Sowing Maple Seeds?

[Dennis H.]

I have been collecting Red Maple seeds the past few days and The question I have is what is the best method to get the maple seeds to germinate?

I did a search of the internet and some say that I need to put them in an enclosed container with moist perlite and placed in the frig for about a month.
Others say that they didn;t have much luck with that method and they just place the seeds in potting soil.

So now I am here to ask the experts.:D

[KenWP]

I have about a million boxelder seedlings growing around here right now. They were from last year so I figure that the seed need stratified by freezeing over the winter. So take and put some of the seeds in the freezer for a week or so and then sow them. Makes them think they went thru a winter.

[maple flats]

Put them in a rain gutter and wet them every day or 2. This gutter need not be attached to your house but it can be. I have cleaned out more maple seedlings from gutters than i could ever plant. Don't block the drain but put a filter medium over it to initially keep the seeds from draining out. You will also want some old rotting leaves for the seeds to take root in and to hold the moisture for the seeds to germinate and grow. Serious!!

[maple flats]

However, I would favor going around in a few weeks on a wet day and gently pulling new red maple seedlings from where you have red maples now. You will know as soon as they develope their first true leaf, it will look like a miniature of a big one and it is easier and faster than germinating your own. Once pulled just plant them in a concentrated bed to get a little size before setting then in their new home.

[Acer]

Why oh why would you want to grow reds from seed?

Unless your water table is at (or above) the surface go with sugars.

Dean

[caseyssugarshack93]

The Governor has some links posted on the maplechatter website on this subject= go to http://www.maplechatter.com/post?id=3178643 Everything you probably need to know.

[220 maple]

I don't know Dennis age but if he is my age he would have a better chance of boiling sap from a Red Maple than waiting on a Sugar to grow to tappable size.
Reds like Silvers are fast growers in the Maple tree world.

Mark 220 Maple

[caseyssugarshack93]

well if that is all you have for maples is reds then do like the Gov does= test with a refractometer and cut the rest=some of his reds test above 3% and he did find 1 that did test 5% when first checked and 2 hours later it was still 3%=royal maple has seen the paint on some trees and some are 3 to 3.5% reds

[benchmark]

The reds that i tapped around started out at 4% then dropped down to 3% at the end of the season. They had the same sugar content as the sugar maples.