Acer Negundo

[Jester]

Hi there crazy kids!!! I would like to know if anyone has tried to bonsai a box elder?? How did you go? Were you able to achieve any degree of leaf reduction

Any pictures would be much appreciated

John

P>S> Is any special care required for this type of tree??

[anttal63]

HI jester, im in my second year of growing seedlings. The corky bark is what attracted me to these trees originally. How ever they are very course in their growth and will need to be large trees. I'm yet to play with defoliation and cant answer on leaf reduction at this point. They do like the deeper grow pots and water this year. Last year they hit the brakes early and did not move again until last spring. This year they seem to be powering on.

[Jester]

Thanks Antony, thankyou for the info mate

[Ron]

These seedlings pop up everywhere around here and are considered weeds. I've got a couple of collected seedlings growing, one in the ground that's about 2m tall and another one about 5 inches that I found growing out of a hole in the old septic tank and which is a plastic pot.

I've not been able to get either of them to branch: they just grow straight up and don't look very interesting to me.

EDIT: I just re-read the above posts and saw corky bark. My 2m tree just has a smooth green trunk similar to a Japanese maple of the same size.

[anttal63]

i've got a couple that i wired in the first months of life so have nice movement and are thickening up this year. I'm not trying for branches at this point. Just height equals girth for now Ron. so again i can't comment there. I would chop the trunk back now and that should entice them to pop.

[Ron]

Yes, I chopped the top of the 2m one last week and am waiting for something to happen. On the small potted one I pinched the latest leaf set off yesterday.

I'll try for some pics tomorrow or the next day if I get a few minutes of sun (been raining here all week and another week of it is forecast - had to wear a jumper today!).

[anttal63]

Gee wizz Ron that sounds nice. We're sweatn down here!

[Bretts]

I can't say much about refinement as others but I have had some of these on the go since I started. They are very hardy in my climate and as Antonio says. give them the right conditions and they take off pretty fast.
I have about 4 on the go One very straight trunk but getting a decent size. One root over rock That always seems to need another year before I start refinement. One root over ornament that needs another trunk chop. Also one that is showing signs of the issues I have had this year but seems like it will pull through

They can be an interesting species I think of the liquid amber as a poor mans maple and these are definitely a step up on the cool meter

[Ron]

....I found growing out of a hole in the old septic tank and which is in a plastic pot.

So is this the same as the A.negundos we're talking about? My local nursery id'd it as a negundo.