typically starts snowing in mid to late October. Thank you so much! All of your articles are super informative!
Thanks for the article. I started with a kit in november with 5 different seeds. After the stratification/germination I’ve planted them and I allready have 2 little seedling in 2 different pots. A spruce and a albizia. But what do i do now? Do I repot or do I keep them in the smal pot? Thanks for the help and looking forward to the net movie
Thanku sir,, u have explain about it very clearly Sir I have a question,, I am form India and hera temperature is high means 35 to 40 degrees So can I grow maple tree? And if yes Then firstly I have to do that, put all seeds in water for 24 hour’s and then for 1 month place in fridge, then after placed in a tray which I have shown in article Am I right sir. Can I grow by follow these steps Plzz reply sir And sir one more thing the when I put the seed in the tray and cover it,, then I have to remove the cover time by time?? Or I have to simply apply the cover until seedlings comes??
I sow a bunch every year but I just spread them into a seed tray and just leave them over winter. The only concern is birds, squirrels and others get into the soil to mess every thing up. I get fairly good results without any real effort; no fancy soil mix, incubation cover, etc… just let nature do it’s thing. As a bonsai enthusiast you need to grow a few trees from seed and cuttings, it’s all part of the process. Keep it up.
Hi Adam First of all congrats for your hairs they’re so beautiful ❤, congrats also on your results. I know we are already late with season but I’m wondering if Is there any way to force stratification, to reduce time and get sprouts of seedlings in One week? Maybe putting twice the seeds in the freezer to simulate some frost May help reducing the germination process? Second question how long dry seeds May stay viable? I see seeds from 2021 online for sale, Is two years too much in order to get germination? Thanks for your help ❤ l’ora of love marco
Hi Adam! Thank you so much for all your articles. I still have a question: we have November now. Can I stratify the seeds of plants outdoor as you show it if our temperature is not that low (rare lower than -5)? Or is it better to put them to the frigerator wirh -18🥶. Maybe it is too cold? Nice greetings😊 Eva
It’s always worthwhile germinating and growing trees from seeds but do so along side having more mature trees to look after as otherwise you will have nothing to do while waiting for your seeds to grow and may well grow bored and disillusioned with the idea of bonsai. My advice: get yourself small bonsai trees from a garden centre or supermarket and also look at developing nursery plants into bonsai which is a lot of fun. Grow seeds in addition to that to give yourself future bonsai material to work on. 👍
He way I do it is the more natural way, get your seeds put them in whatever compost you have, use a simular type of propagator, put them in a shelter spot for the winter, then move them into the greenhouse in the spring. When July, August comes it’s back outside in a shelter spot till established, it’s a more natural prosess. If they live they live if they die they die, my success rate is great,. I planted 25 very dry maple seeds off of ebay last year and got 23 Seedlings doing great!
A tech question: I hear that growing from seeds you can never be sure how the young ones will turn out. Is this because of possible cross-pollination from other Japanese maples nearby (very few in my case), or from other maples of different varieties (plenty)? I’m no scientist, but I like to know how these things work – the birds and the bees, you know? My folks never taught me much about such things; I had to learn it on the street.
@Notion Bonsai I have a question, where can I store Japanese Maple seeds before stratification? Where can I store them? I cannot store them in hot temperatures is because hot temperatures may kill all of the seeds, they will no longer be viable after storing them in hot temperatures. When hot temperatures kill seeds, it will not germinate at all. Please tell me where can I store Japanese Maple seeds before cold stratifying them. Please tell me. Please reply to this comment.
I would like to germinate Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) seeds next year because I ❤️ Norway Maple trees, they look very pretty. I will do this experiment that is stratification and without stratification. I will check which method is the best for germinating Norway Maple seeds. These seeds do not require scarification because the seeds are not hard, it is very soft. This year, I will collect Norway Maple seeds in fall season and then when I go home, I will store them in the fridge before germination. I would like to keep the seeds cool and dry once I store them in the fridge before germination.
I have another question for you 🙋♂️, why do Japanese Maple seeds not need to be scratched (Scarified) in order to germinate? Why do they not need to be scratched? Why do they not need that? Should you scratch Japanese Maple seeds or soak Japanese Maple seeds in water? Which method is the best? Soaking or Scarifying? Which fits the best? What are the reasons why do Japanese Maple seeds not need to be scarified? What are the reasons? Why Japanese Maple seeds need to be soaked in water before germination instead of scratching the seed? Why do they need to be soaked in water without scarifying? Why? I hope you can answer these questions.
Hello. I am from Pakistan. Maples are not found in my country and I am unable to get its seeds. The companies don’t ship to Pakistan. I am looking for seeds to grow for a long time. If you want to exchange seeds I can provide you with lots of native Pakistani trees. Such as gulmoher, cassia noodosia, neem, lybernum, kachnar tree (Google it name name is in urdu. It Is very beautiful tree). Moringa tree and many more. If you have extre maple seeds I. Would love to exchange. Seeds don’t require any package. They can be send in envelops easily. As letter to each other. Thanks