Propagation: frustration over sterile seeds - advice? Jap. Maple., 1 by johnnyvino

johnnyvino wrote:
Alright, as far as grafting goes, your success with the reverted red seeds can be bad also. Based on my growers bad experience with reverted red seedlings, we threw out the entire block of greens in that pic because they aren't red and we knew they would graft poorly which would be a disservice to our customers. We grow in 2 7/8" sq x 5 1/2" deep band pots. JM's need air circulation and every tree seedling needs soil volume to make up. In a typical season we can get seedlings to 1/4" caliper and 4' in length. When we water them, we flush them well and let them almost dry completely down, this prevents pseudamonus (however you spell it) from getting in the plant. Never keep them wet. Your little plugs are good for germinating, but I'd transplant them as early as you can. I sew the seed direct to avoid TP losses.

As for your seed source on the reds, the brighter red the wing, the better the color you'll get. But most important, kids look like their parents, so the better looking the tree, the better red you'll get in your seedling. The picture gives you an idea of how we give space, sun and air to palmatum seedlings once they get bigger. The more space, the better your caliper will be.