Fernleaf Full Moon Maple (acer japonicum aconitifolium)
SKU:
£1.20
£1.20 - £1.95
per item
Seed Prices
10 Seeds £1.25
2 Grams £1.95
Please note that these seeds require a minimum of 16 weeks stratification before they will germinate. For a March 1st sowing this should begin around November 9th -further information detailed below
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The Full-moon maple is beautiful but robust small tree with deeply lobed and cut foliage that has a 'fern'-like appearance that becomes brilliant scarlet in autumn. It can be grown as a small tree or multi-stemmed shrub with a maximum height and spread of around 3.5m (12ft).
Its growth habit is mounded, bushy, and spreading. This beautiful tree has year round interest and makes a great specimen plant in small parks and gardens and is very hardy.
Through the summer the leaves are large and deep green with between 7 and 13 deeply incised lobes that are in turn, deeply and irregularly serrated. These turn a brilliant scarlet red in autumn and often persistent for a long period before finally falling from the tree.
Bunches of small, purplish-reddish flowers appear in spring on the bare branches just before the new leaves emerge, these develop into paired winged seed that are themselves maroon-red coloured in the Autumn.
Prefers a moist, slightly acidic, well drained soil. Mulching is beneficial after planting. Should not be planted in exposed areas where prevailing winds may stress the tree. It hot summer climates plant the tree in partial shade as the leaves may burn in full sun in these regions.
Its growth habit is mounded, bushy, and spreading. This beautiful tree has year round interest and makes a great specimen plant in small parks and gardens and is very hardy.
Through the summer the leaves are large and deep green with between 7 and 13 deeply incised lobes that are in turn, deeply and irregularly serrated. These turn a brilliant scarlet red in autumn and often persistent for a long period before finally falling from the tree.
Bunches of small, purplish-reddish flowers appear in spring on the bare branches just before the new leaves emerge, these develop into paired winged seed that are themselves maroon-red coloured in the Autumn.
Prefers a moist, slightly acidic, well drained soil. Mulching is beneficial after planting. Should not be planted in exposed areas where prevailing winds may stress the tree. It hot summer climates plant the tree in partial shade as the leaves may burn in full sun in these regions.
Germination, Sowing and After Care Information for
Fern Leaf Full Moon Maple (acer japonicum aconitifolium)
Maple seeds of this species have a deep dormancy within them, this requires a degree of patience to overcome and it is usually quite easy to get high levels of germination if the correct procedures are followed.
First prepare a free draining substrate into which the seeds are to be mixed, this can be a 50/50 mixture of compost and sharp sand, or perlite, vermiculite. The chosen substrate needs to be moist (but not wet), if you can squeeze water out of it with your hand it is too wet and your seeds may drown and die. Mix the seeds into the substrate, making sure that their is enough volume of material to keep the seeds separated. Place the seed mixture into a clear plastic bag (freezer bags, especially zip-lock bags are very useful for this -provided a little gap is left in the seal for air exchange) If it is not a zip-lock type bag it needs to be loosely tied. Then write the date on the bag so that you know when the pretreatment was started.
First the mixed seeds need to placed somewhere warm at around 20 Celsius for around 4 weeks or so -it is not critical if it is a little longer than this. Make sure that the seed and compost mixture does not dry out or the pre treatment will be ineffective.
Next the seeds are required to undergo a cold period to break the final part of the dormancy, this is easily achieved by placing the bag of seeds and compost in the fridge at (4 Celsius or 39F) for between 8 and 12 weeks. When the dormancy has broken it is quite possible for the seeds to germinate in the bag at these temperatures when they are ready to do so, if they do, just remove them from the bag and carefully plant them up. When the period of pre treatment has finished the seed should be ready to be planted. Small quantities can be sown in pots or seed trays filled with a good quality compost and cover them with a thin layer of compost no more than 1cm deep. For larger quantities it is easiest to sow the seeds in a well prepared seedbed outdoors once the warm and cold pretreatments have finished and wait for the seedlings to appear.
It has also been found that fluctuating pretreatment temperatures can give the best germination results and I have myself had excellent results by keeping the mixed seeds in a cold shed through the winter for the cold stage of their pretreatment and allowing the temperature to fluctuate naturally. Ungerminated seeds can have the whole warm and cold process repeated again to enable more seeds to germinate.
Do not expose newly sown seeds to high temperatures (above 25 Celsius). Keep the seedlings well watered and weed free. Growth in the first year is usually between 10 and 40cm depending on the time of germination and cultural techniques and developing seedlings are usually trouble free. Allow them to grow for 1 or 2 years before planting them in a permanent position.
First prepare a free draining substrate into which the seeds are to be mixed, this can be a 50/50 mixture of compost and sharp sand, or perlite, vermiculite. The chosen substrate needs to be moist (but not wet), if you can squeeze water out of it with your hand it is too wet and your seeds may drown and die. Mix the seeds into the substrate, making sure that their is enough volume of material to keep the seeds separated. Place the seed mixture into a clear plastic bag (freezer bags, especially zip-lock bags are very useful for this -provided a little gap is left in the seal for air exchange) If it is not a zip-lock type bag it needs to be loosely tied. Then write the date on the bag so that you know when the pretreatment was started.
First the mixed seeds need to placed somewhere warm at around 20 Celsius for around 4 weeks or so -it is not critical if it is a little longer than this. Make sure that the seed and compost mixture does not dry out or the pre treatment will be ineffective.
Next the seeds are required to undergo a cold period to break the final part of the dormancy, this is easily achieved by placing the bag of seeds and compost in the fridge at (4 Celsius or 39F) for between 8 and 12 weeks. When the dormancy has broken it is quite possible for the seeds to germinate in the bag at these temperatures when they are ready to do so, if they do, just remove them from the bag and carefully plant them up. When the period of pre treatment has finished the seed should be ready to be planted. Small quantities can be sown in pots or seed trays filled with a good quality compost and cover them with a thin layer of compost no more than 1cm deep. For larger quantities it is easiest to sow the seeds in a well prepared seedbed outdoors once the warm and cold pretreatments have finished and wait for the seedlings to appear.
It has also been found that fluctuating pretreatment temperatures can give the best germination results and I have myself had excellent results by keeping the mixed seeds in a cold shed through the winter for the cold stage of their pretreatment and allowing the temperature to fluctuate naturally. Ungerminated seeds can have the whole warm and cold process repeated again to enable more seeds to germinate.
Do not expose newly sown seeds to high temperatures (above 25 Celsius). Keep the seedlings well watered and weed free. Growth in the first year is usually between 10 and 40cm depending on the time of germination and cultural techniques and developing seedlings are usually trouble free. Allow them to grow for 1 or 2 years before planting them in a permanent position.
