You Don't Have To Be Big To Be Beautiful

George Nesfield · Post by **George Nesfield** » May 19, 2006 3:46 pm

Hi,
Here's a photo of one of my bonsai's it is a Japanese maple and it is only aprox 8"high and I have grown it from a cutting it is about 15 years old.
and NO it doesn't stay there I only placed it there to photograph it
George.

Colin · Post by **Colin** » May 20, 2006 7:48 am

Thats lovely George and a nice pot too. I love the colour of the leaves at this time of the year. It's one of the things I'll miss while in Cyprus, spring.
Colin

wishiwere · Post by **wishiwere** » May 23, 2006 7:06 am

8 INCHES? Goodness it's a bitty little thing for 15 years! Very

whis4ey · Post by **whis4ey** » May 23, 2006 8:13 am

George
You say you grew this from a cutting?
Japanese maples are almost impossible to grow from cuttings
Maybe you will enlighten me on your method?

George Nesfield · Post by **George Nesfield** » May 23, 2006 6:06 pm

hi Sam ,
Oh yes you can, you can take cuttings below a node and remove all leaves apart from a couple and pot them on in damp sharp sand,
You will have to give it a go.

George.

KellieD · Post by **KellieD** » May 23, 2006 9:50 pm

Everything I have read says to do softwood cuttings and that acer palmatum are quite easy.

whis4ey · Post by **whis4ey** » May 24, 2006 5:07 am

Vertrees would tend to suggest that Bloodgood would be one of the maples which would tend to grow well from a summer cutting. He says others root very poorly. Dissectums do not generally root easily at all, although he admits there are exceptions
Your little tree does not look like Bloodgood George. Can you remember what it was? What other successes have you had?
I have to admit I have yet to have any success with a cutting
I have had some good successes with seedlings though

Japanese Maples from seed

George Nesfield · Post by **George Nesfield** » May 24, 2006 8:21 am

Hi Sam,
It is just an ordinary Acer Palmatum I know they are very very difficult to take cuttings from but it can be done I know they mostly graft maples on to an acer palmatum root stock well mine is actuall the root stock that they use, the reason that they graft is because it is so much more succesful than cuttings and also maybe some varieties WILL NOT grow from cuttings in fact I would say they won't.
There was a guy who lived near here who grafted 100's and most probably 1000's of acers and he used to show at exhibitions, I bought from his daughter one of the acers that he used as the root stock if you lived nearer Sam you could come and take some cuttings from it.I know at this time of year, May it was the time that he started to do his graftings.
George.

whis4ey · Post by **whis4ey** » May 24, 2006 8:38 am

It looks very like something like a Katsura from a distance George
I say that because I have just had to remove a lower branch from a Katsura, and I have taken about 8 cuttings from it and put them in a pot to see what happens
I cut just under a node and used cuttings about 3-6 inches long, leaving only two leaves. I dipped in a rooting medium.
Unfortunately i didn't have any coarse sand so I have used what I hope is a fairly well draining soil/compost mix
If they all die I will know that you have greener fingers than I have

Wee Debs will be absolutely furious if I am successful though. I will be listening out for the sound of a chain saw ..........

George Nesfield · Post by **George Nesfield** » May 24, 2006 8:47 am

Hi Sam,
Best of luck.

George.