A magnificent maple tree - ready-made from the tree nursery - costs 100 euros and more. With a little patience and these instructions, you can easily grow a maple yourself. This is how it works without breaking the bank.

Maple grows best from cuttings

Propagate maple with cuttings - this is how it works

When maple trees are full of sap in early summer, this is the best time to grow a new magnificent specimen yourself from cuttings. The focus is on semi-lignified, non-flowering shoot tips that show no signs of disease or pests. Since you have a 50 percent success rate, cut as many offshoots as possible. How to proceed professionally:

  • Use sharp, disinfected scissors to cut cuttings that are 10 to 15 cm long
  • Ideally start the cut below a leaf knot
  • Pluck off all the leaves except for a pair of leaves at the tip of the shoot

With a targeted wound cut, you drive the rooting forward. To do this, cut off a wafer-thin piece of bark about 2 cm long at the end of the shoot opposite the leaf node. Then dip each cutting in rooting powder and place two thirds of it in a pot with a mix of potting soil and sand.

Caring for maple cuttings - this is how you do it right

Maple cuttings feel in good hands in a greenhouse in the partially shaded window seat. Water the seedlings regularly with lukewarm water. Daily airing reliably prevents the formation of mold. If a mini maple has rooted through its pot, repot it into a larger container.

If you grow maple from cuttings yourself, the nutrient supply will only start in early spring. Seedlings with more than 4 pairs of leaves receive liquid fertilizer in the irrigation water every 4 weeks. In April or May, plant your little ones in a sunny to partially shaded spot in the garden or in a 10-litre pot on the balcony.

tips

Maple lovers with a penchant for surprises gather the winged fruits in the fall and harvest the seeds. After stratification in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator, the germination inhibition is overcome and the seed can be sown on the windowsill in the usual way. The result of generative propagation through sowing is unpredictable and only becomes apparent as the growth progresses.

Category:

Trees