These may be very hard to find. Paperbark maple seeds have a very low gerrmination rate.....usually listed at less than 5%. And even with those that do germinate there is a high mortality. Most trees found in murseries are actually propagated by cuttings or grafted to sugar maple understock.

A 1G plant is likely to be a two y.o. cutting......not big and somewhat comparable to a seedling tree. If not available at local nurseries you should be able to locate online.

Thanks very much for that info gardengal48, I didn't realize they were that sensitive.
I will have to go plan B.

thnx again

I've found that size for sale on Amazon.com and ebay. Not sure how those "retailers" work with Canada though.

I would also suggest ebay as I have gotten some truly rare stuff from there. But this is not the time of year to find such.

On germination, FWIW I'm of the opinion that this one needs actual soil, mulch, wood decomposing organism etc. We originally planted two trees, but one did not make it. However, before dying (for reasons that I won't go into) it produced many seed which I ignored. Next spring rolls around and I have couple of small maples coming up that I assume are from the nearby Sugar Maple. Nope, Paperbark. These seed had germinated in the mulch directly under the now gone tree, and the wettest part of the yard. Both of these locations would have had the highest action of wood decomposing organism that would be capable of breaking down and softening the hard coat so that the embryo can germinate. One of those volunteer trees is now 3.5' tall, spreading nicely, and beautiful. It will be our third Paperbark when planted out eventually, and hopefully I will get more volunteers. I have also considered buying seed that are confirmed viable, to test my hypothesis, but have not done so.

Arktrees

Oh, I agree!! Much better to allow germination in situ whenever possible than purchasing seeds and going through that whole stratification-breaking seed issue and then getting minimal germination.

But there is still the issue of extremely low fertility of the seeds. The 30 y.o. tree here at the nursery produces copius seed each year but only a handful of viable seedlings in all that time.

There is significant evidence that this species may be self-incompatible and that a second clone is required for good cross pollination and fertilized seed.

No disagreement on the fertility, That was the reason for the " buying seed that are confirmed viable" comment. By that I mean buying seed that have had samples split open to confirm that there are in fact developed embryo's present, then treating them as indicated. What I was thinking was a well establish mulch bed, and possible having had compost added to the mulch bed at some point. Just think of what is most likely to closely simulate natural conditions.

Arktrees

I have done the seed thing in the past. My personal addiction is metasequoia, another which has low fertility rates in North America.

Ebay seeds did ok. I got one or two per pack to germinate. The F.W. Schumacher seeds claimed 80%. I am an amateur so I probably got 2/3 germination so I was thrilled. No clue how they do it.

None the less, click the clink and go find your Acer griseum. I called in my order.

Not sure the best time for your maple, bet they know.

Here is a link that might be useful: FW Schumacher Seeds

Gardengal, you said "There is significant evidence that this species may be self-incompatible and that a second clone is required for good cross pollination and fertilized seed. "

So if I understand right, while a lone paperbark maple may once in a while produce a viable seed if you have two or more of the same species your chances go up dramatically?

Yep :-) Several sources suggest a tendency towards parthenocarpy or the generation of sterile or embryo-less seeds. As with other parthenocarpic species, the theory is to plant two different clones together to cross pollinate and ensure fertilization (Acer maximowiczianum has the same tendency). When multiples are planted in reasonably close proximity, it seems the germination rate escalates significantly and one can often find seedlings growing.

What about when Acer triflorum and Acer griseum are planted in fairly close proximity as pollen donors to one another? Should I expect (eventually) higher viable seed probability than one individual of one species but lower seed viability than two individuals of the same species?

John

clik2, if you live in GTA, then you probably know about Edwards Gardens (aka Toronto Botanical Gardens). They have one (maybe more, but I've seen one) paperbark maple that now has loads of seeds. You can go there (the entrance is free) and pick few hundreds of seeds, even at 1-2% germination rate, you will probably get a few seedlings growing.