Acer Palmatum Literati attempt

[Ces]

So this is probably the type of tree that would be better served in a group planting (maybe it will one day) but I do like the trunk on this one, so I'm going to give a literati styling a go.

I know deciduous trees aren't generally styled this way but... why not?

so here's the tree-

japanese maple.JPG

and two fairly similar design options... sorry but my computer virts are much worse.

literati 1.JPG

literati 2.JPG

What's everyones opinion of how this will work out? any thoughts appreciated.

[Peterji]

I think you should check out the work of Keichi Fujikawa:
http://artofbonsai.org/galleries/fujikawa.php
He has a unique approach to styling maples. Very interesting

[Ces]

I think you should check out the work of Keichi Fujikawa:
http://artofbonsai.org/galleries/fujikawa.php
He has a unique approach to styling maples. Very interesting

Thanks for the link. I particularly like the twin trunk japanese maple. Poetic and natural looking. Those trees are about twice of mine though... Going to be looking for stock to put in the ground and try and replicate something like these in the future.

Because my tree has reasonable movement and gnarled appearance for a small tree, I've picked up two others that I'm training to complement the movement for a sparse group in the future. Maybe a land and water penjing

Anyone gat an idea how I can mimic the bark scarring that is present on the tree posted above? I'm nervous about attempting shari on a japanese maple.

[Ces]

an update on this tree...

so it has been sitting in the forgotten part of the garden pretty much since the last post and has suffered pretty badly for it. The two trees I acquired to plant in a group with it had their trunks wired and were also forgotten. They now have trunk scarring and reverse taper that's going to take a decade or two to correct. So with a strict "no more trees" policy set by SWMBO its back to attempting to make something out of this single tree. I WAS attracted to the trunk line on this when I bought it so I should try and make a tree out of it and I'll just have to try something different, I guess.

All of my maples got pretty leaf scorched in January when we had a few 40 + days here in Sydney and it appears this one has been in too wet a potting mix as the burnt side of the trunk had started to rot at the base. I suspect it may have root rot as well but I'm unsure how to deal with/check for this at this time of year. Any suggestions or tips on this specifically would be greatly appreciated.

So here's this sad little tree as it was yesterday.

front 13 april 2013.jpg

trunk scar 13 april 2013.jpg

after the rot had been removed and the trunk cleaned

rot removed 13 april 2013.jpg

Then a little carving, lime sulphur and india ink.

carving 14 april 2013.jpg

carving 2 14 april 2013.jpg

Carving me

carving me 14 april 2014.jpg

Deadwood nature

carving nature 14 april 2013.jpg

My third carving attempt. Definitely better than my first. In the future I'll give the whole shari a wash down with a weak India ink solution to settle the colour down but for now I like it.

Anyway, still considering a design for this tree. Hoping desperately that it survives Going to leave the low strong branch for now as its the most vigorous on the tree and I'm hoping it will help it live.

Its an ugly little sucker and really only a trunk but somehow it gives me pleasure.

Thoughts and suggestions appreciated as always.

Cheers,

Ces.