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Acer palmatum 'Red Dragon'

16 years ago

I have just purchased an acer palmatum that I'd like to convert to a bonsai speciman. The tree is 3' tall, in good condition, with two fanned branches at the top. Leaves are small and deep red.

Would this tree convert to a bonsai? I live in Georgia and want to keep it in indoors. After trimming the roots to dry root and repotting, what would be the next stage for this type of tree?

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Comments (4)

lucy
16 years ago
Hi, your tree will die if kept indoors - it absolutely needs to be outside, and only tropicals will survive inside given the right conditions. What do you mean by "trimming the roots to dry root" and what did you have in mind for repotting? I suggest you run-don't-walk to www.atlantabonsaisociety.com for hands-on learning, www.bonsai4me.com, and www.evergreengardenworks.com for more. I think your intentions are great, but the learning curve may be a little steeper than you realize and you very much need information right away. Resist the urge to water as if it was a houseplant - allow more of the soil to dry between times than otherwise, keep it in sun filtered through a larger tree or in light shade for now and don't cut anything or repot without a lot of help. This isn't a good time to repot anyway, nor to prune anything.
Applegate
Original Author
16 years ago
Lucy, thank you for your reply and suggestions. Guess I'd better start learning before doing!

What I wanted to do was to keep the acer small (at 3' or so). Since it's a slow growing tree,I thought I could repot it in a stone trough, leaving a long thin trunk and two slender, arching branches with reddish leaves at the top. In other words, something architectural. I've seen such trees used indoors in design magazines and thought I'd try my hand at it.

At any rate, I have it outside on our patio. If it should survive (!), what about bringing it indoors near French doors where lots of sunlight comes through?
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Deb, Glad you liked the pics. The globe-shaped green maple just below the iris in the picture at the beginning of the post is Acer palmatum 'Yuri Hime'. The ground cover is Creeping Jenny. The chartreuse maple on the upper left is Acer shirasawanum 'Aureum' (also known as Golden Full Moon Maple) Here's a reverse angle photo of this area. (A.s. 'Aureum' right, and Acer palmatum 'Red Dragon' left , Iris sibirica 'Ceasar's Brother, center) The Hakonechloa(from before and after picture) is new to me this year. I never had a spot for it until this year. I've also admired it for a long time, prior to planting it. I see it mostly listed as Zone 5, but if your going to give it a try, (which I'm never hesitant to do) I'd try 'All Gold'. I originally did not like it as much as 'Aureola', but it has won me over with its fast growth and seemingly more vigorous nature. The ones in the "Before and After" pics were one gallon plants this Spring. As far as the rocks go, if you're talking about the ones around the spherical copper fountain. I think they were called "Canyon River Stone". The are basicly smooth flat versions of the cobble stones I've used in other areas of the garden. I selected out only the grey tones for this feature. Bunnycat, thanks for the positive feedback and advice on 'Cutting Edge', I appreciate it. Dan P.S. I'd love to see pictures from other members gardens
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lucy
16 years ago
Hi - does that trough have 1-2 good sized drain holes? The style you refer to is called literati, BTW. Most decent bonsai are grown out in larger pots or pref. in the ground for a couple of yrs to fatten them quickest, then cut back (at the right time of year) and new smaller branches allowed to grow and then you begin shaping the tree to whatever style you want - often the grow out-cut back sequence is done more than once and some trees stay in the ground x 10 yrs (though I doubt you want to wait that long). Keeping it small without a decent trunkline, even for literati, will just give you a stick in a pot, not a bonsai, so consider what you want it to look like (though bonsai should look like trees, not vice versa :-) - however, mature trees, not saplings. Does your patio have any shade at all?
Applegate
Original Author
16 years ago
Lucy, I checked in a bonsai book, and yes! the literati style is what I'm after. The trough does have drain holes, and I've moved the tree to a spot on the patio that has filtered light. The trunk line curves slightly, which gives the tree a graceful appearance. However, I've left three very small branches (that have tiny red leaves)at the base. I think what I'm going for is a cross between a tall bonsai and a sapling! If I can find my camera, I'll try posting a pic. Once again, thank you for your advice.

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