Japanese Maple tall & thin

[BrianB]

Hi folks,
This is my first post to your site,
About 15 months ago my daughter gave me this small single stem (30cm roots to tip) bare rooted Japanese Maple.
I planted it in a small 70mm pot and it continued to grow taller and taller still as a single stem with leaves.
It started to get too big for the pot it was in so I re-potted it into a 200mm pot and at the same time I snipped it back to solid stem about 300mm from top. Since the it has thrown branches as shown out to close to a meter long ......not sure if what I have done was right. You can see the top of the main stem where I cut it the branches have sprouted below but nothing from the top.
From what I have read on site it looks like I could turn it into a Literati ....what does every one think?
Cheers Brian.

[legoman_iac]

Hi and Welcome!

It looks healthy to me, so you've survive dthe first task/challenge "keep it alive" ... well done!

I'm still fairly new with Japanese Maple myself. Probably wouldn't trim it or repot again until after winter. In the meantime, have a think about what you;d like to do with it? Also, how big do you want it to eventually be?

Literati is one style, though too bushy for that at the moment in my opinion.

- Daniel

[shibui]

Hi BrianB
Literati is rarely used with deciduous trees. You can try if you wish but literati is much, much harder to do well than it appears.

You probably need to decide what level of bonsai you want to aim for.
Many beginners are happy to have a small, skinny tree with a meagre canopy in a pot. More experienced growers refer to this type of bonsai as Mallsai because similar trees are created quick and sold cheap in shopping centres around Christmas.
Those that have been playing with bonsai for longer aim for a much thicker trunk with well ramified branches and good surface roots that conveys a feeling of age and permanence. Trees like this take much longer to grow and develop. many of us plant smaller trees in the ground or in large pots so they can grow faster and get thick quicker then chop down to bonsai size and then spend another 5-10 years developing the branches and canopy.

Most trees strive to be the tallest tree in the forest, even when there's no forest, so they are reluctant to waste energy and resources on lower branches. We need to prune to get them to shoot more side branches.
Not sure why yours sprouted lower after the initial prune but cutting again should result in more side branches. Eventually you'll get a bushy tree. Selective pruning and occasional shaping will give you a trunk line and branches.

[BrianB]

Thank you Daniel and Shibui for your replies,
I have taken on board what you have said and have now decided to keep this plant as a pot specimen and present it back to my daughter once I have trained it into a better shape....if that's possible. She is young so I have plenty of time.
Now if you can help me
Is this a good time to prune or should I wait for end of winter (Sunshine coast Queensland)
What branches should I prune and how far back to the main trunk should I go?

As you can see in this new picture the original cut I made is straight up the center and it has sprouted branches 300mm from the top with nothing other than leaves between the branches and the top of the trunk.
It looks to me that I could possibly bring that main down to the branching fork but not sure.

Please, any help will be appreciated.
Cheers Brian.

[shibui]

I did notice that the original top had not produced any shoots. That's unusual but not unheard of.
I would trim that middle stem at the fork. We routinely reduce all forks to 2 in bonsai as multiple branches usually thicken too much and produce swollen lumps on the trunk at that point. Reducing all forks to 2 is good policy and also looks better.
Where to prune depends on what you want to produce. A good starting point is thirds - Lower trunk is 1/3 of the tree, Next section is 1/3 of that and continue up with gradually reducing branch sections at each pruning. For this second chop that means cutting the 2 side branches at around 1/3 of the height of the trunk to the first fork. There's not much for scale in the photos so I can really only give proportions rather than measurements. maybe this pic will help.

JM 1.png

Of course cutting there assumes the tree will respond properly this time and shoot from the nodes just below the chop point

You should be able to prune the long branches to get further branching. Continued grow and prune should slowly give a network of branches.
Japanese maples can be pruned almost any time of year. During the growing season response with new shoots is quick but pruning while it is dormant obviously won't grow until spring growth comes. I pruned some of my developing JM this week hoping there's enough growing season left for a quick response but even if the trees decide not to sprout straight away they will do so in spring. Up there yours is likely to still shoot again.
Not sure how much 'winter' you'll have on Sunshine coast and that may be a problem for JM. They seem to need an enforced rest and cold period to stay healthy. JM don't usually do real well in warmer areas but hopefully it will cope. Are there any in gardens in your area?

[BrianB]

Hi Shibui,
Thank you for your input. I agree with you as to cutting out the main stem and trimming the branches......so see photos.
There are two very fine branches at the next node down below the fork and as they are perpendicular to the fork I decided to leave them on and see how it shapes up.
As to your question on growing conditions on the Sunshine coast below is a copy from a local gardening group, also we live outside of Noosa in the hinterland and it gets pretty cold here in winter so my maple should do well.

"YES THESE SELECTED MAPLE VARIETIES ARE GROWING BEAUTIFULLY IN ZILLMERE, ALBANY CREEK, KENMORE, THE GOLD COAST AND SUNSHINE COAST AREAS AND EAST TO TOOWOOMBA ANDTHE RANGES OF SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND - THEY CAN GROW IN GARDENS WHEREVER AZALEAS AND CAMELLIAS DO WELL AND ARE HAPPY IN FULL SUN OR PART SHADE."

[shibui]

Conditions can change with elevation so that should suit JM better than the coastal areas.

The 2 smaller branches did not show up on the original photos but I'm glad you kept them. Thy will help to give you more bushiness.
Now that the growing tips are gone from the taller branches it is likely those smaller ones will put on a growth spurt (change in growth hormone circulating) If they grow enough prune them too.
The usual development cycle is to allow shoots to grow out which strengthens the tree, then cut back which stimulates more shoots to grow. Allow the new ones to grow then prune again. Occasionally do some selective pruning to remove distracting branches, those growing from wrong places or to direct growth in direction you want.
Just rinse and repeat until you have the tree you want - all going well

[BrianB]

Thank you Shibui,
I love it's look now, and look forward to it's future growth and shape

Cheers Brian