Abutilon / chinese flowering maple

[alpineart]

This is 1 of the numerous Abutilon Megapotamicum trainers i have been playing with for the sole purpose of turning them into Bonsai .Not an easy task , but like a good bull dog i don't give in real easy.I took quite a few ground layers off the main tree 18 months ago the savaged it to around 400mm high .Originally it was about 1.5m round , they tend to grow quite leggy/spindly but now is the time to really take a stand and hook into them to see if i can produce a small compact shrub to train .

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[alpineart]

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[Taffy]

That's an interesting tree Alpine. Those flowers are unusual. Good luck with what you're attempting. I hope it works out for you 'cause I'd be interested to see the outcome.

[alpineart]

Hi Tman ,these if they do work out will be a nice trees, Bonsai well that's anyone's guess .The biggest issue here is growth in the right area's and movement .They bend easily but the bark splits and separates from the hard wood and die back of the bark is almost instant then decay sets in so movement is by pinch and grow .When the branches are cut they dry out inside the bark and then heal but this causes and ugly union , so a sealer may need to be applied .This clump was 3 seperate sucker plants so i split them up and put them into Bonsai trainer pots

Sonic 976 requested a few for trainers so i let him loose on 3 dozen yesterday , repotting and trimming , we set 1 particular plant as a root over rock , numerous semi cascades , twin trunks and single trunks .I think the best tree's would be around 500m the flower would be a little out of proportion if less than 300mm .There is a Miniture available but i have not seen 1, numerous different flowers and colours mainly reds and red/orange but most have larger maple type leaves . Cheers Alpine