Want to grow your own Japanese maple trees? Get the guidelines on how to handle delicate Japanese maple seeds.
Nature works in mysterious ways. Seedlings that seem so small and insignificant in your hand carry the potential to become a whole tree. All they require is the right kind of environment and voila! From a small seed grows a full fledged tree that provides shelter, shade and beauty.
When it comes to handling Japanese maple seeds one has to exercise great caution. The seeds that you have gathered are very precious. After all it is these seeds that will turn out to become those amazing maple trees that are adored for their aesthetic appeal.
One of the things that you have to be very careful about when handling Japanese maple seeds is the storage aspect. Up until the time you are ready to stratify them you need to keep them in a cool dry place. An envelope or a paper bag in a dry cupboard would suffice.
Planting the seedlings
Next up is selecting when you want to start planting the seedlings. The timing has to be precise. The danger of the winter frost should have past and you should be readily welcoming the spring season. It is important to plan your planting in advance. Experts say that you should plan up to three months in advance so that you can make all the necessary arrangements.
Planning in advance will give you ample amount of time to stratify the seeds. This process is all about making the seeds feel as though they have experienced a natural cold and damp period on the outside. You will accomplish this by breaking the wing off your seeds and then soaking them in water overnight. Hot tap water gives the ideal temperature. They should be left to soak in the water for a full 24 hours.
When you take out the seeds from the water you will be required to place them in a plastic freezer bag that contains damp sand, vermiculite and peat from before. All or any of these things will work just fine. The only caution that you need to take is that the new surrounding should not be soaking wet rather it should just be damp. Make a few holes in the bag for ventilation purposes and then place it in the refrigerator.
The seeds will spend the next 90 days in your refrigerator. If they begin to sprout then you will have to take them out earlier. The sprouted seeds are ready to be planted in the ground. The way to plant these seeds are to dig a flat in well drained potting soil. To make sure that the soil is in an ideal state for planting the seeds you can add perlite to the soil.
When it comes to watering the seeds you should just briskly spray over the soil in good speed. You should wait for the soil to dry completely before watering it again. Once the seedlings make their breakthrough they will need plenty of sunlight to develop and along with that your constant care.
