Time to start looking for ripening Japanese Maple seed!

Japanese Maple seeds! 

When the seed mature, the wings begin to dry and turn brown

 Japanese Maple 

Momiji 

Acer palmatum

 Japanese maple seed in midsummer

It All Begins With a Seed 

Japanese maple seed tips of the
 wings turn brown in late summer

Japanese maple seed wings drying

Bonsai grown from seeds are called Misho bonsai.

Many poke fun at the idea of starting a bonsai from a seed. “Look how old I am I don't have time", but the creation of a bonsai from a seed is very rewarding. 

From Japanese maple seedlings  
Tsukamiyose

There is no such thing as a "bonsai seed". The packs of seed marked as such, are just ordinary tree seeds that can be grown into a bonsai. They are a good source of tree seeds when none are locally available. Bonsai grown from seeds are called Misho bonsai.

Once the new leaves come out
 in the spring,  flower 
and seed begin to appear 
on Bloodgood Seedling 

Tsukamiyose A natural planting can be created by scattering several to several dozen seeds in a tray. The seedlings are planted very close to each other and develop into multiple trunks with each tree naturally competing for its own light and space.

"I started it from seeds myself."

Getting tree seeds to sprout:

Most tropical trees will germinate as soon as they ripen, but seeds from most temperate trees need to be sown after stratification. Stratification is a period of artificial winter that trees that are not tropical need to set off the internal clock that spring triggers and makes seed sprout as temperatures rise. Depending on the seed species, they will need 21 to 90 days of cold storage to begin to sprout. This can be done in the home refrigerator.  Use zip-lock sandwich bags with damp peat moss. A fungicide can be used in the media to keep soil borne diseases from killing the seedlings. If any of the seed germinate in the refrigerator, plant them.

When the artificial winter is over, the seeds are ready to be planted.  It is suggested that they be soaked overnight in room temperature water to improve germination percentages. Seeds that float after soaking won't germinate so toss them out.

Japanese maple seed

Sow the seed in a light and friable soil mixture is so that it drains well to prevent fungus and sprinkle peat moss over them. Air should move to prevent damp-off. The air movement he says simulates natural outdoor conditions. Light friable soil dries quickly and seedling with their minimal root system can be killed in a few hours from dryness, or direct sun!

How to prevent seedling damping off

Alternatives:

Chamomile tea - 2 tsp of chamomile flowers to 1 cup of boiling water allow to steep overnight or at least until cooled. Strain and then use as is to moisten growing medium before planting seeds then use in a mister to spray soil. Sage or garlic teas also have been used. Soak the seeds in a solution of hydrogen peroxide and water (1 teaspoon to 1/2 cup of water) to remove any lingering bacteria on the seeds. Some lightly sprinkle a bit of cinnamon or baking soda over planting mix used as a fungicide on plants for mildew.Two cap-fulls of household bleach in the water used to dampen your peat moss or vermiculite could act as a fungicide.

Always make sure horticultural tools are disinfected even if they are new, and that your planting pots are disinfected....

Disinfection of Horticultural Tools and Pots

Protect that
"Empty pot of soil"

Plant tree seed in the Fall and let Mother Nature take care of your stratification. Just remember to protect them from rodents (squirrels and mice) and label that “empty pot of soil”. Once I was talking with a fellow enthusiast in the nursery and he started raking his fingers through a tray filled with soil and began talking about soil mixes. I should have labeled that flat as I had seeded the tray with  Jacaranda for a Tsukamiyose the day before!

Second summer

Growing 'misho' bonsai is economical and rewarding.

the embryonic root emerges from the seed  

Seed germination begins!
Time to move them out of the cooler and into some good soil. 

The cotyledons are the embryonic
 "first leaves" of a seedling

True Leaves emerge

Acer palmatum "Koto Hime" Airlayer Removed

Japanese Maple
Acer palmatum
Koto Hime

The leaves on Kotohime are among the smallest of the Japanese maples. The growth habit is upright with heavy branching. Trees may eventually reach 5 to 6 foot tall, but only after many years. The very small leaves are palmate, resemble a human hand. New leaves are bright red at the leaf edges, with green at the centers, then become bright green. 'Hime' means literally 'Princess' but here indicates a dwarf.

Air-layering as a way of propagating bonsai material. Layering will often create a ring of fine surface roots that yield an excellent nebari in a short period of time.

Root development at separation

of the layer from the parent tree

Acer palmatum 

Japanese Maple

Koto Hime Keep Outdoors in a sunny location.
Deciduous tree and fully frost hardy.
Check the soil daily but only water when necessary.
Never allow soil to dry out, keep the soil evenly moist.
Koto Hime Japanese maple has a strong vertical growth habit
responds well to drastic pruning- allow shoots to extend 3 or 4 nodes
then prune back to 1 or 2 leaves, to maintain shape
Horizontal branches must be wired into place
Repot In Spring before buds extend
Koto Hime Japanese maple has a strong vertical growth habit
Fertilize at one-third strength during the growing season.
A great plant for beginners.

Japanese maples have extraordinary fall colors that range from bright yellow through orange and red.

Japanese maples are beautiful in autumn

Protect them from drying winds and direct sun by providing exposure to partial or filtered shade and well-drained soil with more organic matter, particularly in USDA hardiness zones 7 and 8. Leaves often scorch by the hot summer weather in Savannah.

The Japanese maple are often grown as bonsai.

This one was grown from seed

Japanese term for growing a bonsai from seed 

is Misho.

  Acer palmatum, Japanese maple, momiji
Keep Outdoors in a partially sunny location.
Temperate tree that is frost hardy.
PROTECT FROM STRONG WINDS & SEVERE COLD.
Check the soil daily but only water when necessary.
Never allow the soil to dry out- keep the soil evenly moist.
Allow shoots to extend 3 or 4 nodes then prune back
to 1 or 2 leaves, to maintain the shape
Re-pot in spring before buds extend  

Japanese maple foliage may be injured by spring frosts. 

Fertilize at one-third strength during the growing season.
  Can be easily grown from seed. 

A great plant for beginners.

Fall color: Acer palmatum, Japanese maple "Otohime"

used as an accent tree

Colored leaves of Acer palmatum

Japanese maples are beautiful in autumn

A dwarf Japanese Maple, perfect for bonsai

Acer palmatum 'Oto Hime' low-growing, cascading dome shaped tree, with delicate feathered foliage, and a tendency to grow ‘outwards’ rather than ‘upwards’. . .

Hime is the Japanese word for princess, it initially referred to any beautiful female and here indicates small.

"Otohime" Japanese Maple

from an air-layer

Otohime bursts into spring
with yellow-green leaves and
 narrow reddish edging and tips.

"Otohime" Japanese Maple
 very small palmate leaves

Kanjohakuhi- a process of developing roots by peeling the bark from a trunk.


"Otohime" Japanese Maple gets its name from the fabled Japanese Princess who reigned at the bottom of an ocean kingdom.

THE STORY OF URASHIMA TARO, THE FISHER LAD

"Otohime" Japanese Maple Fall 2013 

Before:

Notice the contrast between the trunk
and the roots at the graft union

After Removal:

PROCEDURE

Update:
Airlayer in 2010

A Handful of Seed

can become a forest! 

7 Months after re-potting

End of first Summer 

Guardian of the forest

Choose the seed of a tree that has the desirable attributes of a good bonsai-- small leaves, proportionate flowers and a woody trunk. The planting of a 'forest' begins with a scattering of seed in a long nursery tray. The seedlings were allowed to grow tall to help develop the trunks. Then the trees are cut short! Any trees that do not fit into the arrangement are culled. Then manage the forest. The creation of a bonsai from a seed is very rewarding.

Japanese Maple seedlings
allowed to grow tall for
two seasons to develop
the trunks.

Japanese Maple

Irohamomiji 

Acer palmatum

Then the trees are shortened

 Any trees that do not fit into
the arrangement are culled.

  Manage the forest as the years go by
The creation of a bonsai from a seed is very rewarding.

Tsukamiyose:

A way to plant several to several dozen seedlings by lump in a pot. Since the roots of seedlings are planted with all of them attached to one another, they come closer together and develop into multiple trunks having an interesting flavor to them.

Misho:

Bonsai tree grown from seed. It refers to planting seeds and cultivating them. This way of cultivation does not require great care and is suitable for beginners. The method is advantageous in that a tree can be grown as a bonsai plant from the start and that its ''nebari'' surface roots develop sufficiently. However, it takes a great deal of time to grow a tree into a finished one, and the method may cause a transubstantiation phenomenon that makes a tree species unstable, disadvantageous points for the ''misho'' cultivation method. The method is applicable for most tree species. Among ''shohaku'' evergreen pines, it is often used for ''goyomatsu'' (Japanese White Pine) and ''kuromatsu'' (Japanese Black Pine) trees. ''Momiji'' (Japanese Maple), ''keyaki'' (Japanese Zelkova), ''kaede'' (Maple) and ''soro'' (Japanese Zelkova) are among ''zoki'' deciduous trees to which the ''misho'' cultivation method is applied.

Hataagemono

The term refers to a bonsai tree that is transplanted into a pot after being grown in the field. Such trees grow in a short period of time and are traded at relatively low prices despite their large size. They are easily obtainable and popular. But it cannot be denied that such trees look less gorgeous than products grown in containers for a long time. What is important is to completely wipe off field soil from the tree before putting it into a pot.



Many poke fun at the idea of starting a bonsai from a seed. “Look how old I am. I don't have time". If not now, when?

"Bonsai Seed" Collecting

Collect mature seeds. Most seeds ripen in late summer and can be harvested in the fall. Check them often – gather them before they fall to the ground!

Many poke fun at the idea of starting a bonsai from a seed. “Look how old I am"---" I don't have time", but the creation of a bonsai from a seed is very economical- time vs money! There is no such thing as "bonsai seed". The packs of seed marked as such, are just ordinary tree seeds that can be grown into a bonsai. They are a good source of tree seeds when none are locally available.

Japanese maple seed wings drying

Japanese Maple 

Momiji 

Acer palmatum

Japanese maple seed tips of the
 wings turn brown in late summer

The real "secret" to germinating tree seeds is to use "fresh", new season seeds.

Japanese maple seed in mid summer

Japanese Maple Seedlings
in 20 years
"I started it from seeds myself."

Camellia

• C. japonica
• C. sasanqua
• C. sinensis

camellia seeds

Pod cracks open as the seeds ripen

This is the time of year the camellia seed pods ripen. Let the pods split before harvesting and plant shortly after collection. Do not keep the seeds at room temperature or in a dry or the vitality of the seeds will be affected. When the seed pod cracks, harvest the seed and keep the seeds with moist (not wet) perlite and ground peat moss in a zip-lock bag and keep in a refrigerator until they can be planted. Plant the seeds in a pot and set it at warm place. The seeds will rot if kept to wet. The tap root will start to develop within a couple of months and top growth should begin in the spring. Removing part of the taproot will encourage a fibrous root system, benefiting young seedling growing in a pot.All potted plants need to be in a soil that is very porous, coarse textured, and fast draining. In only 5 to 10 years the seedlings will begin to bloom, that is part of the fun.

C. sasanqua grown from a seed
"I started it from seeds myself."

Wisteria Seed Pod 

 Pyracantha already turning red!

Ginkgo biloba

fruit is a nut with a fleshy covering

 Bald Cypress
Taxodium distichum cones

Once the new leaves come out
 in the spring,  flower 
and seed begin to appear 
on Bloodgood Seedling

Bonsai grown from seeds are called Misho bonsai.

Tsukamiyose A natural forest planting can be created by scattering several to several dozen seeds in a tray. The seedlings are planted very close to each other and develop into multiple trunks with each tree naturally competing for its own light and space.

Getting tree seeds to sprout:

Acer palmatum stratification

Most tropical trees will germinate as soon as they ripen, but seeds from most temperate trees need to be sown after stratification. Stratification is a period of artificial winter that trees that are not tropical need to set off the internal clock that spring triggers and makes seed sprout as temperatures rise. Depending on the seed species, they will need 21 to 90 days of cold storage to begin to sprout. This can be done in the home refrigerator.  Use zip-lock sandwich bags with damp peat moss. It is suggested that they be soaked overnight in room temperature water to improve germination percentages. Seeds that float after soaking won't germinate so toss them out. A fungicide can be used in the media to keep soil borne diseases from killing the seedlings. As any of the seed germinate in the refrigerator, plant them.

Japanese maple seed

When the artificial winter is over, the seeds are ready to be planted. Sow the seed in a light and friable soil mixture is so that it drains well to prevent fungus and sprinkle peat moss over them. 

Japanese maple seed

Air should move to prevent damp-off. The air movement he says simulates natural outdoor conditions. Light friable soil dries quickly and seedling with their minimal root system can be killed in a few hours from dryness, or direct sun!

Banrot is a broad spectrum root rot fungicide in a 40% wettable powder configuration. It provides contact and systemic action for control of damping-off and root and stem-rot diseases

Subdue Maxx Controls damping-off and root and stem rots caused by pythium and phytophthora. Apply only as a soil drench or soil surface spray followed by irrigation.

Bloodgood Seedlings
"I started it from seeds myself."

Alternatives:

Chamomile tea - 2 tsp of chamomile flowers to 1 cup of boiling water allow to steep overnight or at least until cooled. Strain and then use as is to moisten growing medium before planting seeds then use in a mister to spray soil. Sage or garlic teas also have been used. Soak the seeds in a solution of hydrogen peroxide and water (1 teaspoon to 1/2 cup of water) to remove any lingering bacteria on the seeds. Some lightly sprinkle a bit of cinnamon or baking soda over planting mix used as a fungicide on plants for mildew.Two capfuls of household bleach in the water used to dampen your peat moss or vermiculite could act as a fungicide.

Always make sure horticultural tools are disinfected even if they are new, and that your planting pots are disinfected....

Disinfection of Horticultural Tools and Pots

"Empty pot of soil"

Plant tree seed in the Fall and let Mother Nature take care of your stratification. Just remember to protect them from rodents (squirrels and mice) and label that “empty pot of soil”. Once I was talking with a fellow enthusiast in the nursery and he started raking his fingers through a tray filled with soil and began talking about soil mixes. I should have labeled that flat as I had seeded the tray with  Jacaranda for a Tsukamiyose the day before!

Growing 'misho' bonsai is both economical and rewarding.

More Misho Pictures.........