Hey guys/gals, this is my first post here, cool forum by the way… I’ve been on the lookout for the straight species Acer Carpinifolium ( Hornbeam Maple). I know there is a cultivar ‘ Esveld Select ‘ out there but I’d like the species, does anybody have a source on these ? I’ve tried seeds from two online sources and actually collected my own seed but apparently they are a dioecious species so the seed I collected was most likely unviable due to it being a lone soldier , I’m wondering if the seeds I got online were as well. And out of curiosity, what is the common rootstock used for ‘Esveld Select’? Thanks for any input! There isn’t a whole of info about this species out there, and seems to be hard to find for some reason. Look forward to exploring the forum/ previous threads!
Good morning and welcome to the maples forum @VAacer Hornbeam maples are propagated by seed and softwood cuttings. So IMO Esveld do not use a rootstock. I might be wrong, but thats my thoughts. An enquiry to Mr Maple might be the way forward in purchasing Acer Carpinifolium for later in the year.
thanks for the reply ! I went down there to tour their nursery about a month ago, and they said they didn’t have any at the moment but they were going to try to bring back the ‘in the wild’ series which would be oddball Acer species and hopefully they could get some A. carpinifolium. So the search continues until then… thanks for the info.
That's right, Esveld Select is usually cutting propagated. Yes, A. carpinifolium is dioecious so most seed that you see is parthenocarpic (empty). There is a reliable account (de Jong) that it is /mostly/ dioecious and so once in a while a tree can be auto-fertile, but I've never heard (a reliable) account of it actually happening. On the other hand, the species isn't ultra hard to get hold of, so with a little bit of searching you should find one. 'Esveld Select' is a lot harder to get! Or a good seed supplier should be able to set you up with fertile seed. I think it does involve double stratification, but haven't tried. -E
