Japanese Maple Bonsai Tree Started to Sprout
10 years ago
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japanese maple bonsai
Comments (5)So much of what you will be trying to do should be guided by the characteristics of the tree. Any recommendations on pruning for shape and taking advantage of what the tree has to offer really can't be done in this kind of format. Giving general guidelines on "how to prune" over the internet to someone that may not be well equipped to do so or not have a good basic understanding of plant cultivation could have catastrophic consequences. You can easily ruin a beautiful tree with haphazard techniques. I hope you don't take this wrong. If this plant is of any size, it's quite valuable. You really don't want to jump into this without a good game-plan. Some good photos posted here of the tree would help to some degree. We can offer some ideas. As lucy as mentioned, there are some great books out there on "general" bonsai techniques that will help you grasp the basics. randy...See MoreJapanese Maple Seedling - Good for starting a Bonsai?
Comments (4)Brandy, As you say most trees are suitable for bonsai, Maples certainly are. Many people will say not to start your bonsai 'career' with seedlings, mainly because of the length of time they take to 'do' anything. This can lead to disollusionment with the hobby. So buying inexpensive raw material, e.g. garden centre shrubs or small trees gives you something tangible to work on and practice newly discovered techniques. However, seedlings are still appropriate, in fact in ancient times seedlings would have been the most likely starting point for bonsai enthusiasts, apart from collecting from the wild. Regarding your Maple seedlings, if you regularly pot them on, maples can grow quite quickly. Beyond that any other advice on pruning and root pruning etc can be read about in books - far to much to include here. You can also learn about modern techniques e.g. trunk chopping and so on. Good luck Nick...See MoreBaby tree sprout started changing colors, ok to bring indoors?
Comments (3)Maples, regardless of species, are NOT houseplants. They need that natural change in temperatures and day length that comes with the change of seasons, as do all temperate climate plants. They have to go through a normal period of dormancy which cannot be achieved inside a house. Even long time bonsai enthusiasts do not keep bonsai maples indoors - protection from winter cold, yes. Indoors on a desk, no. Josh's suggestion is a good one. Pot 'em up and keep somewhere protected but still outdoors (covered but unheated shed, unheated garage or basement, even sunk into garden soil). Once underway with the bonsai training, you will want to follow the same plan - protection in winter from excessive cold exposure (especially if in a small bonsai pot) as that can damage or kill the more vulnerable roots, but NOT indoors!! BTW, not all Japanese maples have red leaves :-) Of the thousand or so cultivars on the market, at least as many have green leaves, or golden or orange or even multicolored (variegated) leaves as there are ones with red leaves....See MoreJapanese Maple 'Fireglow' as Bonsai
Comments (14)Better still would be to layer the top off above the graft, something I do as a matter of course. Here is a picture of a Zelcova I'm 'shortening' (on right). Pay no attention to the planting on the left. The photo was taken as part of a series to illustrate before/after pruning of the Radermachia. The Zelcova was actually incidental to the picture; I just remembered it was in the shot. You can remove all the bark & cambial tissues in a ring equal to 1.5X the diameter of the branch you're layering; or, you can leave the bark intact and simply wrap a couple of zip ties (locate them as close together as you can get them - touching is best) tightly around the trunk & wait. How I do it: A) determine where I want the root base to develop B) wrap the zip ties below that point in late summer before I'm going to do the layering C) (important) Wrap a piece of aluminum foil around the area where you eventually want roots to grow & secure it so the area just below the zip ties to just above is in total darkness. This increases the plant's response to the polar movement of auxin and promotes the preformation of root primordia, so when the layer is completed in spring, you have a considerable jump on the process. BTW - the zip ties block the polar flow of photosynthate/carbohydrates and auxin. A very noticeable bulge will form immediately above the constriction point where the carbohydrates collect in the auxin-rich tissues. Fortunately, the prominent bulge adds a considerable amount of (visual) strength to your composition after the layer is separated from the tree. D) Start the layering process in spring. In most cases, after the separation if not before, buds will break below the layer site, providing you with another tree you can plant out, layer again later, or use as a source of grafting material. Al...See MoreRelated Professionals
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