i would have left them to fall off the tree.. so i knew they were mature ...

and then i would have let them dry.. so they wouldnt rot in damp media ...

with the millions of maples that sprout in a month or so.. i wouldnt think they need cold.. but i dont know about this one specifically ...

ken

I read in a few places on line that if not allowed to dry out a couple of weeks of cold stratification would help them germinate. Could you provide that citation?

In my area, Red Maple or Acer rubrum seed will ripen next month. Some years they are shed in large quantities, not this year. When they ripen seed should first be checked for soundness. Cut a few in half and be sure they are not hollow. When you find a good tree use seed from that tree. Break off the wing and discard it. Direct seed them into pots, put several seed in each pot, you can always come back later on and remove the weakest ones.

Red & Silver maples have seed which matures in May, cold stratification doesn't figure into their germination.

Very light seed crops on red and silver maple here in central Maryland this year. They bloomed in February and early March, and a large percentage of the flowers died in the long, deep March freeze.

Trees are leafing out just fine, though.

Neither Silver or Red Maple require stratification here (NE end of Lake Ontario)...they germinate almost as soon as they fall on a moist spot after coming off the tree in late May.