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Help Growing Japanese Maples From Seeds
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Author:  BonsaiMax [ 03 Apr 2019, 19:08 ]
Post subject:  Help Growing Japanese Maples From Seeds
Hello everyone :hatoff:

I've recently got back into Bonsai and have planned to grow Japanese Maples from seed for years. I recently took the plunge as some of you may know from reading my other thread. I thought it would be wise to start a new thread with a more relevant title attract those of you with experience of doing this to impart your wisdom with us :smallthumb:

So here are the seeds:

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The instructions that came with the seeds say they have double dormancy and will require a slightly longer sowing process - which I'll just put here:

Sowing Instructions: Sow at any time of the year. Soak seeds for 24 hours in water which starts off hand hot. Sow very thinly in trays or pots of moist, peat based seed compost (eg. Levington), lightly cover with compost and seal inside a polythene bag. Maintain an optimum temperature of 18-21C for 8 weeks, then place the container(s) in the fridge for a further 8 weeks. Then, return to 18-21C and germination should take place. Throughout this process check regularly and ensure the compost does not dry out. Note: Germination can be very erratic, so sow thinly and prick out the seedlings as they become large enough to handle disturbing the rest of the compost as little as possible.

I've read many people who simply throw them in the fridge in polythene sealable bags with some moist medium inside and get good results within 2-3 months.

My questions:

1) Is it possible for me to do this following a more simple and faster approach, or should I stick with the sowing instructions?

2) What method would you recommend from your experiences with growing Japanese Maples from seed?


Thanks for reading :smallthumb:
Author:  paulpash [ 03 Apr 2019, 19:23 ]
Post subject:  Re: Help Growing Japanese Maples From Seeds
Why have you waited til now to do this? It'll be mid June before they germinate which gives you a very short growing season and little time to get up some strength before Winter. By all means have a go and see how you fare.

My advice for future is based on what I've had success with in the past. Sow fresh seed into a seed tray with seed & potting compost in mid September in the garden (that's when I harvest them). Cover the tray with mesh to stop birds, critters etc from digging around. Leave outside in a sheltered position in part shade and away from wind. Germination should begin in April. No need to faff about in the fridge or watch the calendar - just allow the seasons to do all the hard work.

Leave them in the seed tray at least 2 full seasons. When you transplant don't mess around with the roots or they will weaken and most probably die. Most common cause of death is over watering & stem rot - Acer P seedlings will curl over. Spray periodically with Hydrogen Peroxide (3%).

Tbh you are much better off buying a garden centre maple with a decent graft. The probability of failure is quite high given past experience and the time to grow it out successfully for a Shohin tree is going to be around 10 years from seed. I grow mine for root grafting - not to grow on as bonsai.
Author:  richardb [ 03 Apr 2019, 19:47 ]
Post subject:  Re: Help Growing Japanese Maples From Seeds
Seeds do not always produce plants which are true. If you wants lots of young trees to grow on and practice on I would buy a cheap ugly bonsai tree of the right species and then you can chop this to your hearts content and grow on the cuttings which will all be true to each other. Cuttings from acers are generally easy to achieve a good success rate.
Author:  sputnik [ 03 Apr 2019, 20:03 ]
Post subject:  Re: Help Growing Japanese Maples From Seeds
Like Paul I collect acer seeds in September but I put mine in the fridge to stratify. I have a shallow lidded plastic box (Chinese takeaway container) half filled with sand into which I put my seeds. This goes into the fridge and after a couple of months they start to germinate. They take different lengths of time so I just remove them as they pop and plant them leaving the others in the fridge. They can take more than a year so you don’t end up with too many to deal with at any one time. You do end up with a variety of different seedlings this way, some more suitable than others, but that’s part of the fun. A purchased named cultivar will give you more predictability but you do have to contend with the graft.
Author:  wood walloper [ 04 Apr 2019, 10:40 ]
Post subject:  Re: Help Growing Japanese Maples From Seeds
I find acer seeds to be VERY hit and miss! i have never had a single seed i have fridge stratified, sprout.I had such a failure rate that i gave up on that method.All i do now is collect seed from my 2 mature trees, plus a tree that grows in the garden of the nearby doctors surgery, plus any others i can get legal access to.This seed i simply scatter on a shingle area at the bottom of my garden, and let nature do the rest.Last year i had 143 seedlings come up!.Yes, 143!, some i kept, but i gave most of the rest away, a few died as the weather last year was just too hot here for them.

Done the same this year and they are just starting to appear now, about 10 so far.

edited to add: i do cut the 'wings' off them before chucking on the shingle. With the wings still on they don't drop between the bits of shingle and are also prone to being blown off by the wind.
Author:  BonsaiMax [ 04 Apr 2019, 13:36 ]
Post subject:  Re: Help Growing Japanese Maples From Seeds
paulpash wrote:
Why have you waited til now to do this? It'll be mid June before they germinate which gives you a very short growing season and little time to get up some strength before Winter. By all means have a go and see how you fare.

My advice for future is based on what I've had success with in the past. Sow fresh seed into a seed tray with seed & potting compost in mid September in the garden (that's when I harvest them). Cover the tray with mesh to stop birds, critters etc from digging around. Leave outside in a sheltered position in part shade and away from wind. Germination should begin in April. No need to faff about in the fridge or watch the calendar - just allow the seasons to do all the hard work.

Leave them in the seed tray at least 2 full seasons. When you transplant don't mess around with the roots or they will weaken and most probably die. Most common cause of death is over watering & stem rot - Acer P seedlings will curl over. Spray periodically with Hydrogen Peroxide (3%).

Tbh you are much better off buying a garden centre maple with a decent graft. The probability of failure is quite high given past experience and the time to grow it out successfully for a Shohin tree is going to be around 10 years from seed. I grow mine for root grafting - not to grow on as bonsai.


Hey Paul,

Thanks for your input.

I only got back into bonsai over the last 4 or so weeks and did not have the seasons in mind when buying these seeds. No doubt going forward I will collect seeds and sow them at the right time of the year :smallthumb:
Author:  BonsaiMax [ 04 Apr 2019, 13:37 ]
Post subject:  Re: Help Growing Japanese Maples From Seeds
richardb wrote:
Seeds do not always produce plants which are true. If you wants lots of young trees to grow on and practice on I would buy a cheap ugly bonsai tree of the right species and then you can chop this to your hearts content and grow on the cuttings which will all be true to each other. Cuttings from acers are generally easy to achieve a good success rate.


Thanks for your input Richard :smallthumb:

I'll certainly bear this all in mind.
Author:  BonsaiMax [ 04 Apr 2019, 13:42 ]
Post subject:  Re: Help Growing Japanese Maples From Seeds
sputnik wrote:
Like Paul I collect acer seeds in September but I put mine in the fridge to stratify. I have a shallow lidded plastic box (Chinese takeaway container) half filled with sand into which I put my seeds. This goes into the fridge and after a couple of months they start to germinate. They take different lengths of time so I just remove them as they pop and plant them leaving the others in the fridge. They can take more than a year so you don’t end up with too many to deal with at any one time. You do end up with a variety of different seedlings this way, some more suitable than others, but that’s part of the fun. A purchased named cultivar will give you more predictability but you do have to contend with the graft.


Thanks for your input! :smallthumb:

I've taken your advice on the takeaway container and will be using a very small one for the seeds with a bit of moist soil... Time will reveal all... or nothing :grin:

I am an absolute beginner in all things gardening and bonsai, so when you say contend with the graft what do you mean? From a quick look online it says grafting is a technique to turn two trees/plants into one.... I did not even know something like this was even possible :shock:
Author:  BonsaiMax [ 04 Apr 2019, 13:44 ]
Post subject:  Re: Help Growing Japanese Maples From Seeds
wood walloper wrote:
I find acer seeds to be VERY hit and miss! i have never had a single seed i have fridge stratified, sprout.I had such a failure rate that i gave up on that method.All i do now is collect seed from my 2 mature trees, plus a tree that grows in the garden of the nearby doctors surgery, plus any others i can get legal access to.This seed i simply scatter on a shingle area at the bottom of my garden, and let nature do the rest.Last year i had 143 seedlings come up!.Yes, 143!, some i kept, but i gave most of the rest away, a few died as the weather last year was just too hot here for them.

Done the same this year and they are just starting to appear now, about 10 so far.

edited to add: i do cut the 'wings' off them before chucking on the shingle. With the wings still on they don't drop between the bits of shingle and are also prone to being blown off by the wind.


How interesting! I did see a youtube video from a gardener who just threw a bunch of moist JM seeds in the fridge and 2-3 months later most had germinated.

Clearly your latest method works very well :grin: 143... ::OMG:
Author:  BonsaiMax [ 04 Apr 2019, 13:50 ]
Post subject:  Re: Help Growing Japanese Maples From Seeds
So, I opened the seed packet and found 10 dry seeds that have definitely seen better days.

I'm going to change the process prescribed and completely remove the 8 weeks at room temperature. Instead, I have begun the 24 hours in water, starting with hand hot water. I'll get them in the fridge tomorrow and we'll see if miracles are possible!

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