I'm pretty much a complete Bonsai newbie, although I have been doing a lot of research on Bonsai. I've decided I want to grow a Red Japanese Maple from seed, and I was wondering when I should start to grow it and how I should go about doing that. I know that growing from a seed takes a long time, but that's how I'd like to start. :) Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

Seedlings won't always (or typically) grow true to the parent form,
so you might want to sow many seeds to increase your chances...
or you might consider scouring for a young red seedling to dig up.

In my warmer zone, certain seedlings have begun to come up.

Josh

And what do you mean by the seedlings won't grow true to the parent form? And yes, I was planning on sowing several seeds because, of course, they're seedlings and may die.

There's an arboretum nearby that I know has a few Japanese Maples, so I may be able to go and hunt for some seedlings. Though I'm not sure if they would be sprouting up here in Minnesota yet.

If I were to end up just getting some seeds, would I have to do that process of tricking them into thinking they've gone through dormancy?

Japanese maple seeds don't typically grow into the pattern or color of the parent trees.
Still, you will often find interesting and worthy seedlings with their own unique characteristics.
Sometimes you'll get lucky and find a seedling that looks much like the parents.

Josh

I do mean barely moist with the perlite, too. The baggie should show very little moisture/condensation upon the inner/top surface after its chilled - if it is 'soaked' appearing, then its waaaay too wet within and needs to be allowed to 'air dry' a bit before going back into frig. It is deceiving how little moisture is really required, and higher moisture *will* lead to 'grungy' seed. Chances are the media will feel dry to the finger when you know for sure that you put water into it. This same method works for me with many species that require cold-stratification.

Hope this helps - it is easy to do and you will get a WIDE variety of 'types' if you grow a lot of this species. I bet with 100+ of the ones I started, there were dozens of different 'looks' to the various saplings (none grew or appeared exactly like another). That is partly why there are so many different cultivars on the market ;-) Grow out your favorite one(s) and give the others to friends! Its not like they cost very much, right?? Good luck...