Red acer cuttings

Forum for discussion of Deciduous bonsai – Maples, Crabapple, Hornbeam, Elm species etc.
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bagman
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Red acer cuttings

Post by bagman »

Hi all. New to bonsai and i've just got my hands on a red acer stock plant. Main trunk is about 40 cm long and 12mm thick. Lots of branches 6mm thick. When i cut it back i want to grow the cuttings. Is it too late in the year for this or should i wait for next winter/spring. Also any advice about length of cuttings and growing medium would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Re: Red acer cuttings

Post by shibui »

I don't have very good success with Japanese maple cuttings at any time of year. If you can keep the humidity high enough now would be a good time to try, otherwise autumn or winter is easier for most deciduous species.
Good luck :fc: :fc: :fc:
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bagman
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Re: Red acer cuttings

Post by bagman »

Thanks for that. With the heat we get in adelaide i think i'll wait till winter as i really want the cuttings to grow. Red maples seem to be fairly rare here unless you want to pay $190 for a 2.5 metre tree.
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Re: Red acer cuttings

Post by MJL »

Hey Bagman,

I reckon you're right to wait but hey, try a few now. Why not?

Buy one of these https://www.bunnings.com.au/saxon-mini- ... y_p2960182 - cheap at $10 will last at least 5 years but you will need to drill/poke holes in the base of the green drip tray.

Buy some seedling mix of any description and bang that in the tray above.

Buy soft wood rooting hormone gel (I use Yates) https://www.bunnings.com.au/yates-50ml- ... l_p3012537

Take some cuttings, strip some leaves just to leave a few at the top, dip the base in hormone, bang the cuttings in the tray. Water well with a mist and cover. Placed the covered tray under a tree that gets dappled light (no direct sun) ... you may not need to water much because the cover tray will act like a terrarium and create it's own moist, humid environment.

Just don't let them sit in sun and check that they are not drying out. If they are - mist and repeat.

Works for me and I have had success in spring and summer in Melbourne.

Have a crack - I hope it works.

Cheers,

Mark

PS - Probably would not try thick cuttings now - just young soft wood ones.

PPS - Take care with my advice - I am no expert....advice is just what works for me.
Last edited by MJL on December 5th, 2018, 9:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Red acer cuttings

Post by Jiro »

Heron's Bonsai channel on youtube has a lot of videos on maples. He seems to air layer his maples into infinity. He probably has some good stuff on cuttings also... the caveat being that he is in England so there may be some slight differences to the process in Australia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lv1DqW9sxk

If you know anyone with a mature maple in their garden you'll likely find seedlings pushing up all around it.
Last edited by Jiro on December 5th, 2018, 10:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
bagman
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Re: Red acer cuttings

Post by bagman »

MJL wrote:Hey Bagman,

I reckon you're right to wait but hey, try a few now. Why not?

Buy one of these https://www.bunnings.com.au/saxon-mini- ... y_p2960182 - cheap at $10 will last at least 5 years but you will need to drill/poke holes in the base of the green drip tray.

Buy some seedling mix of any description and bang that in the tray above.

Buy soft wood rooting hormone gel (I use Yates) https://www.bunnings.com.au/yates-50ml- ... l_p3012537

Take some cuttings, strip some leaves just to leave a few at the top, dip the base in hormone, bang the cuttings in the tray. Water well with a mist and cover. Placed the covered tray under a tree that gets dappled light (no direct sun) ... you may not need to water much because the cover tray will act like a terrarium and create it's own moist, humid environment.

Just don't let them sit in sun and check that they are not drying out. If they are - mist and repeat.

Works for me and I have had success in spring and summer in Melbourne.

Have a crack - I hope it works.

Cheers,

Mark

PS - Probably would not try thick cuttings now - just young soft wood ones.

PPS - Take care with my advice - I am no expert....advice is just what works for me.
Thanks MJL. Coincidentally I went to the BGS this morning and bought all of the above to give it a go before i read your post. :fc:
bagman
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Re: Red acer cuttings

Post by bagman »

Jiro wrote:Heron's Bonsai channel on youtube has a lot of videos on maples. He seems to air layer his maples into infinity. He probably has some good stuff on cuttings also... the caveat being that he is in England so there may be some slight differences to the process in Australia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lv1DqW9sxk

If you know anyone with a mature maple in their garden you'll likely find seedlings pushing up all around it.
Thank you Jiro. Peter Chan doesn't have a clip on cuttings but the videos he does are very clear and informative. Yeah. our weather is slightly different to England. 32 degrees C. is not a heatwave.
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Re: Red acer cuttings

Post by Jiro »

Yeah, sorry for the dead end.

On the plus side MJL's post was damn informative. Went and picked up one of those little greenhouses today. It's smaller than expected but for 10 bucks it's pretty good. Have a bunch of Japanese maple seedlings growing out so no cuttings just yet but I'm gonna have a crack with some chinese elm cuttings.

I did find this interesting paper on maples, growing from cuttings is covered on page 11, but the whole thing is worth reading if you really want some good knowledge on maples. Just remember that the months mentioned are relative to northern hemisphere seasons.

https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/bitstream ... sAllowed=n
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