japanese maple cuttings

prauny

Now i know there is a forum for propagation, but it seems that its visited very rarely.
My question is how do you get good results with maple cuttings, as my survival rate is not that great.

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TreeBay

You posted your question twice, in the same forum.

Maybe you could explain what you are doing, which cultivars you're working with and what your success rate is. Then I am sure you can get suggestions about how to improve.

You get the most success with proper selection of cuttings, timing, sanitation, hormone treatment and aftercare (humidity, mist, bottom heat). But some cultivars are just plain hard.

Regards,

Matt

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prauny

yeah im sorry about that dude. My browser said that the site wasnt responding when i posted the first time.
Im using a regular green japanese maple (not bonsai). my cuttings are about 4 inches long green wood, with two sets of leaves on.
I put them in used potting mix (nutrients all used up) and cover with a clear plastic bag. Most of them get attacked with mold and i get one survivor.
My only survivor from my last attempt just died on me when it was two years old.

prauny

also, could anyone tell me how to take cuttings from a ficus retusa. Ive been reading that its easy but how do you do it? what thickness can i use? green wood or hard wood? etc....

bwaynef

With Ficus Retusa, any width smaller than your waist should strike pretty quickly. Excuse my hyperbole, but theres not much to getting ficus to throw roots. They do it in nature from several feet off the ground. Take some cuttings, put 'em in dirt and make sure they don't get too dry. You could just leave the cuttings sitting in water on your kitchen window sill and you'll see roots by weeks end probably.

re: Acer Palmatum cuttings... most folks get the results you do. Intermittent mist seems to be the holy grail of A.p. cuttings. I've heard others have blind luck with them, but never got them to expound on the hows and whys. Timing is critical, as is heat. Good luck.

Does anyone know of a good resource that gives the appropriate hormone %'s for individual species? (Sorry to go a little off topic.)

WF

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prauny

Thanks bwaynef, thats great!!
I'll post my results here when ive done it.

Joanie

Cuttings pros, could it also be possible that he has too much organic and that's why his maple cuttings get mold??

Maybe more inorganic... sand or perlite or pumice or something?

Joanie

prauny

i have put some retusa cuttings in a glass of water. The water is only two inches, is that enough?
I dont want to put in too much and kill the cuttings.

TreeBay

Well first thing is to use sterile media to reduce the spore count. You could use for example either peat (which has antifungal properties) or something entirely inorganic like perlite. The clear plastic shouldn't touch the leaves or it will promote mold, too.

You can also use some antifungal treatment. Rootone-F (a powdered rooting hormone) has Captan in it to help prevent problems.

Regards,

Matt

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