Japanese Maple Advice Please

[Paul W]

Hi all you more experienced guys out there, I have this Japanese Maple which I took the top off successfully but now I am at a loss to know what to do with the bottom main part.
I chopped it off because it was very straight and was going to do some thread grafting to get some branches lower down but every time I go to do it,I am at a loss to know where to put some branches as I think what is left is still very straight
The cut is approx 350mm from the top of the soil so I suppose I could cut again but am worried whether it would reshoot after such drastic action as it would leave no branches at all.
I would appreciate any advice,opinions and virts that you guys can give me, as I am entering unknown territory, with my very limited experience.
Left the knife there when I took the picture for a bit of a laugh and to remind the tree that it has got to come good or else.

[Scott Roxburgh]

It looks like it has nice old bark, I wouldn't want to risk it dying so I would not cut it back to no branches.

I'd fertilise it a lot this season and let it grow. This will promote some buds to form on the bare trunk. This will give you options for grafting/cut back next year.

If you are really keen to not lose this growing season, I'd graft a new leader where the taper stops, making a nice shohin in a few years.

[alpineart]

Hi Paul W , Mate there is very little to work with on the trunk , In time it will back bud . Depending on how strong the root mass is , i would be inclined to pot it up into a bigger box , 600x600 mm or bigger and allow good root run . While the roots are growing i would continually pinch it back to force the dormant back budding to occur , defoliating will also help build better ramification on the leader that is there and may force some back budding also .

Failing that you have answered your own question which is thread graft , unfortunately it should have been done when the threads to be used were dormant , before bud swell or leaf out as this requires a bigger hole to be drilled for the threads in order to get the dormant buds at the base of the petiole which can easily be dislodged during this procedure .

Hope this helps .

Cheers Alpineart

[Paul W]

Thanks Scott and Alpine your advice is very much appreciated,both of you seem to agree to let it grow.
Scott where do you think the taper finishes for the new leader and would I still need back shooting and if not where would I thread graft.
Alpine have these maples got a good record for back shooting if I defoliated now and is it dangerous to repot now if I just pot on, if I made a box out of wood how deep should I make it. or with bonsai I don`t suppose depth matters,

[alpineart]

Hi Paul W , not a good track record for back budding , but as far as defoliating and slip potting i would be inclined to do it , if there are any small dormant buds they will be stimulated into making a move . Slip potting is basically lifting the plant from a small pot into a bigger pot with minimal root disturbance . Just very gently tease the roots outer most to aid root run , being careful as new roots will have begun to grow and will easily be broken ie very very soft .

Keep the depth the same as the styrene box to make thing easy . Roots penetrate the styrene boxes and on most occasions i have had to destroy the box to get the maples out . If that's the case simply sit the styrene box inside the new wooden box and break it up leaving the bottom in tact and just back fill the sides .

Good luck . Cheers Alpine

[reddoggy]

Hi Paul W
Was hoping you would get a few more comments on that Maple as I have one very similar, they seen to get very straight if you don`t keep working on them from a very early stage,it is too nicer trunk not to do anything with, I cannot give much advice with my limited experience but I am sure there are others out there to give you a few more options.