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Preserving a piece of your family history by air layering that ash tree is great. But you might want to separate that from you early bonsai attempts. Go to your club auction and look at the trees. Talk with the members. You're not likely to find an example of an ash bonsai.

Roots when collected:

Just to make my point - even in the wrong season - my daughter wanted this crepe myrtle removed to make way for a hot tub. Not sure it's ever gonna be a bonsai, but I put it in a box instead of just throwing it away. Collected three weeks ago in 100+F temps. Budding out now. Had some...

I do like the hollow. I would definitely use that as a feature.

Here's the remaining base, with partially healed squirrel scar. Might as well grow it out too.

OK, update a year later. I decided to air layer the tree above the squirrel damage to the trunk. I also laid it on it's side. It really tries to grow in a single plane, so I'm hoping the radical change in angle will help develop a third dimension. I also took some more propagation...

Yeah I've never tried but I hear the dissectum types are hard to layer.

Is that a standard J Maple you're working with? You can probably get roots in 8 - 10 weeks. If you start now and don't get enough roots to separate before first frost you can leave it on over the winter.

I don't think I'm missing the point. If the cultivars have value to you, go for it. I'm past the point of buying cuttings. I need to spend money to save time at this stage of my life. Soooo, if I see mature stock and like it, that's all that matters to me.

OK you sucked me back in one more time. No point addressing the ad absurdum arguments you listed. My point is only this: The enjoyment I have for a Japanese maple on display is based solely on the appearance of the tree, it's observable characteristics, the skill of the artist. Not the name...

Was going to make a snide comment in kind, but I'll pass and be done with this discussion.

OK, you're right. I don't care if a tree is a Kiyo Hime, or just looks like a Kiyo Hime. If you feel the need to have the name validated by some cultivar police, have at it. But I will enjoy the tree in the show due to its appearance, not its documentation.

I guess I don't get all the fuss over a name. If my tree looks interesting, I can call it "Fred" and be happy with it. I kind of gave up worrying about that when I was trying to identify California red oaks. They look similar. They hybridize easily. Their care is the same. So I call the...

My bonsai life became a whole lot easier / more satisfying when I finally decided to only growth trees that like my climate.

Up north people want ficus and bougies. In the south, J maples and larch. We all want what is rare or unusual in our current environment. It seems to be a constant of the human condition.

Apologies. Crepe myrtle air layer separated this year.

Doesn't this one have the potential of growing itself off the rock? Seems like it needs a root on the opposite side of the rock.

If the graft is low enough it essentially becomes part of the nebari and initial trunk taper as the tree grows. Of course it's possible the graft is soooo ugly that even that won't work.

I wouldn't hesitate to remove the layer now, given you are hot AND humid, and get regular rainfall through the summer. I think twice about separating a layer now where I live, given my regular 100+ heat and, low humidity and wind, and no rain again until Thanksgiving.

Your air layer, once separated, can do straight into bonsai soil, as long as your watering and fertilizing program matches the soil type you're using. As for when to separate the layer, that might depend on where you are and the climate you expect over the next few months. If you put your...

I think layers on these dissectum types need to be in the root stock, just below the graft. Keep the graft but make it blend in with the base.

Didn't look like there was anything there worth messing with to me. If you're contemplating jail food the tree ought to be worth the risk.

I've not had an opportunity to try collect a decent valley oak trunk, so I know pretty much nothing. But if you watch how they grow from acorn they (like many Cali oaks) spend most of their energy early on pushing the roots. By the time they've spent a few years in a nursery can they have most...

I've never met anyone who has successfully collected a substantial valley oak trunk. I have a few, from nursery stock or acorns, and enjoy working with them. But collected valley oak? Haven't seen one.