Dear Robert: This spring I made cuttings from several Acer palmatums. They're in 2 1/2" square x 4" deep plastic pots with a perlite-peat mixture. I used a rooting hormone designed for shrubs. The cuttings are encased in a zip lock baggie. Will this project be successful? Roots aren't growing out of the containers but so far I've resisted tugging at the cuttings. Do we need to graft Japanese maples? I've purchased mailorder maples that died because the graft wasn't healed before shipment. Would we end up with a significantly weaker tree because a tree is grown on its own roots? A weaker slower growing maple may be good. What do you think? I also have a few Japanese maple seedlings jerked out of a lawn that are not happy. Maybe next time I'll take baggies and trowel to the lawn filled with Japanese Maple seedlings. Where do you order your maples? I'm ready for more exotic ones. Best, Vicki