TREE AND SHRUB LIST 181 



ACER Continued 



LAYERS. A. rufinerve, A. rubrum, A. cappadocicum (colchicuni) 

 var. rubrum, A. platanoides var. Schwedleri, A. platanoides var. 

 globosa and A. palmatum, are best propagated by cutting down a 

 tree and encouraging long shoots to grow which are layered. Some- 

 times it is not necessary to cut down the trees to induce the growths. 

 It takes some Maples two years to root. 



GRAFTING AND BUDDING. Varieties are grafted or budded on types, 

 for example, A. saccharinum var. Wieri is budded on its species 

 A. saccharinum; Schwedler's Maple, and A. globosa are grafted 

 or budded on A. platanoides; A. palmatum (polymorphum;) 

 atropurpureum or A. p. dissectum is grafted on \.ipolymorphum; 

 A. negundo var. variegata is grafted on A. negundo. Two-year-old 

 seedlings are best. Graft in April. Bud in August. The Japanese 

 Maples are usually grafted in the greenhouse. Marinus Van Kleef 

 describes the following method of outdoor grafting as used in 

 Holland: 



"The best time to graft Japanese Maple in the open is in the latter 

 part of July or the first part of August. The stock used to place the 

 cion on is Acer polymorphum, a rapid growing variety of the Japanese 

 Maple, which may be grown easily from seed. Two or three year old 

 seedlings are best planted such a distance apart that later on, after 

 grafting, the plants have sufficient room to develop into salable speci- 

 mens. If the soil is not very fertile it is necessary to transplant them 

 before they are salable, to insure a good fibrous root system. 



"The cions must not be cut too long in advance before grafting takes 

 place, as they should lose none of their vitality by withering. The 

 cions may be 8 inches to 10 inches long. The tops are shortened a 

 little. Do not select soft, sappy wood for cions, but sturdy, hard twigs 

 of this Summer's growth. Two downward cuts about i^ inches long 

 in the form of an inverted V (see p. 128) are made in the stock in the 

 smoothest part of the bark about 6 inches above the soil and just through 

 the bark. These cuts form a flap which is raised but not removed. The 

 cion is cut on two sides about 3 inches from the lower end also just 

 through the bark, the bark in these cases being removed. The cuts 

 on the cion must be about the same length as on the stock. As the 

 cion usually is thinner than the stock, it must be placed obliquely 

 against the stock and in such a way that the bark of cut surfaces of 

 stock and cion cross each other. A cotton thread is sufficiently strong 

 to unite the stock and the cion, but wool is safer as it will 'give' with 

 the expansion due to growth. 



"After the two are bound with the thread, a bottle filled with water 

 is tied to the lower part of the stock and the lower end of the cion is 

 placed in the water. Ordinarily medicine bottles are large enough for 

 this purpose, but if bottles with wide necks are available they will be 

 found more convenient when occasionally it is necessary to refill them 

 before stock and cion are united. This water preserves the cion 

 during the action of union, and prevents it from withering. It does not 

 take long with favorable weather conditions for the stock and cion so 

 unite. 



"When the union is complete the stock supplies the cion with sap 

 for its further development, so water is no longer necessary and the 

 bottle may be taken away. The lower part of the cion which was in 

 the bottle is cut off just below the union when the bottles are removed. 

 Early in the Spring the stock is cut off just above the place of union. 



"To obtain beautiful specimen plants, especially with the taller 

 growing varieties, it is necessary to place sticks alongside of them. 

 To these the young shoots may be tied. A Japanese Maple does not 



