New 40 year old Acer Palmatum

[Gerard]

I was lucky to pick up a new tree recently, the previous owner was finding it a bit big.
It stands over a metre tall, and has been styled mostly by the clip and grow method. I hope I will be able to improve what I think is already a very nice tree.

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Gerard

[simo_5]

nice one mate you will get alot out of this one

[Jamie]

very nice mate, a little more spreading of the foliage will make for a slightly shorter tree, having the foliage quite close makes the overall image look taller. not that i done like that with the way the trunk is anyways

[IS2SXC]

Lovely tree i would shorten it a little it seems a bit too tall anyways thats what i think

cheers minh

[kvan64]

nce tree. Let the leaves spread more horizontally and repot in a wider pot next time you repot. This will reduce the 'too tall illusion'.
Cheers

[kcpoole]

I like it muchly

Can you lower the bottom Right branch a little to separate it from the foliage mass above it? Beware that you do not chnage the branch angle much as it matches all the other nicely, but it need some negative space there.
A little bit more width on the bottom few branches as well would be OK too

Ken

[craigw60]

Hi Gerard, nice find. I like the height of your new tree, palmatums don't need to have extreme taper, it seems to me to have a nice soft taper which suits the species. I reckon it needs to go into a wider pot and the branches should be slowly grown out and eventually be much longer.
Craig

[Guy]

would you consider air layering just above the second branch

[Bretts]

That is a very Nice Maple Gerard.
Have you ever bothered to measure the width to height ratio. It is interesting

[hugh grant]

Wow that is very nic mate, looks very elegent.

Hugh

[Hutch11]

Absolutely beautiful tree, can I ask how much you paid? I love the maples!

[Mojo Moyogi]

Hi Gerard,
I am also a fan of Japanese Maples with a more delicate stature, your tree has nice taper and a spotless trunk that I find really apppealing. To me, the tree needs 25-30% more canopy width and I am a bit bothered that the branches seem to get progrssively thicker as they ascend the tree, but other than that the tree is quite pleasant.

Cheers
Mojo Moyogi

[Gerard]

Thanks everyone for the feedback,
At the present moment I am enjoying the autumn colours inside, trying to prolong the show.
There are certainly some aspects of this tree which are far from perfect.
1) As has been mentioned the foliage pad on the second branch needs to be lowered a little. It is probably a few years since this tree has seen wire and I think I will (at the same time) wire the tips of the first two branches to make a start on extending them.
2) The roots resemble an emu's foot which will take a long time to improve, I will look closer at repot time but I believe layering would not be a good option.
3) Upper branches are very thick, re-growing a few of these may be necessary but I will wait to see how well I can make it bud. If not .....I am not sure what to do. Keeping the foliage minimal will stop it getting worse. Thicker foliage will disguise the problem.

Regards Gerard

[Gerard]

would you consider air layering just above the second branch

nce tree. Let the leaves spread more horizontally and repot in a wider pot next time you repot. This will reduce the 'too tall illusion'.
Cheers

Lovely tree i would shorten it a little it seems a bit too tall anyways thats what i think

I intend to extend the branches a little but I like the height very much, I believe I should keep this to maintain the elegance.

[Gerard]

Have you ever bothered to measure the width to height ratio. It is interesting

I got out the tape measure today, 90cm tall 100cm if you include the pot, 8cm trunk just above the roots and a root spread of 20cm (widest) above the soil
Is that 90/8 = 11.25 to 1

regards Gerard