New baby, please help me care for it!

14 years ago

Hello all, I am new to the maples forum, usually hanging out in veggies/potagers. This winter we had a series of severe storms including one that knocked a 70 foot ash tree right down on top of my prized 20+ foot red Japanese Maple! I believe it was a Bloodgood. It's split and the crown is completely gone, so now I'm just waiting for the undertaker (ie tree pruner) to come and remove the trunk. We're just incredibly sad about the loss of this gorgeous feature in our landscape.

Well, today as I was working in a section of the yard I haven't been to for a while, I found a tiny JM seedling. It's a little less than a foot tall, and is already showing a great deal of lovely blood red color. I would LOVE to transplant it (pot it?) and start taking care of it, in hopes that I can someday replace its beloved parent.

I have read all the threads I could find here on young Japanese Maples, but most of them seemed to deal with germinating seeds as opposed to digging up a "field grown" young tree and nurturing it. Can someone with experience please help me out here? I would be heartbroken if I disturbed this little tree and then lost it, so at the moment I have left it where it is, until I can get some solid advice from those more knowledgeable than I.

I'm in NY Zone 6. Thank you in advance!!

Comments (5)

greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
14 years ago
If the seedling is in leaf, I wouldn't disturb it this season. Toward the end of next
winter, before the buds begin to swell, I would transplant the seedling. It shouldn't miss a beat.
Young trees are much more resilient.

That said, there are some maple seedlings that can be collected/transplanted after
they have leaves - Trident Maple seedlings, for instance. I have collected Tridents as
late as mid-June, and I've never lost a one.

Josh
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
14 years ago
Gosh, I dig up JM maple seedlings all the time and pot up or give away to friends. I don't see any problem with carefully transplanting it now or potting it up to grow on. These trees tend to be a lot more resiliant than many think and seedlings often even more so than grafted selections.

And keep hunting -- chances are there are more waiting in the wings as back-up :-))
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nycynthias
Original Author
14 years ago
Josh, thanks for the advice...I think I understand your logic. If I can force myself to wait (LOL) I will probably mark it in place so the lawn guy doesn't mow it AND so I can find it in the winter.

Gardengal48, you are right, there are several others, though this particular one is the biggest and quite vigorous-looking. I am *guessing* that it might already be a year old? I really don't know much about JMs other than the fact that they grow quite slowly, and I really really like them!
gardenbug
13 years ago
Garden Gal ~I don't mean to hyjack your thread but can someone please explain what a seedling for a JM looks like? Do you pick it off the tree or does it fall on the ground. What should I be looking for?(Probably a dumb question) I would like to try to plant a new tree from my JM too.

nycynthias..I'm with you. I love Japanese Maples too. Mine is called Burgandy Lace, planted 2 years ago and it's my pride and joy. I would love to have a few more of them. Good luck with yours.
gardenbug
13 years ago
Sorry, I meant to say nycynthias thread instead of gardengal. I hate it when I mess up. lol