Are Japanese Maple Cuttings Good for Bonsai?

[Labreapits]

I know the quick answer is yes, because many people are using them for bonsai.

But, I thought the reason that most Japanese maples are grafted onto green leaf japanese maple root stock is because it makes a better tree. I have read that cuttings do not hold up as well on their own roots when used in landscaping.

If this is true then why do they do well in bonsai, but are not suited to be grown on their own roots for landscaping purposes?

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

Production by grafting is cheaper and faster. When you have one mother plant and 100 standard Japanese maples seedlings the next year you have 90 sellable variants. With cuttings you have to wait an extra year to grow them strong enough to sell and thriving. Some cultivars are just to difficult and time consuming to root. In landscape I want my tree to grow as good as possible. In bonsai I want it to look good too.

 

[sorce]

Winter protection?

You have more control in a pot.

Sorce

 

[Labreapits]

So you are saying except for the time involved the rooted cutting is equal to the grafted tree?

 

[Labreapits]

That makes sense Sorce. Thanks

 

[Labreapits]

Does that mean you should "baby" the tree that comes from a cutting? Should you give it more winter protection?

Does anyone treat their japanese maple from cuttings any differently than their dug or native maples? As in more protection?

 

[Smoke]

It is no secret that hybridizing in humans as well as plants makes them stronger and more disease resistant. Many plants have very strong root systems and poorly growing tops or fast growing tops with no character. Growing them on strong roots makes a better and faster growing plant. White pine is a good grower on its own roots but slow and susceptible to disease, but becomes a faster growing pine and more disease resistant pine when grafted onto J. black pine roots.

The same with more fragile acer cultivars, will grow much better when grafted onto mountain maple root stock.

 

[GroveKeeper]

How much does it matter when growing strictly in pots?

 

[ColinFraser]

So you are saying except for the time involved the rooted cutting is equal to the grafted tree?

You are missing an important variable - what cultivar of Japanese maple?!

Cuttings from plain green stock should be just as strong and vigorous as seedlings (once established). The fancy cultivars run the entire spectrum from strong on their own roots, to weak, to not even viable on their own roots - which type you're talking about matters here.

The other consideration is ugly grafts - it doesn't matter if a cultivar does better with grafted understock if it looks like crap (which most, but not all, of them do). My feeling is that for bonsai, ungrafted trees look much better, and cultivars that can't survive that way are not good choices.

 

[Cypress187]

Well a bonsai tree is living in a hotel with room service and a landscape plant is just thrown into the wild with only his genes (graft) to help him survive.

 

[Eric Group]

Grafts just leave a big ugly scar that leaves them pretty much unusable for Bonsai. We use cuttings because there are not scars, more control over nebari development.. some of the laceleaf, dwarf, colored... varieties are supposedly not as vigorous on their own roots, but I havent had any issues with them once they get rooted.. they may be a bit tougher TO root...

 

[Littlejoe919]

My understanding is, the main reason for grafting is to stay true to the "named" variety. Maples cross pollinate.

 

[vaibatron]

My understanding is, the main reason for grafting is to stay true to the "named" variety. Maples cross pollinate.

No, not in the slightest. Read above posts to be clued in.

 

[qwade]

My understanding is, the main reason for grafting is to stay true to the "named" variety. Maples cross pollinate.

Yes absolutely true !! Grafting is used to produce an exact cultivar of the mother tree. In bonsai this may be characteristics such as small leaves, close internodes, desirable bark etc. This can be reproduced with a cutting but the 'success' rate is not as great. Nurseries usually prefer to graft. The graft can be 'overcome with proper technique. Some nurseries will graft with bonsai artist in mind, making the task of 'hiding the graft somewhat easier.

 

[M. Frary]

What's the matter with good old green japanese maple? If it were possible for Japanese maples to survive here that would be the one for me. The original.
It's tough. It has cool color to new leaves in spring and fall. It can sit in the sun for the most part. The leaves reduce . It has short internodes. It can be grown from cuttings easily.
It is the rootstock for all of the other weak cultivars.

 

[aml1014]

What's the matter with good old green japanese maple? If it were possible for Japanese maples to survive here that would be the one for me. The original.
It's tough. It has cool color to new leaves in spring and fall. It can sit in the sun for the most part. The leaves reduce . It has short internodes. It can be grown from cuttings easily.
It is the rootstock for all of the other weak cultivars.

If I could find good old acer palmatum, I'd be drooling lol very uncommon plant for nurseries to carry around here.

Aaron

 

[Eric Group]

If I could find good old acer palmatum, I'd be drooling lol very uncommon plant for nurseries to carry around here.

Aaron

I bet! Hot, dry and windy= CRISPY Japanese Maples! I have a bunch of small ones if you are in the market for something affordable, shoot me a PM

 

[aml1014]

I bet! Hot, dry and windy= CRISPY Japanese Maples! I have a bunch of small ones if you are in the market for something affordable, shoot me a PM

I'll probably shoot you a message here in a couple weeks after I go camping, the only green jm I have are a few seedlings I stole from my local zoo from under an old jm.

Aaron

 

[M. Frary]

a few seedlings I stole

Tsk,tsk,tsk.

 

[aml1014]

Tsk,tsk,tsk.

Lmfao I do it every year. It literally looks like grass under those trees in spring, but it's just baby maples. Boy do I get weird looks spitting in a receipt and stuffing a bunch of baby maples in it.

Aaron