Mame - Acer platanoides (Norway maple) attempt

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Per PF
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Mame - Acer platanoides (Norway maple) attempt

Post by Per PF »

Got a hold of this mame-pot and by chance stumbled upon a bunch of wild maple-seedlings that I thought went well with the color. (We have spring/early summer here.)
Planted in a bit of the original soil + pumice. The moss on top is mostly for the aesthetic. (Ignore the makeshift stand..)
IMG_1851.jpeg
IMG_1832.jpeg
Comments/critique/opinions = welcome! And any advice on how to actually sustain it would be nice :) The mame-size feels a bit daunting.
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Re: Mame - Acer platanoides (Norway maple) attempt

Post by rodm »

Very nice and cute :tu:
Cheers RodM
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Re: Mame - Acer platanoides (Norway maple) attempt

Post by shibui »

The smaller they are the more difficult.
More difficult to keep watered.
More difficult to style.
More difficult to keep alive.

Most of us have found that initial attempts at tiny trees fail but after practicing and honing skills with larger trees for many years it becomes possible to return and succeed with the little ones.
Small pots seem to do far better if repotted every year. Roots will fill small pots very quick so the following summer there's no room left for water and the trees just get sick and die.
Not sure about the species for really small bonsai. Those leaves won't reduce much so will always look a bit odd.
good luck with your tiny trees.
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Re: Mame - Acer platanoides (Norway maple) attempt

Post by Per PF »

Thanks for the comments! I'll enjoy it while it lasts and hopefully learn a bunch. :fc: I know the species is far from ideal when it comes to reduction.
I have an indoor willow leaf ficus which has great reduction capacity and has survived so far (got it in January) as a mame - but it's up for a second root prune already due to loss of percolation... :whistle:
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Re: Mame - Acer platanoides (Norway maple) attempt

Post by Per PF »

I made a bench! :hooray:
Skärmavbild 2020-06-13 kl. 22.48.01.png
Veeeery basic but it does its job.
Skärmavbild 2020-06-13 kl. 22.49.56.png
As long as no one checks underneath...
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Re: Mame - Acer platanoides (Norway maple) attempt

Post by greg27 »

Love your work mate, keep the updates coming!
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Re: Mame - Acer platanoides (Norway maple) attempt

Post by Per PF »

Thanks a lot! Sharing it here is a way to keep a record for myself as well.
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Re: Mame - Acer platanoides (Norway maple) attempt

Post by tinto »

love the trunk, next year try to reduce the leaves a bit
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Re: Mame - Acer platanoides (Norway maple) attempt

Post by Per PF »

A late summer update:
I neglected it for a couple of days (it stood on a tray of water but that wasn't enough...), when I was away, and the bigger leaves turned brown. The largest leaf (and two smaller) eventually fell off.
Skärmavbild 2020-08-15 kl. 18.42.32.png
Besides that it seems to be doing okay. There's a small bud next to the large remaining leaf.
Skärmavbild 2020-08-15 kl. 18.42.46.png
And the moss is doing surprisingly well!
Skärmavbild 2020-08-15 kl. 18.43.00.png
@tinto Thanks! Yeah a reduction would be great. I'll see what happens next spring and go from there.
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Re: Mame - Acer platanoides (Norway maple) attempt

Post by austindrake »

How's this tree coming along? I'm interested in doing a crimson king norway maple, and I'm curious how it's looking
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Re: Mame - Acer platanoides (Norway maple) attempt

Post by Per PF »

Thanks for asking! The taller did not bud out this year, I suspect I bent it too much. But the little one leafed out fine. It was kept in a dark cold shed during winter (20-21) which seemed to work but the moss suffered.

This winter (21-22) I semi-buried all my outdoor mames in a garden bed for winter protection - so come spring I'll find out if it worked. ATM it's covered in snow...

I took some pictures in late summer but unfortunately my hard drive (4T!) crashed in december and I lost my bonsai photo documentation (I might have it in my phone - but I'll have to do some searching). If I find some phots I'll post them here.
/Per
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Re: Mame - Acer platanoides (Norway maple) attempt

Post by Per PF »

Summer update!
@austindrake
I'm off work for the summer so I finally dug up the mames.
IMG_7523.jpeg
IMG_7524.jpeg
IMG_7525.jpeg
The leaves have come out twice as big this year and the trunk has thickened nicely. I don't know how/what I'm going to do with it, but I still like it a lot :D
IMG_7527.jpeg
I'm trying out a humidity tray for my mames to hopefully save some watering hassle.
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Re: Mame - Acer platanoides (Norway maple) attempt

Post by thoglette »

shibui wrote: May 29th, 2020, 8:43 pm Small pots seem to do far better if repotted every year. ...
Agree on every point and this one particularly. Don't worry too much about the rules, just concentrate on keeping it alive.

Well done in getting this far !
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