How Do You Start A Cutting From A Japanese Maple Tree?
The Japanese maple tree, scientifically known as Acer palmatum, features a graceful, spreading shape and brilliant foliage that, depending on the cultivar, can turn from green in the spring to maroon in the summer to crimson, yellow or bronze in the fall. The Japanese maple is a colorful and dramatic addition to a rock or Zen garden, and excels as a specimen planting and in borders. Japanese maples can be challenging to propagate, or root from cuttings. But by using good propagation techniques, and choosing the cultivars that root with the least difficulty—among them the Bloodgood, Crimson Queen and Sango kaku—you can increase your odds of success. Select a young, vigorous Japanese maple tree from which to take your cutting. Make sure the tree is free of pests and diseases. Take the cutting in the spring or early summer, after new wood has slightly hardened. According to the Royal Horticultural Society, Japanese maple cuttings should be taken with a “heel”—a tail of bark from the
