$25 japanese maple from lowes

[Deleted member 49943]

I bought a 3 gallon 6 ft tall japanese maple tree from lowes. Any suggestions on what to do to get it started on the bonsai path. Thinking about cloning the top half and re pot in spring. Also what variety is this they are all labeled Japanese maple.

 

[SeanS]

Looks like acer palmatum to me

 

[pandacular]

Hard to give advice for what to do on it without pictures that more clearly show the structure. Particularly the trunk line and layout of the branches, ideally from multiple angles. Perhaps do the same for the price you're thinking about air layer.

 

[Shibui]

Commercial grown Japanese maples will all be similar structure. Tall, skinny trunk tied to a stake to keep it straight. Long internodes because they are force grown as quick as possible. Roots tangles and twisted because they are just dumped into a pot with no regard to root spread.

How to proceed depends what you want from your bonsai to be.
For a straight trunk bushy top tree with relatively thin trunk just chop trunk and branches back to a suitable size. Keep trimming whenever new shoots grow out past the desired shape. In spring, cut roots back enough to fit into a suitable pot. You'll have a 'bonsai' quick but with no real aesthetics. Many beginners are quite happy with a tree like this.

It takes much longer to develop a more impressive bonsai with a thick trunk. Allow the tree to grow freely all summer. In spring bare root and cut back roots to try to develop a radial nebari. Decide what style of trunk you want and chop the trunk accordingly. Back into a large pot or in the ground somewhere to grow again for the following summer. Continue cycles of grow and chop and root prune until trunk reaches close to desired size and has good bends. Into a large grow pot to allow moderate growth while branches start to develop. Grow and chop to develop branch structure. When trunk and branches look good transfer into a suitable bonsai pot. Continue to develop fine ramification by grow and trim. Should have a good medium sized bonsai in 10-15 years or a larger version in 15-20 years.

 

[BobbyLane]

I wouldnt select one of these without first inspecting the root base at the nursery. I just dont bring it home unless the root base has potential. These pics show the type of potential to look for to make something desirable

 

[BobbyLane]

Same again, and youre not just looking for a base, you want low branches, thick stems that can be potential leaders and sub trunks. Movement if possible.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

A 3 gallon Japanese maple for $25 is a good deal, even if you plan on just putting it in landscape. If you put it in the ground, it will not only thicken up much faster, but you can structurally prune it, and in the future if you decide to air-layer off the top, the bottom will respond much more strongly when the air-layer is removed.

 

[dbonsaiw]

I view the big box maples as generally a good deal for what you are getting, but you need to understand what you are getting. Unless you lucked out with the nebari, you are probably looking at a ground layer next spring 2024 and then a chop in 2025 to get the tree started.

 

[Deleted member 49943]

Looks like acer palmatum to me

Is that better or worse than a bloodgood maple?

 

[Deleted member 49943]

Same again, and youre not just looking for a base, you want low branches, thick stems that can be potential leaders and sub trunks. Movement if possible.

Impressive. Were thoose from big box store trees originally?

 

[BobbyLane]

Impressive. Were thoose from big box store trees originally?

Landscape and large garden centres.

 

[Cajunrider]

I view the big box maples as generally a good deal for what you are getting, but you need to understand what you are getting. Unless you lucked out with the nebari, you are probably looking at a ground layer next spring 2024 and then a chop in 2025 to get the tree started.

It's not just maple. I find the same thing with bald cypress. In the past few months, I have had to help quite a few people sort out the roots on their nursery BCs. Some were just simple case of circling roots. However, there were quite a few where the roots were hopelessly entangled with no way to sort out. Those had to be air-layered. Thankfully, the trunk taper is usually not very strong with nursery BCs so we didn't lose much of the trunk girth in air-layering.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Is that better or worse than a bloodgood maple?

A bloodgood is a cultivar of A. palmatum (Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood'). Since this Japanese maple is unlabeled, it could be any cultivar - or no cultivar at all. If there isn't a noticeable graft union, it may simply be a random seedling.

It doesn't mean it isn't any less beautiful, it just means it isn't a cultivar. FWIW most Japanese maple bonsai (in Japan) are not cultivars. They are seedlings specifically chosen because they have good bonsai characteristics (small leaves, short internodes).

I've got a seedling tray of seedlings from several Bloodgood landscape trees. Because of the high genetic variability of Japanese maples, the seedlings often do not look anything like the parent tree. Within this one tray some are bigger, some are smaller, they have different colors, and some aren't even red leafed. The only way to propagate a cultivar is to clone it - via cutting, air-layer, or graft.

 

[BobbyLane]

I have trade cards at the places I visit, so I get good discounts. Its not difficult to acquire a trade card, not sure what the rules are like there. I basically just showed one place a screenshot of a few trees I sold on ebay and that was enough proof for them, but they new me already as the bonsai guy.

 

[Deleted member 49943]

A bloodgood is a cultivar of A. palmatum (Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood'). Since this Japanese maple is unlabeled, it could be any cultivar - or no cultivar at all. If there isn't a noticeable graft union, it may simply be a random seedling.

It doesn't mean it isn't any less beautiful, it just means it isn't a cultivar. FWIW most Japanese maple bonsai (in Japan) are not cultivars. They are seedlings specifically chosen because they have good bonsai characteristics (small leaves, short internodes).

I've got a seedling tray of seedlings from several Bloodgood landscape trees. Because of the high genetic variability of Japanese maples, the seedlings often do not look anything like the parent tree. Within this one tray some are bigger, some are smaller, they have different colors, and some aren't even red leafed. The only way to propagate a cultivar is to clone it - via cutting, air-layer, or graft.

They are all labeled bloodgood. So I assume they are. I dunno. Def grafted.

 

[Deleted member 49943]

I have trade cards at the places I visit, so I get good discounts. Its not difficult to acquire a trade card, not sure what the rules are like there. I basically just showed one place a screenshot of a few trees I sold on ebay and that was enough proof for them, but they new me already as the bonsai guy.

So my plant selling etsy should be good enough for a trade card or better a whole sale list?

 

[Deleted member 49943]

A 3 gallon Japanese maple for $25 is a good deal, even if you plan on just putting it in landscape. If you put it in the ground, it will not only thicken up much faster, but you can structurally prune it, and in the future if you decide to air-layer off the top, the bottom will respond much more strongly when the air-layer is removed.

So I can prune now before I attempt the airlayer beacuse I cant airlayer till spring.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Late July is a little late in the season for pruning for a deciduous tree. You'll probably be ok in New Orleans (no early cold weather) but if you want to be on the safe side, I would not prune too aggressively.

 

[Deleted member 49943]

Should I plant it or put it in a 15 gallon and baby it?

 

[jradics]

So my plant selling etsy should be good enough for a trade card or better a whole sale list?

the wholesale nursery I work at requires a business license to receive trade discounts