Future Acer rubrum forest

[Kanorin]

My 5yo and I sowed 30+ red maple seeds this spring (after cold stratification). While I might keep a handful for individual trees, I think it would be some useful practice to see if I can attempt my first forest planting from a bunch of them. I have a few questions as I am planning for this expedition. I might even try one grouping of 5-7 individuals and one grouping of 9-11 individuals.

1) Right now we've got these 25 seedlings in a tray with 1 inch of soil. Are they going to be ok in there until spring time or should I separate and give them a bit more room to grow sooner?
2) With the large leaf size, would these eventually need to be on a really large tray or slab?

 

[penumbra]

In your climate I would do them right now. I mean right now as in this week or next.
You can work on the leaf size latter. If you are going to re-pot, get it down and let them be until next late winter / early spring and develope them further. They are very togh plants and if you are good with the techniques, you might put a little movement in them now with wire. Don't wrap it tightly because these maples put on some girth in the fall.

 

[HorseloverFat]

Neat!

I’m excited to see what you come up with!

 

[Kanorin]

In your climate I would do them right now. I mean right now as in this week or next.
You can work on the leaf size latter. If you are going to re-pot, get it down and let them be until next late winter / early spring and develope them further. They are very togh plants and if you are good with the techniques, you might put a little movement in them now with wire. Don't wrap it tightly because these maples put on some girth in the fall.

Thanks for the reply! If you don't mind explaining, what is the reasoning for now being an OK time to pot these? Summer dormancy?

Just want to understand so I don't need to ask the question again in the future!

 

[HorseloverFat]

Thanks for the reply! If you don't mind explaining, what is the reasoning for now being an OK time to pot these? Summer dormancy?

Just want to understand so I don't need to ask the question again in the future!

I believe it has to do with the overall strength and vigor of the “Swamp Maple” (my favorite “common name”) coupled with their age...

I (foolishly, “incorrectly”) transplant seedlings and smaller (under 1/2”) cuttings ALL year with minimal to no problem... and most CERTAINLY never a problem with Acer native to MY climate.

I could be wrong... I often am.

 

[penumbra]

Thanks for the reply! If you don't mind explaining, what is the reasoning for now being an OK time to pot these? Summer dormancy?

Just want to understand so I don't need to ask the question again in the future!

You want its late summer flush of growth to harden off before the weather turns cold.

 

[Kanorin]

Well, the scientist in me couldn't resist a little experiment.

Forest #1 is in an inorganic bonsai soil which is made up of primarily Aoki blend. Final blend works out to ~ 60% akadama, 25% kiryu, 13% pumice, 2% lava)

Forest #2 is in an organic soil (peat-based potting soil with some bark and ~15% perlite)

Both soils were sifted to the same size range (between 2.5 - 6.5 mm)
The winner will be determined by rate of growth and resistance to disease.

It's not perfect because they are in different shapes and types of containers...and I didn't bare root the seedlings, so a little of the original seedling potting mix is around the roots in each container, but aside from that...well this is mostly just for fun. Now some pictures!

Selecting some trees

Forest #1 (Rectangle container - Inorganic blend)



Forest #2: Circular container (took a razor to a plastic hanging basket pot, put lots of holes in the bottom) - Organic blend
I'm going for a forest on a hill top look here, so I'm wanting the trees on the sides to lean slightly away from center, but it's probably too much right now.


One thing I noticed was that it was definitely easier to get the saplings to stay in place and stand up straight in the heavier bonsai blend as opposed to the peat.

And aside from the silly experiment, how do the placement of trees look? There are definitely a few trees that I couldn't get to lean the way I wanted too, so I'll probably need to help them with some wire.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Not a silly experiment.
Your spacing is too regular, but you can fix that in a couple years when you repot

 

[Kanorin]

Update on the experiment 34 days in for those with wagers at home...
Measured the tallest tree in each forest every 3-5 days

Aoki blend
started at 12.8 inches, grew to 16.5 inches
3.7 inches of growth
~129% growth from starting height 34 days ago

Sifted peat with 15% perlite
started at 13.7 inches, grew to 20.5 inches
6.8 inches of growth
~150% growth from starting height 34 days ago

Obviously no idea what the roots look like at this point.

 

[Kanorin]

Thinking about this kind of layout when I repot (probably spring 2021). Top down view on the left, virtual of what it would look like from the front on right.
Going for a forest path where the trees are looming over the path.

 

[sorce]

path

Oh no! Lol.

Why round?
No round.

Sorce

 

[Kanorin]

Oh no! Lol.

Why round?
No round.

Sorce

Would you advocate for Oval? Rectangle? Other polygon?

 

[sorce]

Would you advocate for Oval? Rectangle? Other polygon?

Rectangle! Hahaha! I'm biased!

But Oval or rectangle is traditional.

It allows more utilization of negative space in appropriate 1/3 proportions.

Sorce

 

[Canada Bonsai]

With the large leaf size

Another important consideration is leaf shape.

These are a bunch of Acer Rubrum that I started from seed. The genetic variation is considerable, at least in the batch of seeds (from 1 source) that I used.

As with Acer Palmatum (and most other varieties), it is best to use cuttings or air layers for group plantings.

That said, you have a lot of material on your hands to do a lot of interesting things!

 

[Kanorin]

Another important consideration is leaf shape.

These are a bunch of Acer Rubrum that I started from seed. The genetic variation is considerable, at least in the batch of seeds (from 1 source) that I used.

As with Acer Palmatum (and most other varieties), it is best to use cuttings or air layers for group plantings.

That said, you have a lot of material on your hands to do a lot of interesting things!

Thanks, I was just thinking about this last week. There definitely is some genetic variation in my seedlings as rubrums are very popular on my street and there are several leaf shapes among them. I'm planning to mark the stems with some colored tape this fall to try and get a pretty uniform bunch for each planting.

 

[sorce]

Props on the planning BTW.

Sorce

 

[Kanorin]

 

[Forrestford]

What a range of colors! Thats awesome!

 

[HorseloverFat]

View attachment 338290

I smiled so hard when I saw this, I cracked my lip!

 

[Hack Yeah!]

I smiled so hard when I saw this, I cracked my lip!

Damn, you should practice smiling...lol