Can I bonsai a Japanese maple at 1m tall?

[Aimi]

Sorry for the newbie question, searches didn't give me very much info.

I have a Japanese maple (Acer Palmatum, subspecies palmatum) which I just purchased, it is around 1m tall above the pot, I would like to keep it at about this size, whilst encouraging it to mature.

Can I use pretty much the same technique's to keep it small? (ie: root ball trim etc)

Thankee,
Aimi

[Olivecrazy]

Bonsai can be very big most of mine range between 50cm right up to 120cm in size big trees are cool stuff

[Bougy Fan]

Sure can - just can't do any root work until it goes dormant. Just keep it well fed and watered - you could do an airlayer to reduce the height if you wanted to. Oh and welcome too

[Luke308]

Welcome to Ausbonsai

Trimming the root-ball is not a technique for keeping the tree small. It actually renews vigor keeping the tree feeling young. The way in which to keep a tree small is to prune the growth above the soil/substrate.

Photos are always advisable when asking for advice, but to answer your question, yes you can "bonsai" a 1m tall tree. In fact I have bought a 2m tree from the nursery only to chop it back to 6 inches an grow from there. One of the most important aspects of bonsai is creating believable taper so you may need to chop it back to lower branch creating a new leader, and do this several times over the coming years until you reach you tree's desired height. Search "trunk chop tutorial" and you will find a great thread on this technique. I hope that helps you some what?

[Aimi]

That is awesome news. Thank you!


Aldi has Acer Palmatums for 20$

Thank you for the welcome too!

Looks like I have a LOT of reading to do >.>

(Photos incoming next)

[Aimi]

Sorry for the bad quality, I will get some better ones tomorrow.

[kcpoole]

Hi Aimi
You have what we call a "Stick on a pot"
I see you are a newbie with a year in the hobby. so assume you are only just embarking on the bonsai Journey so welcome to you

Have a look at the wiki ( links in my Siganture Below), for some great help on starting out.
Now to your tree. It is very young and needs to be grown to get much thicker before worrying about styling.

Ken

[Aimi]

Hi Aimi
You have what we call a "Stick on a pot"
I see you are a newbie with a year in the hobby. so assume you are only just embarking on the bonsai Journey so welcome to you

Have a look at the wiki ( links in my Siganture Below), for some great help on starting out.
Now to your tree. It is very young and needs to be grown to get much thicker before worrying about styling.

Ken

Yeah I am in no rush, I don't think the tree would survive much at this point anyway, Aldi can't even look after "Lucky bamboo". Ill have to water the maple tomorrow, has only just gone on sale and the soil is rather dry.

I am just making plans, I live in an apartment and can not plant anything nor leave plants outside without risk of theft. (I will have to bring the maple in when I go out)

Thanks for the links

[shibui]

We just need to find out what Aimi really wants to do with this tree. From my reading of the post I'm guessing she/he doesn't want a 'bonsai' just wants to use some of our techniques to maintain a 1m tall tree in a pot.
In either case Aimi the answer is yes. Luke is spot on. Pruning keeps a tree small - just cut back any shoots that grow longer than you want.
Repotting and root pruning are to renew the potting mix every few years because it eventually rots down to very fine particles and water and air can't penetrate. root pruning also removes excess roots to leave room for new roots to grow (and makes space so that air and water can get into the rootball). trees actually grow far faster after root pruning because of the extra space, air, water and nutrients.
Regular watering is important for all potted plants. How often depends on the species, pot size., potting mix, weather, etc and you will have to monitor it closely until you get the hang of your tree at your place.
Fertilising is essential for trees in pots because regular watering leaches the nutrients out of the mix very quickly.
Maple hate being inside so hope it will be outside most of the time???

Put me on the correct track if I have misinterpreted your request please Aimi and good luck with the project but remember that even the experts have killed a few trees before getting it right.

[Aimi]

I am after a large bonsai/small tree. I want to let it mature, of course, but not let it get above 1-1.5m. I am familiar with the conditions the tree should be kept in for normal growth, I am just making sure I don't mess things up by doing the wrong thing now. (by the way, I am female)

(I will also be purchasing/cultivating a bonsai Maple, I have not decided on the subspecies yet)