Detailed Explanation of Grafting Propagation Techniques for Japanese Maple Bonsai

  Japanese maple is very commonly used in urban landscaping. It not only has an independent landscape appearance, but is also an important combination material in gardens for landscape features, buildings, roads, and sculptures, fountains, and other small features. It is suitable for planting on lawns, mounds, beside streams, by ponds, or as accents at wall corners, pavilions and corridors, and flower beds, and is also suitable for courtyard roadsides and windowsides. Making bonsai from it also has a distinctive flavor.

  The leaf color of Japanese maple shows obvious seasonal changes. In plant configuration, it can be combined with evergreen plants such as sweet osmanthus and Buddhist pine. The upper layer can use evergreen or deciduous tall trees such as camphor, goldenrain tree, and soapberry as a background, while the lower layer can be covered with azaleas, ribbon grass, dwarf lilyturf, or lawn, forming a plant landscape with clear layers and rich seasonal aspects.

  Japanese maple is propagated by sowing, while its varieties are propagated by grafting. Collect seeds in October, briefly dry them to remove the wings, then either sow in autumn or stratify in wet sand and sow in spring. Spring sowing is carried out in February, in drills, with a seeding rate of 4-5 kg per mu. After sowing, cover with soil and then with grass. They germinate and emerge in late March. To prevent sunscald, seedlings need short-term shading in July-August and watering to prevent drought. Current-year seedlings can reach 30-50 cm in height. In the following spring equinox, they are planted out to cultivate larger seedlings. In the second year, they are transplanted again, and seedlings of different specifications are cultivated according to landscaping needs.

  For horticultural varieties, grafting is mostly used for propagation. The grafting techniques mainly focus on the following points:

  1. Select strong-growing rootstock and scion.

  The rootstock can be 2-3 year old Japanese maple seedlings with a ground diameter of 1-1.5 cm, and the scion should be selected from one-year-old branches.

  2. Master the timing and method of grafting.

  Grafting is best done from early to mid-March to early to mid-April, with slight differences depending on the region and phenological period. Before sap flow begins, cut red maple branches into scions 6-7 cm long with two plump buds at the upper end. Quickly dip the scions in melted paraffin liquid so that the surface is coated with a thin layer of wax, then put them into plastic bags and store them in a moist, low-temperature place for later use.

  Graft before the rootstock sprouts. The grafting method can be cleft grafting or approach grafting. Generally, 25-30 days after grafting, the union can heal. Remove rootstock sprouts promptly. After survival, loosen the binding and either rebind or earth up to prevent wind breakage, then strengthen fertilizer and cultivation management.