How To Propagate a Home-Grown Bonsai maple tree?
Bonsai Maple Tree Propagation
Have you ever wondered how to grow a Bonsai maple tree from seed? It’s a fascinating process, which I was able to witness firsthand on a visit to the Monrovia Nursery in Dayton, Oregon.
Monrovia’s Japanese maples are all grafted onto the same rootstock. This means that no matter how different the branches and leaves end up looking, they all came from the same seed, Acer palmatum. The rootstock is grown from seed and then grafted with several maple branch kinds after it has grown large enough.
How Do You Make a Japanese Maple?
When the saplings are mature enough, a branch from a different decorative Bonsai maple tree is fused with them.
Grafting is a science as well as an art. Slicing a notch in a tree limb and putting another branch into the notch is how it’s done. The two are tethered together until they fuse and become one.
If you have a Bonsai maple tree at home, take a look at the base of the trunk to observe where this grafting took place. A “collar,” or ring, should be placed around the grafted branch.
Knowing where a tree has been grafted might be useful because a branch growing from below the collar will have the properties of the original rootstock. On one of my Japanese maples, I periodically notice a renegade branch with leaves that aren’t the same as the rest of the tree. The grafting process has resulted in this. The branch has some of the rootstock’s properties.
After that, the grafted seedling is potted and nurtured for a few more years. As they grow large enough to be sent to garden centers, Japanese maples respond well to pruning and are shaped on a regular basis to keep them uniform.
Maybe You Need Info about How to Choose a Bonsai Maple Tree?
Propagate Bonsai Maple Tree at Home
You might be wondering if you can reproduce this tree at home now that you know how commercial farmers do it. Yes, it is true! The procedure takes a little time but is simple enough for most gardeners to do.
The optimum time to do this is in the spring, when the branches are still soft and supple.
- Fill a container halfway with potting soil and dig a 4′′ deep hole in the center.
- Cut a branch from your tree. Look for one with leaves at the end that is around 6′′ long. For a smooth cut, make sure you use sharp shears.
- Remove any leaves on the branch that aren’t on the end.
- Soak the cutting for about a minute in liquid rooting hormone.
- Place the cutting in the prepared soil and place it in a sunny spot.
- Spray it twice a day. In 3-4 weeks, the branch should begin to develop roots.
For about a year, you’ll want to keep your propagated Bonsai maple tree in a container. You can put the tree directly into the ground once spring arrives and temperatures are above freezing.
You’ll be able to appreciate the beauty of your Bonsai maple tree’s foliage year after year once it’s been planted in your location. You’ll be rewarded with decades of beauty if you choose the correct tree and care for it properly.
1 Comment