Growing Japanese Maples from seeds, when to start?

[EnderStar101]

There is a unknown JM variety at my grandparent's house and I was thinking about taking a bunch of seeds and trying to grow them. From what I understand, I should wait until autumn, collect a bunch, and just put them in the seed tray with the soil? I heard I should put them in the fridge for a bit before winter but for how long? Is that climate dependant? how many seeds should I take?

If anyone has any help and maybe something in-depth I could read or watch to be sure of what I'm doing that'd be amazing lol. Tysm!

 

[sevan]

For my seed starting, I typically collect the seeds and sow them in the fall and just leave them outside for the winter and hope the squirrels and other rodents don't eat them all (I try to keep them covered with mesh to let water, air, and light in).

Japanese Maples do need 90 days of cold, so you can do the fridge method and start them inside, potentially using a grow light and heat mat to give them a head start on spring. You're likely to get a higher success rate that way, but I don't bother since I can easily grab hundreds of seeds from a tree and not worry about the success rate.

 

[Nybonsai12]

I usually start with dry seed, so I soak for 24 hours in water, then throw in the fridge in damp sphagnum moss until i start to see em sprout. It's usually a minimum of 90 days but sometimes they sprout early too. Once they sprout i move em to pots to grow. You will want to time it so they are sprouting at an appropriate time to be outside and not in danger of frosts etc..

 

[SeanS]

If they’re fresh (collected in fall) then be had them sprout in the fridge or n as little 30 days

 

[Wulfskaar]

Some people that live where it gets cold in winter use nature to stratify their seeds.

Since it never gets to freezing temps where I live, I put them in the fridge for 60-90 days in a lightly damp paper towel. I've been able to get a few to germinate like this.

Remember that they need to grow outside, so you'll want to time it so that you're sowing the seeds in late winter or early spring.

 

[EnderStar101]

It gets cold here for the winter, but how cold is cold enough? Like should I check climate trends of my area and see if it gets to a specific temperature consistently for 3 months in the winter?

 

[SeanS]

If they’re fresh (collected in fall) then be had them sprout in the fridge or n as little 30 days

Wow what a fail at using words!

I meant to say I’ve had them sprout in as little as 30 days in the fridge if they’re fresh off the tree in autumn

 

[Orion_metalhead]

I would collect as many as you can and sow them in a flat, and leave outside. if the seeds are viable, you should get a bunch germinating in spring. separatr after a year or two in the flat.

 

[Shibui]

It gets cold here for the winter, but how cold is cold enough?

Fresh seed needs very little cold. We get maybe 20 nights below freezing here and they germinate profusely after sowing in Autumn. Fresh seed will germinate with even less cold than that. One year I tried sowing in Spring to see what would happen. More than half still germinated despite having maybe 1 night dip just below freezing.

Dried, stored seed enters a deeper dormancy. That's when you need special warm/cold treatment.

JM germination is usually prolific with fresh seed so just sow maybe twice what you want to allow for some losses through the process.
Almost fill your container (I prefer shallow seed trays but deeper containers will still be good) with good potting soil. Sprinkle the seeds over the surface then gently cover them with more potting soil. Aim to bury the seeds 1/4-1/2 inch.
Cover the tray with mesh. You have lots of seed eaters and they will all be hungry through winter. Not sure if they can smell or hear seeds growing but many have an uncanny knack of finding seed even when buried. You have been warned!
Leave the tray out in the elements. Rain, wind, snow, sun. All are OK. You should not need to water or provide any other care until the seeds germinate in spring.
Wait for germination in Spring then the seedlings can be pricked out into individual pots to grow on through next summer.

Starting seed indoors has some drawbacks. Lack of light will cause elongated stems. Dry air causes problems with growth. Fungal problems are often worse indoors as there's no UV light or moving air. Growth is so much better outdoors you'll get very little advantage starting early indoors. Outdoor growing is natural and much, much less hassle.

 

[EnderStar101]

Ok cool, so in autumn I'll just buy one of those seed trays with the plastic lids, sow seeds some time in October/November, and just follow those instructions. Any type of potting soil in particular good for this? I'm still pretty iffy on soil types.

 

[cody94withrow]

Ok cool, so in autumn I'll just buy one of those seed trays with the plastic lids, sow seeds some time in October/November, and just follow those instructions. Any type of potting soil in particular good for this? I'm still pretty iffy on soil types.

you can use anything really, mr maple has a vid where they claim that sewing in wooden boxes helps to keep out fungus or mold.

They also use some sort of antifungal to coat the seeds before added tot he peat moss mix which is interesting as well. It's worth a watch.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Ok cool, so in autumn I'll just buy one of those seed trays with the plastic lids, sow seeds some time in October/November, and just follow those instructions. Any type of potting soil in particular good for this? I'm still pretty iffy on soil types.

I remove seeds in the late Fall, hold them in a cool, dry location, and then put them in the fridge in January so they start to sprout in late Feb early March - at which point they are planted into a flat and moved outdoors. I keep an eye on them for the next month so they don't see a frost.

The main thing with any mix is not to keep it soaking wet. You want your soil to be damp, but not saturated. Also, use a mix that includes sphagnum/peat (for seed germination) since sphagnum has natural anti-fungal properties.

 

[TomP]

For Acer Palmatum I soak for 24 hours, then warm stratify for 120 days and cold stratify for another 120 and have had good success. I use seed that has been collected and dried so not sure how fresh seed would act

 

[cody94withrow]

For Acer Palmatum I soak for 24 hours, then warm stratify for 120 days and cold stratify for another 120 and have had good success. I use seed that has been collected and dried so not sure how fresh seed would act

warm stratification is that just put in soil and set outside ?

 

[TomP]

warm stratification is that just put in soil and set outside ?

I put them in a plastic bag with moist vermiculite and keep in a closet

 

[cody94withrow]

I put them in a plastic bag with moist vermiculite and keep in a closet

when does it start getting cold where you are? here in WNC it gets cold in like late november so maybe I have enough time?

 

[eugenev2]

Fresh seed needs very little cold. We get maybe 20 nights below freezing here and they germinate profusely after sowing in Autumn. Fresh seed will germinate with even less cold than that. One year I tried sowing in Spring to see what would happen. More than half still germinated despite having maybe 1 night dip just below freezing.

Dried, stored seed enters a deeper dormancy. That's when you need special warm/cold treatment.

JM germination is usually prolific with fresh seed so just sow maybe twice what you want to allow for some losses through the process.
Almost fill your container (I prefer shallow seed trays but deeper containers will still be good) with good potting soil. Sprinkle the seeds over the surface then gently cover them with more potting soil. Aim to bury the seeds 1/4-1/2 inch.
Cover the tray with mesh. You have lots of seed eaters and they will all be hungry through winter. Not sure if they can smell or hear seeds growing but many have an uncanny knack of finding seed even when buried. You have been warned!
Leave the tray out in the elements. Rain, wind, snow, sun. All are OK. You should not need to water or provide any other care until the seeds germinate in spring.
Wait for germination in Spring then the seedlings can be pricked out into individual pots to grow on through next summer.

Starting seed indoors has some drawbacks. Lack of light will cause elongated stems. Dry air causes problems with growth. Fungal problems are often worse indoors as there's no UV light or moving air. Growth is so much better outdoors you'll get very little advantage starting early indoors. Outdoor growing is natural and much, much less hassle.

I have a new supply of fresh japanese maple seeds, 4 different varieties, 2 look like your standard variety...1 might not even be acer palmatum...but the one looks like it might be the real deal possibly arakawa...i know seeds will have their own genetic traits...but crossing fingers that at least one takes after the parent plant.
More importantly i'm trying Shibui's approach of no cold stratification...climates are similar...don't get them fresher than falling of the tree...let's see how this goes...

 

[TomP]

when does it start getting cold where you are? here in WNC it gets cold in like late november so maybe I have enough time?

 

[TomP]

Probably enough time. I typically move them to a refrigerator when it is time to cold stratify (I have a refrigerator solely for seeds and beer). Then I like to start all of my seeds in early January under lights with heat mats in my garage. It gives me a long first growing season. Since I control most of the variables I am less likely to have my batch killed by bad weather

 

[cody94withrow]

Probably enough time. I typically move them to a refrigerator when it is time to cold stratify (I have a refrigerator solely for seeds and beer). Then I like to start all of my seeds in early January under lights with heat mats in my garage. It gives me a long first growing season. Since I control most of the variables I am less likely to have my batch killed by bad weather

yeah I think I'll try that thanks