Best Strategy for Grafted Seedlings of Harder to find Cultivars

[eplov90]

I have been looking for Arakawa, Beni Chidori and Nishiki Gawa pre-bonsai here in the UK for a while with little to no luck. I finally managed to find a japanese maple nursery that will have a new batch of available ones in the spring but the catch is that they are grafted(last summer).

What is the best way to proceed here?

1. Buy the grafted seedlings and very soon layer above the graft to get them on their own roots(could be too slow/weak too grow out?)
2. Let the grow out on the vigorous root stock and layer them off once they are more mature
3. Forget about these because they are never going to be great material as grafted seedings

Thanks!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

2

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Depends what you want to do. You can also use the parent stock for cuttings, or grow the parent tree in your landscape and take many air-layers from it - from larger branches.

 

[sorce]

If the bark matches or doesn't matter you can graft them as branches onto built trunks.

Sorce

 

[Canada Bonsai]

I have been looking for Arakawa, Beni Chidori and Nishiki Gawa pre-bonsai here in the UK for a while with little to no luck. I finally managed to find a japanese maple nursery that will have a new batch of available ones in the spring

All 3 varieties can easily be propagated via cutting. Let that spring growth grow unrestrained, and then take cuttings in May/June (depends on your area). If the material was just grafted as you say, then the grafted scion is likely only 12-24 months older than any cutting you will take i.e. it's not a big setback to take cuttings. (And yes, the growth from a recently grafted scion can be vigorous enough to take cuttings). With cuttings, the control you have over the nebari (and everything else) from day 1 is a real privilege. If your plan is to air layer, it make be a few years before you can do so: air layering young maple branches can be risky due to CODIT completely blocking the vascular system as @0soyoung described somewhere in this forum I think - relying on faulty memory here.

As an aside, Heron's (Peter Chan) used to sell Arakawa and Beni Chidori and may still sell them (I have not checked in a long time). If you can buy material from Belgium or the Netherlands, the 3 cultivars you name should be easy to find there.

 

[keri-wms]

I’d wire them, then as soon as you can get the wire off and get them in the ground, burying the graft and wrapping wire or a tiewrap round them above the graft. You should get a fatter trunk and new roots in 1-2 years, faster in the long run than air layers/pot growing

 

[JeffS73]

I have been looking for Arakawa, Beni Chidori and Nishiki Gawa pre-bonsai here in the UK for a while with little to no luck. I finally managed to find a japanese maple nursery that will have a new batch of available ones in the spring but the catch is that they are grafted(last summer).

What is the best way to proceed here?

1. Buy the grafted seedlings and very soon layer above the graft to get them on their own roots(could be too slow/weak too grow out?)
2. Let the grow out on the vigorous root stock and layer them off once they are more mature
3. Forget about these because they are never going to be great material as grafted seedings

Thanks!

I'm only about a year ahead of you on maples, and I've made plenty of mistakes already. I would agree with Brian and Canada. You'll be getting very young plants if they're this years grafts. If your layers dont take, it's a lost year. You've found the plants you want, let them grow, take cuttings. Read Brent at evergreen gardenworks articles on cuttings and maples. If you can get cuttings to take, you can be successful with layers. If you want to get ahead, your best bet is to find larger plants you can work on.

Get into a 'season of growing' mindset, i.e. what will the plant in front of you let you do in a given season, what are your aims? Make sure those two things are compatible, or you'll be disappointed when it goes wrong, and worst of all, a season behind. I tried to layer some Zuisho pines and now wish I'd perfected taking scions for grafts and trying cuttings first. Go gently but purposefully and you'll be rewarded.

 

[River's Edge]

I have been looking for Arakawa, Beni Chidori and Nishiki Gawa pre-bonsai here in the UK for a while with little to no luck. I finally managed to find a japanese maple nursery that will have a new batch of available ones in the spring but the catch is that they are grafted(last summer).

What is the best way to proceed here?

1. Buy the grafted seedlings and very soon layer above the graft to get them on their own roots(could be too slow/weak too grow out?)
2. Let the grow out on the vigorous root stock and layer them off once they are more mature
3. Forget about these because they are never going to be great material as grafted seedings

Thanks!

Option number two, grow out develop as you go and air layer when appropriate for your anticipated size and design.
PS: you can take cuttings as you go !
Do consider your climate and ability to provide additional care if cultivars are returned to their own roots as opposed to what may be stronger more vigorous root stock.

 

[0soyoung]

Let the grow out on the vigorous root stock and layer them off once they are more mature

Many non-bonsai maple enthusiasts simply encase the union in a damp medium as the cultivar will often grow roots over a period of time (multiple years). You/one can do this by raising the soil/substrate level around the trunk (be careful not to bury the roots as they need air) or sphagnum that is kept damp. If it doesn't work, nothing is lost. If it does ... .

 

[Ohmy222]

#2 will give you the quickest results. As others said you can always use as a mother plant and propagate off of that. That is what I do but if you don't need 15 Arakawa's then just pretend your grafted is a bonsai and layer at a later date. Only hesitation I may have is that you could grow out and train it and then have the layer fail completely. Maples layer pretty easy and even if is fails will layer on the 2nd try. I have done tons of them but I have had a couple of instances where everything above the layer point dies. Probably something to do with what @Canada Bonsai mentions above. I do have 2 cultivars I have yet to get a successful layer on too but that is out of probably 50+ attempted. The 3 you mention should be fine.