Welcome back! I know I haven’t posted in months. I’ve been busy…. get off my back. (BTW, Easton says ‘Hey!’) There’s not much going on with the garden this time of year, but I have started a new growing experiment. The above picture is of a glass with 59 japanese maple seeds in it. The seeds are from a tree in my parents’ yard, and they have been soaking for 36 hours in the water to soften their shells. The baggie is full of slightly damp Coco-peat, which is a substitute for peat moss that is made from coconut hulls. I had planned on using regular peat, but the nursery I stopped at only had this stuff, and he gave it to me for free.
The idea is to put the seeds into the peat (which is used to regulate the moisture level and to provide a growing medium) and place it in the refrigerator for 90-120 days to mimic the process the seeds go through during winter (called stratification). The seeds will germinate in the fridge, and I will plant them as they germinate.
The long term plan for howevermany survive is to attempt the art of grafting more exotic versions of jap. maples after they’re a year old. I’ll let you know how it goes…
2 years ago