When do maples seed.

bverdun

I am interested in any information regarding the life cycle of maples,especially their seeding time. How do you know when seeds are viable and may be picked. I am in zone 9 near New Orleans la. What would be the best source to read up on these little guys. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

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OldVamp

In my area they seed in the early spring, some of them even before they have mature leaves. The seeds are usually viable when some of them start droping from the tree. My grandfather has sugar and amure maples at his house, and befor installing a gutter guard we would have to pull a ton of little maple trees out around mid spring.

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-| Zone 7 | Sparta TN |-
-| To make bonsai, take perfectly good trees then hack, bend, and twist |-

Paul Phillis

I can only respond to A. palmatum and A. campestre.

I collect my seeds in autumn usually grabbing handfulls off the tree as it is easier than picking them up off the ground. The time to collect is when the wings are brown but the nut or seed bit hasn't gone the same degree of brown. Or dried looking. Does that make sense? If most of the seeds are still on the tree, but they are starting to fall off naturally, then they will probably be OK.

Maple seeds will not germinate if the become dessicated, something like <30% moisture content, so never dry them out like you might vegetable seeds.

To tell if they are viable I soak them in water for 24 hours and remove any that float. I then dry with paper towel and mix them into just damp sterilised potting mix (optional). Store in a plastic bag in the bottom of the fridge, not in the vege crisper (this is called stratification). I find my A. palmatums will germinate in the fridge after a couple of months. Just plant out the germinating ones in a sheltered area. A. campestre take a lot longer. Check the seeds every week or so.

Different maple species germinate at different percentages and rates, so always stratify more than you need and don't be hasty to throw them out if nothing happens.

Hope this helps