Acer palmatum progress..which front?

[Ray M]

Hi Bodhi,
Go for it mate. You sure will have a nice tree.

Regards Ray

[Kevin Nel]

Number 2 is definatley the better trunkline. Some mayor repairs on the branches are needed tho....

Kevin

[Neli]

I would like to ask: How do you prune your maples when developing branches ...all kind of branches.
Have You ever used the hedge method?

[bodhidharma]

Hi Neli,
I have not heard of the hedge method but it sounds a bit like topiary. I first develop the thickness of the main branch by letting it grow then work on my secondary's, usually the same way. I then clip and grow back to two sets of leaves on my tertiary's. I also defoliate every second year on Maples. I wire the tree in Winter and then defoliate late Spring, early Summer to get the wire off.

[Neli]

I was talking about Walter pall's hedge method for developing bonsai.
http://walter-pall-bonsai.blogspot.com/ ... hedge.html
Can not figure out yet how it works.I asked him but he just says that is better than any other method....I like to understand things...before I do them. I see lots of controversy over it.

[DavidWilloughby]

Hi Bodhi,

I like your maple alot, it has a tonne of potential and already has the foundation for a very impressive tree. Out of the two suggested fronts, I do like the first photo moreso than the second, while the second is impressive, it's the subtle difference in the first that for me gives the viewer more depth from that angle.

I look forward to watching where you take this Maple Bodhi.

Cheers

David



EDITED for grammar.

[lackhand]

I was talking about Walter pall's hedge method for developing bonsai.
http://walter-pall-bonsai.blogspot.com/ ... hedge.html
Can not figure out yet how it works.I asked him but he just says that is better than any other method....I like to understand things...before I do them. I see lots of controversy over it.

I've read through his article and honestly, it doesn't sound like anything significantly different than clip and grow to me. I guess maybe you could call it the lazy man's clip and grow since during the summer you really are just pruning like a hedge/topiary instead of paying attention to each individual leaf and branch. But he then goes through in the winter and does a more refined cleanup, so again I'm not sure what the real difference is. Maybe my knowledge of bonsai is just not at a high enough level to understand.

I have to say I'm a fan of Walter Pall, but I get the impression that he likes to think he's very different than anybody else in the world, and I just don't think he is. His trees are amazing, but his revolutionary push towards "natural" styles is something that (from my understanding) has been in and out of favor in Japan for centuries. A look around this site will turn up lots of naturalistic trees as they grow in the bush, that are quite a bit different from the standard styles but great bonsai. The hedge cutting method strikes me as the same type of thing - very similar to what most people do, but he is maybe a little more extreme and a lot more outspoken about it.

Again, love Walter Pall's work, and his blog has provided me lots of great information and inspiration, I just think he wants to be the black sheep when he's only light grey.