My JM cuttings are rooting, now what?

[SeanS]

A number of my Japanese maple cuttings I took around 8 weeks ago are starting to push new leaves, and therefore have roots. They’re planted 5 to a pot in pure perlite.

My searches have given mixed or little advice on what to do next. Do I pot them up individually as they show good growth, or leave them until next spring? It’s now late spring/early summer in South Africa, daytime temps are around 28-32°C (80-90 F).

 

[GreatLakesBrad]

A number of my Japanese maple cuttings I took around 8 weeks ago are starting to push new leaves, and therefore have roots. They’re planted 5 to a pot in pure perlite.

My searches have given mixed or little advice on what to do next. Do I pot them up individually as they show good growth, or leave them until next spring? It’s now late spring/early summer in South Africa, daytime temps are around 28-32°C (80-90 F).

I left trident and Amur maple cuttings to grow after they took in summer 2019. This past spring (2020), I was able to repot them (some into future forest trays, some separated individually) with ease - each had relatively strong root systems. So I think I will use this approach going forward - probably more of a conservative approach, but seeing those strong roots was worth the short wait to work them the following spring, including some wiring to induce a little movement. Just sharing my experience!

 

[GreatLakesBrad]

Also curious, when did you take the cuttings? As hardwood before bud break? Jealous that you’re into spring over there, enjoy it!

 

[SeanS]

Also curious, when did you take the cuttings? As hardwood before bud break? Jealous that you’re into spring over there, enjoy it!

Most were this season’s new growth just after leaves and shoots hardened off, but one was a pencil thick hardwood section from previous years growth. I’ve also got some more recent hardwood cuttings I took this past weekend on the go.

The ones that are starting to grow now have been in a little propagation mini green house the whole time, and get watered 2-3 times a day.

 

[j evans]

Good going, I've never got any to take off.

 

[Shibui]

A number of my Japanese maple cuttings I took around 8 weeks ago are starting to push new leaves, and therefore have roots.

I beg to disagree with this premise.
Cuttings frequently grow new shoots just using the stored resources in the stems. Many times I have had good strong shoots on cuttings for a few weeks then they all collapse because no roots were produced.
Don't count your rooted cuttings until you see roots. I usually wait for roots to grow out of the drain holes of the cutting container before I count the cuttings as rooted.

JM cuttings sometimes produce a few roots but then fail to thrive and just die off after transplant. I've stopped trying to get JM to grow from cuttings here.

With other species that do grow well as cuttings I wait until some roots show then tip them out and shake off the propagating mix then gently repot the rooted cuttings into potting mix in individual pots. Arrange roots radially if they are for bonsai. Some protection until they recover from the transplant but most just keep growing with no special treatment.

 

[SeanS]

I beg to disagree with this premise.
Cuttings frequently grow new shoots just using the stored resources in the stems. Many times I have had good strong shoots on cuttings for a few weeks then they all collapse because no roots were produced.
Don't count your rooted cuttings until you see roots. I usually wait for roots to grow out of the drain holes of the cutting container before I count the cuttings as rooted.

JM cuttings sometimes produce a few roots but then fail to thrive and just die off after transplant. I've stopped trying to get JM to grow from cuttings here.

With other species that do grow well as cuttings I wait until some roots show then tip them out and shake off the propagating mix then gently repot the rooted cuttings into potting mix in individual pots. Arrange roots radially if they are for bonsai. Some protection until they recover from the transplant but most just keep growing with no special treatment.

Ok my use of “therefore” wasn’t a good choice of words, I actually doubted its use because of the very reason you stated.

Let me rather rephrase and say “if I do really have roots, what’s next?”.
The rest of your reply was what I was looking for. Once I have proper roots (possibly coming out the drainage holes) I’ll pot up individually and protect for a little while

 

[leatherback]

Just leave them in the pots they are in right now. Give the plant time to mature the roots. Then in late-summer consider potting up individually. Or, if you are more patient then me, wait till regular repotting time in spring.

 

[SeanS]

Today I potted up 11 rooted cuttings, all that’s I checked today had rooted so far. Tomorrow I’ll go buy more plastic pots and check the remaining 14.
2 of the remaining plastic pots have roots coming out the bottom so I could be close to 96% success (1 of the 26 had dried up and died already).

I now have many, many maple trees.

 

[leatherback]

congrats!

 

[SeanS]

I also ran out of the “bonsai mix” I was using for the first few, it’s basically potting soil with some grit and gravel added. It works well for propagating and growing plants out. It’s cheap and readily available at most local nurseries. I had to use some “succulent mix” and added some perlite for the last 3 I potted up today, in case anyone notices 3 of the pots have white bits in the soil.

 

[SeanS]

17 successful cuttings so far, 5 more to check and repot today. Out of 26 in total I’ve only found 2 with zero roots and 1 had 3 very weak tiny little roots so I chucked it.

I’ve built them a little shade net for the morning sun, from 1pm onward they get full shade from the bench and trees above them.

I’m making full use of the limited space I have in my townhouse garden!

 

[leatherback]

great. Now what are you going to do with them!

 

[SeanS]

great. Now what are you going to do with them!

Go and look at them every 10-15 minutes

I’m already getting requests to sell some on FB, maybe I should start a nursery