Maple seedlings

rowan57

I refer you to this site: Nickys Tree Seed Info

Not because i have any links with them but i have found the information very useful. I think the seeds could have done with longer stratification, we're talking upto almost 40 weeks depending on the species. Do you know what cultivar of maple you have?

(btw, steph, thanks for the use of your thread, pm Matt if you want this convo split into a different thread, or just ask for more help here if you need it)

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In literary and art criticism there are two criteria, the political and the artistic....

Words and actions should help to unite, and not divide, the people of our various nationalities

I often talk to myself because i am the only one who truly understands me.

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StephNY

I left mine in the fridge for 90 days, and by the time i opened up the packet about 3 had already opened so they were in a rush to get potted. so i think begginers luck may of had a hand, it has started me to look around at other types of tree to try some more, the Bonsai bug bit.

Good luck with yours Dkaleris, hope something happens soon but i guess with Bonsai Patience is a virtue

rowan57

There is no definite science with tree seed, although i believe it is more predictable than flower seed etc. as long as you stratify the seed yourself. The time maple seed takes to germinate all depends on the species of maple, e.g the Acer saccharinum (Sugar Maple) does not need any stratification at all, it should just be planted early spring, like now, and left alone and they should all germinate, so to give an accurate guess on time you would need to know exact species.

By the way, Steph, it would seem to me that you have got hold of a good dealer there that has perhaps pre-treated the seed before it came to you, because Trident Maple seed should be stratified for 34 weeks according to the link in one of my above posts, so you have had a good success with these

__________________
In literary and art criticism there are two criteria, the political and the artistic....

Words and actions should help to unite, and not divide, the people of our various nationalities

I often talk to myself because i am the only one who truly understands me.

gcraft

The best method I have found for maple seeds is: Scarify by soaking in ALMOST boiling water for 12-24 hours for the ones that dont sink repeat the process again. This breaks down the hard outter coating so the embryo can get some water. Then you can fall sow or into the fridge at 34-42 just above freezing. Dont freeze!! A good rule of thumb is when 20% of your seeds start to germinate plant them.

Rowan if you have already got 33 you are off to a good start but I would say only half way there. With tridents you should have 50-70% germination rate however I have found that without scarifying them most will not germinate till the following year.

Greg

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The spirit of nature~The hand of man

titusblm

Sounds like you've done everything right alot of people have problems with jap. Maple from seed. Once your seedlings have 2-3 leaf pairs you could pot up each one and then 4-5 weeks later start a light feeding schedule to put on good growth. I've done this and had Mame size bonsai in 2-3 years. Just continue to pot up in spring, But don't overpot as you will be more likly to have root rot.

rowan57

Titusblum, have you got any pictures of your mames from seed in 2-3 years? im just curious because unless you follow a really strict high feeding schedule i dont think you would get much taper?

Gcraft, as long as the seeds are not soaking wet when you freeze them then it is an effective method of scarifying seed. You can also store seed in the freezer as long as it is dry and this will prolong the life of the seed (obviously not forever but a year would be alright i think)

I havent had negative effects using boiling water, in fact for many seeds i think this has helped as the outer casings can be surprisingly hard.

I would agree about the germination rate, sorry if i indicated that they were finished, i didnt mean it.

Am in the process of writing a guide to scarification so keeps your eyes and ears open (wont be for a while, these things dont happen over night )

Good luck with your seeds people
Rowan

__________________
In literary and art criticism there are two criteria, the political and the artistic....

Words and actions should help to unite, and not divide, the people of our various nationalities

I often talk to myself because i am the only one who truly understands me.

gcraft

storing seeds below freezing would definetly have an affect on their viability
When sown outside either by one or by mother nature the seed would get a layer of snow over them when temps. are below freezing usually. Well snow will tend to be warmer under it than above. which would keep them from freezing real bad. You may not have any noticable faults from storing in the freezer but hey all proffessional sourses say store above 32 and below usually 45 so since I am by far a pro I will take thier expert advice.
Greg

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The spirit of nature~The hand of man

titusblm

rowan57: Sorry little misunderstanding. I meant that at 2-3 years the seedlings have grown to the size to start trainning into mame size bonsai. I have a few seedlings that I will be trainning into mames soon(I'm just getting back into bonsai after having to get rid of my stock, during my deployment).

rowan57

gcraft: personal preference to store in the freezer, doesn't really affect the viability over much.

titusblum: ahh cool ok, where were you deployed? its a shame you had to gte rid of your trees, id hate to have to do that.


Rowan

[Edit] Depends on the seed as well, for example a pinus species that is used to the well below freezing temps of canada or something will not mind being stored below freezing, In fact for grape seed especially it is recommended that you do store under freezing because they have very hard seed coats. The important thing, i believe, is to defrost them once a week or so to emulate the freezes and thaws of winter [/Edit]

__________________
In literary and art criticism there are two criteria, the political and the artistic....

Words and actions should help to unite, and not divide, the people of our various nationalities

I often talk to myself because i am the only one who truly understands me.