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Post by coppice on Oct 16, 2011 13:01:58 GMT -5
Some years ago my eldest sapling was working as an Au Pair(e?) as a nanny. Her work had her in an affluent part of CT. In this burg of opulence having the biggest example of bloodgood Japan maple, was the "in" statement of 'having made it'. The prices that this landscape tree was fetching, helped evoke my low habit of collecting seedling volunteers of bloodgood red-leaf japan maples.
Now I did sell and will probably always continue to sell a few Japan maples to landscape planting. Learning how, lead me instead to growing bonsai, as something that made me happy.
Can't you collect japan maple seeds as they come ripe and plant those? Why yes you can, It actually takes much more acumen and vigilance than what I'm gonna promote.
Japan maple seeds once dried have a negligible germination rate. So collecting and planting fresh seeds takes up much more attention that I am prepared to give them.
That said, providence will do just about all your heavy lifting for you. Bloodgood seed fall off the tree and over-winter just about exclusively in places ideal for them. In the late spring simply look for mature trees and then look underneath them for volunteers. Collect a few of those to your prepared bed or pots.
Won't somebody get mad at you? For weeding? They never have to me. But, if your anxious, ask permission first. Just as an aside you don't need a hundred seedlings. Five a spring will only take a moment to collect and plant. it won't be that many years gone before you have a back-yard fulla saplings either...
I never needed to invest more than a simple sign offering japan maples to sell all I wanted to dispose of.
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Post by coppice on Oct 17, 2011 8:06:53 GMT -5
Now I don't concider the weeding of a few volunteer seedlings stealing per see.
The theft of much more mature landscape plantings was. And it was the germ of my original plan to grow volunteer seedlings out. I had a tree in my own yard that made volunteers.
Many years have passed. My legs don't work near as good now. Local elves collect seedling volunteers (with permission) for me.
Still those long ago landscape trees were selling (and being stolen) at prices I never tried to hustle from my own back yard.
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Post by coppice on Jan 12, 2012 22:05:56 GMT -5
The eldest sapling brought in a whole buncha holly this yule, to use as garland.
I can tell now this particular holly has not been pruned in several years.
I will crawl around and check, but I suspect very much there are several volunteer airlayers ready for be cleve(d) from the parent.
By spring-ish I should be feeling a good bit less punky. I'll crawl then.
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