Seed or Cutting?

[Rudygar]

There is a Japanese Maple growing in my wife's grandmas garden. It has seeds on it. Would it be better to plant a seed or to get a cutting and plant that?

 

[Greenhorn]

If it's a tree, typically cuttings would be your best opportunity, generally due to time to grow. Here is a short article specific to Japanese Maple and cutting propagation. I typically find the SFGate articles informative and accurate.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/start-cutting-japanese-maple-tree-41878.html

 

[grouie]

Usually any tree that has seeds, they drop and germinate around. May be you can look for saplings.

 

[headfullofbees]

I'd be inclined to take a cutting.
Quicker, and it's the same tree.

 

[DeborahJane]

Usually any tree that has seeds, they drop and germinate around. May be you can look for saplings.

I have several trees lining part of the driveway which have helicopter seeds and I find little saplings all over my 3/4acre block. I'm forever pulling them out, even from pots, but they hide underneath other plants and by the time I find them they can be quite established, 20cm or 8 inches high. Bit if a nuisance really!!!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I have several trees lining part of the driveway which have helicopter seeds and I find little saplings all over my 3/4acre block. I'm forever pulling them out, even from pots, but they hide underneath other plants and by the time I find them they can be quite established, 20cm or 8 inches high. Bit if a nuisance really!!!

I must have pulled out at least 300 this year, and I'm still finding them growing. I hate those trees so much!

 

[Rudygar]

Excellent advice everyone. @Greenhorn, I'm going to give that article a read today. Looks really interesting.

@grouie, that's a great idea. I'm going to look next time i'm out at my grandma-in-laws house. Japanese Maples are such beautiful trees, I hope there are some spread around the neighborhood.

I'd be inclined to take a cutting.
Quicker, and it's the same tree.

I do like the idea of it being the same tree, as it's a special tree. It's at the center of the yard, and my wife remembers it as a child, "Grandma's tree". Her grandma is old now, so I would really love to take a cutting from it and have the same tree that my wife remembers as a child, that she related to her grandma.

 

[fuumarumota]

I'd say it depends on what you want to use the new plant for. Myself, I tend to grow trees from seeds when I want to control it's growing with precision (for bonsai for example), but one must wait fairly long before seeing results. I use cutting to propagate bushes like Bouganvillea and others, or when I want to see quick results, but roots are very fragile at the early stages.

Cheers!

 

[Pat]

Saplings may be around the area of the more mature tree if it dropped seeds.

 

[Fernsdaddy]

I have a Japanese Maple growing in my front yard and I'm forever pulling up saplings, maybe I should try and grow one just to see how it does.