Need some help with my japanese maple!! (Acer palmatum)

[GrumpyJox]

Hey there, This is my 1st post on this forum, Glad to be here!

I have just recently bought this nursury Senkaki only because i havn't seen one before, was discounted to only $15 (because bunnings cant look after plants) so i saved her from their evil clutches!

Its very young right now the main trunk is still red,thin and very long and stretchy. Even the young trunk is tough to bend.

i don't know what to do with her; top her and get her bushy, bend her into a crazy winding trunk, leave her to get her trunk thick from the wind i'm stumped (excuse the pun)
thanks

[MoGanic]

Hey there,

It's really up to you where you go with this tree. Looks like you have a nice cascade/semi cascade going already.

The trunk will take a long while to thicken up, especially if all the growth is up the top of the tree.

I would suggest leaving it in the ground to get the trunk to fatten up, however if you want to keep your current style that's fine. PS don't put it in the ground until next year when it's dormant.

Note that Japanese Maples will back-bud profusely, as I have experienced with a 20+ year old stump. Cut all the branches off in winter and have new shoots bursting left right and centre now. With this in mind, you coul'd relatively straighten the trunk and just get some good movement going to start with and put it in the ground next year when its dormant & make a chop down to a short trunk and from the shoots that will then come out in Spring you can choose a new leader and have a little informal upright tree.

If this were my tree, I would layer the top half off. I have a Japanese Maple that was originally being trained as a topiary of all things and purchased it a week or two ago. As it stands, it does not make for good bonsai material, however once the top is layered off I'll have a nice set of branches from which to choose a leader and even potentially a multi-trunk. The layer would be done with a medium sized pot to enable the roots enough room to move between now and winter at which point i would put it in the ground.

If you wish I can take pics of the progress to show you what I mean?

If you want to keep the cascade style, as it seems could work well - all the shoots seem to be going in one direction - I would still layer the trunk because it's just far too long. You can get away with a slightly thinner trunk for cascade and as such, simply allowing some sacrafice branches to grow at the base of the trunk should allow for sufficient thickening.

If you plan on layering, you can also try applying a tourniquet (wire around the trunk nice and tight - positioned below your soil level base of your trunk) to cause swelling and thus thickening.

Just remember the base/foundations of your tree is the most important aspect - without this you can have amazing branching but an overall average tree. If you build the foundations first, especially with maples, your branching can always be worked on later.

Anyhow, hope that confused you a little more haha. Good luck!

-Mo

[GrumpyJox]

Hey there,

It's really up to you where you go with this tree. Looks like you have a nice cascade/semi cascade going already.

The trunk will take a long while to thicken up, especially if all the growth is up the top of the tree.

I would suggest leaving it in the ground to get the trunk to fatten up, however if you want to keep your current style that's fine. PS don't put it in the ground until next year when it's dormant.

Note that Japanese Maples will back-bud profusely, as I have experienced with a 20+ year old stump. Cut all the branches off in winter and have new shoots bursting left right and centre now. With this in mind, you coul'd relatively straighten the trunk and just get some good movement going to start with and put it in the ground next year when its dormant & make a chop down to a short trunk and from the shoots that will then come out in Spring you can choose a new leader and have a little informal upright tree.

If this were my tree, I would layer the top half off. I have a Japanese Maple that was originally being trained as a topiary of all things and purchased it a week or two ago. As it stands, it does not make for good bonsai material, however once the top is layered off I'll have a nice set of branches from which to choose a leader and even potentially a multi-trunk. The layer would be done with a medium sized pot to enable the roots enough room to move between now and winter at which point i would put it in the ground.

If you wish I can take pics of the progress to show you what I mean?

If you want to keep the cascade style, as it seems could work well - all the shoots seem to be going in one direction - I would still layer the trunk because it's just far too long. You can get away with a slightly thinner trunk for cascade and as such, simply allowing some sacrafice branches to grow at the base of the trunk should allow for sufficient thickening.

If you plan on layering, you can also try applying a tourniquet (wire around the trunk nice and tight - positioned below your soil level base of your trunk) to cause swelling and thus thickening.

Just remember the base/foundations of your tree is the most important aspect - without this you can have amazing branching but an overall average tree. If you build the foundations first, especially with maples, your branching can always be worked on later.

Anyhow, hope that confused you a little more haha. Good luck!

-Mo

hi Mo thanks for your reply!

i think i will straighten it up to get some more movement, then wait until dormancy kicks in then chop it down about 1/2 - 2/3 its length and start working on some sacrifice branches in the next spring/summer, to make a informal upright,

i would love to see some photos to help understand a bit more thanks
i will have to try a cascade one day!
i will have to look into tourniquet
i wasn't too sure on when i could lob the top off or transfer it, thanks for answering that

[Luke308]

Hey mate and welcom to ausbonsai!!

Mo offered you some great advice, but I would like to add to that if I may.

In regards to transplanting, Mo was correct in saying you shouldnt do so when in leaf. But that is only if you are root pruning at the same time. You can safely transplant/re-pott into the ground or a grow box it you DO NOT cut or damage any roots. Be gentle and tease them out if you think you can with out damageing the roots. Maples dont like having their roots pruned when in leaf, and root pruning should only be done at the end of winter when the buds are beginning to swell.

I potted up about 7 maples in the ground similar in size to yours at this time last year with no worries. Make sure you water in with Seasol at the recommended strength on the bottle, and then again 2 weeks later.

If I were you I would plant it in the ground and feed it weekly with fertilizer such as miricle gro or Aquasol or whatever's on special at the time. I use about 6-7 different fertilizers and switch them weekly to ensure a balanced diet. I'd wait about 3-4 weeks after transplanting it before commencing fertilizing though (seasol is not a fertilizer)

Let it grow for a year with out pruning it and it should thicken close to double its size if in the ground in a year. During that time I suggest reading as much info as possible on maples and bonsai both here on Ausbonsai, and from you local bonsai clubs library. I recommend you read "Bonsai with Japanese Maples" by Peter Adams.

Good luck, and happy bonsai'ing

Luke

[shibui]

Hi Grumpy jox,
The tree you have posted looks unlike any Senkaki I have seen. A. palmatum 'senkaki' - real name 'Sango Kaku" is known as coral bark maple because the bark is quite orange. They are brighter in winter but mine are still quite orange coloured at the moment.
Is this tree grafted? Cutting grown or seed? I suspect mislabelling for this one but its possible I could be wrong. In any case it will not affect its suitability for bonsai, just the name and the bark colour.