Acer Palmatum 'Arakawa' grow log

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I can jump high and low about this, but the fact of the matter is that I despise maples.
I think they're too susceptible to disease. I don't like their status either, but I have that same problem with the king of bonsai: JBP.

But there's a first for everything, and this is my second maple.
It's not even my maple anyways, it's owned by a forum member that I forgot.. I promised him that if I ever owned a maple, it would be his. So whoever you are, I'm fine taking care of it for now. But we have to agree that at some point, that my care has outweighed your investment of a single comment. After that point I might keep it for myself, or not..

This thread is meant as a funky way to track its progression, and maybe piss on maples some more.

My arakawa was ordered from esveld.nl (not a big fan, but they deliver, albeit late, after a couple calls). It's a grafted specimen about a pencil thick. It's about two feet tall. 50-60 cm or so.
I took a couple cuttings that are inside under low intensity LED, with bottom heat, in a glass beer mug with sphagnum/perlite. Don't believe they'll make it, but what the heck. I need something to do in these times.

The planning is to air layer the parent tree it after it produced some foliage. Then work it out from there. Maybe jam it in the ground on a tile or something. Not sure yet.

I'll put up a picture tomorrow.

 

[dbonsaiw]

I've learned that the trick with maples is to kill them before they contract any diseases. So far, I'm at 100% - not a single maple I killed ever contracted a disease. This probably works with most trees, even conifers.

 

[Gabler]

Do you hate all maples or just A. palmatum?

 

[Rivian]

You hate maples so you promise to take care of one and order another, and then propagate some more?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Do you hate all maples or just A. palmatum?

I think I'm alright with sugar maples, because of the syrup. All others suck.

You hate maples so you promise to take care of one and order another, and then propagate some more?

Nah, I promised that if I ever owned one, it would be his. So technically, I bought it, but since I'm the owner and I made a promise, he is the owner.
And yes, I'm trying to make more maples.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I've learned that the trick with maples is to kill them before they contract any diseases. So far, I'm at 100% - not a single maple I killed ever contracted a disease. This probably works with most trees, even conifers.

I haven't tried to do this trick with conifers. But I manhandled my first maple, a European/Norway maple and it pushed out an insane nebari. I pruned it with fire, which kind of helped it from getting loaded with aphids like the parent plant did. If you've ever parked your car under a norway maple in summer, you'd understand why fire is the perfect remedy.

 

[BobbyLane]

You could always try field maple, tough as old boots. probably not too hard to come by where you are.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

The zip tie is where I'm planning to do the air layer.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Shoots before roots, noted.

 

[August]

Hey, maples are great... Great at dropping huge branches on cars after the mildest of winter storms

 

[AJL]

Have you tried parking your car under any other trees instead?
Here in UK Sycamore -Acer pseudoplatanus and Lime -Tilia are far worse for honeydew in summer than Norway Acer platanoides!
If its falling branches you want just for a laugh why not try parking under a mature Horse Chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum during a hot summer drought or try under an old Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani during a heavy snowfall.......!

 

[August]

I prefer to park under the wide sweeping branches of massive DED afflicted Elms, thank you very much

These days my parking lot is shaded by decades old Ailanthus; I feel pretty safe leaving my car under those tough suckers, no pun intended.

Sorry for derailing your thread, @Wires_Guy_wires

 

[Gabler]

Have you tried parking your car under any other trees instead?
Here in UK Sycamore -Acer pseudoplatanus and Lime -Tilia are far worse for honeydew in summer than Norway Acer platanoides!
If its falling branches you want just for a laugh why not try parking under a mature Horse Chestnut Aesculus hippocastanum during a hot summer drought or try under an old Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani during a heavy snowfall.......!

This post is a prime example of the importance of Linnaean names. Sycamore means Acer pseudoplatanus, not Platanus occidentalis in the UK, and apparently lime tree means Tilia not Citrus. I’ve never heard someone refer to a linden as a lime, or else I have and assumed we were talking Citrus trees.

 

[AJL]

Sorry I didnt mean to hijack the thread!
I dont recall hearing anyone call Tilia Linden here in UK except in older books and catalogues, its always been a Lime tree to me!
( we dont grow much Citrus in the UK )
According to Wikipedia the genus Tilia is generally called "lime" or "linden" in Britain and "linden", "lime", or "basswood" in North America.
Apparently "Lime" is an altered form of Middle English lind, in the 16th century also line, from Old English feminine lind or linde

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

No worries, there's not much going on anyways. Good to see some livelihood in a thread.

I noted shoots before roots because some plants don't develop roots before they do shoots, and others do the roots first. It's valuable information. Because it tells me I shouldn't try to air layer it when it has no foliage.
It also tells me I shouldn't have taken cuttings in dormancy. Oh well.

 

[AJL]

It also tells me I shouldn't have taken cuttings in dormancy. Oh well.

Taking dormant hardwood cuttings in winter is OK ! - its widely used by commercial nurseries...