Is this the kind of thing you look for as early evidence of a cultivar?

[Veebs]

I’m growing a bunch of maples from seed, they’re probably 6-8 weeks post emergence from the soil. I spotted this guy today and noticed it is barely taller than the container wall, but it already has like 8 or 9 leaves.

Is this the kind of thing we look for as distinguishing characteristics of interesting genetics?


I was about to say that the most that any of its siblings has is 4 leaves, and most just have two big leaves, but I spotted one more super dense specimen, also shorter than most of the others. This one has 13 leaves!


But feel free to crush my dreams, this is the kind of stuff I need to know.

 

[TomP]

Could be but too early to know. Keep an eye for leaf size, internode length, back budding, and fall color. Will be a few years before you can really tell if it is worth proagating

 

[Bonsai Nut]

It is also important to know that before you even consider whether you have a variety worthy of being cultivated, you have to ensure that you can explain what makes it unique, and show that the trait remains genetically stable for several generations. So if you think you have a dwarf, you would have to grow it out, propagate it, show that the 2nd generation remains a dwarf, and then do it at least one more time. Once you have 100 or so individuals that are 3rd generation of the original, and they are all showing the characteristic, you could evaluate whether or not you wanted to register.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Agreed, first signs can be misleading and you'd want to wait for adult stabilisation, so at least 4-6 years of growing.
If you see no sports behaving differently and the propagated cuttings don't change characteristics, you could make it a cultivar. A cultivar can be a F1 vegetatively reproduced plant, it doesn't need to be bred over generations.
Unless you want to market it and it itself is made from protected cultivar parental lines.

 

[BrightsideB]

It is very common for jm to revert back to more standard growth habit or show less of these characteristics after growing for several years. There is already plenty cultivars with these characteristic readily available and highly propagated that work great for bonsai. For you it could be a good start and potentially a great specimen for bonsai. It really takes time. You will see the unique characteristics early though.

 

[penumbra]

I have a couple hundred small maples from the same parent plant. Many are in their 3rd and 4th years now. There are at least half a dozen deviants. Its the way nature works.