newbie

[dokes]

hi there!

i have some japanese bloodgood seeds & was just curious what kind of soil & pot you guys would recommend for starting them out? i have pearlite, vermiculite, compost, top soil, peat moss, sand, etc (from my garden).. i can get whatever the plant needs. i would like to start them asap. i live in northeastern oklahoma (trees grow everywhere here lol). my garden area is in full sun, but i can move the tree to a shaded area, or whatever it needs. also, if there are any books you could recommend, that would be great! i do understand that it will take quite a while before i can do anything with the tree, but that's fine by me. it gives me more time to do some research about japanese maples. my foremost concern at the moment is just getting the seeds potted & in the correct environment to start growing.

thanks for your time!!!

 

[Bonsai Nut]

To get you pointed in the right direction you should search for threads dealing with Japanese Maple propogation. First off, you will need to make sure that your maple seeds are ready to sprout - which often entails creating a false winter by placing the seeds in your refrigerator for a period of time so that when you remove them they will come out of dormancy (thinking it is spring). Additionally (and you may well be aware of this) there is no such thing as a "Bloodgood seed", but rather "seeds from a Bloodgood". The only way to ensure that you have a 100% Bloodgood maple is to get a cutting or an airlayer; otherwise, you will get a bunch of random seeds that will have all types of different characteristics. For example, on a red laceleaf maple you may get seeds that will grow into standard green leaf trees. It is this diversity that makes Japanese maples so interesting, but can be challenging or frustrating if you are taking seeds from your neighbor's tree and want to end up with a tree that looks the same - it probably isn't going to happen...

I can't type a lot right now but search on the boards there are already a number of threads on this subject...