32 year old Acer Rubrum

[ABCarve]

Lovely. This is #1 on my list to either develop from young or find a collectible specimen. Thanks for sharing.

Personally I think you're better off collecting one. #1- They're very easy to collect. Around here they are plentiful and hardy as weeds!! #2 - Your specimen has to be fairly large to be believable as bonsai because of the leaf size. Even with the reduction of defoliation they are still fairly large.

 

[Tree by River]

This is a updated picture of the big one and the smaller one together. Fall colors are on the big one with leaves falling. They’re in the rain this morning. I did wire a few shoots on the big one that I did want to keep so I gave them a little movement. The smaller one I will wire up some shoots before long. Plan is, is to keep letting them grow out and this spring start feeding them.

 

[ABCarve]

This is a updated picture of the big one and the smaller one together. Fall colors are on the big one with leaves falling. They’re in the rain this morning. I did wire a few shoots on the big one that I did want to keep so I gave them a little movement. The smaller one I will wire up some shoots before long. Plan is, is to keep letting them grow out and this spring start feeding them. View attachment 341604

That's a chubby little rascal! Nice root spread. Can't really see your wiring, but it all good till spring.

 

[Tree by River]

When get a chance I will bring it in my shop and try and take a good pic of it. I’m shooting for it to hopefully grow out a big fat canopy, that’s why I wired down the shoots I think would start a good canopy outline.

 

[B.uneasy]

Im just going to post in this thread instead of making a new one. I'm in pennsylvania, we have already gotten snow, and it steadily sits around freezing. I have found an interesting acer rubrum growing against the concrete at a house under construction. The yard is about to be dug up to put in gravel for a future driveway. Will it survive If i collect it right now? What would be my best bet?

 

[ABCarve]

Im just going to post in this thread instead of making a new one. I'm in pennsylvania, we have already gotten snow, and it steadily sits around freezing. I have found an interesting acer rubrum growing against the concrete at a house under construction. The yard is about to be dug up to put in gravel for a future driveway. Will it survive If i collect it right now? What would be my best bet?

Wait til spring!

 

[B.uneasy]

I can't. Its going go be all dug up and back filled at the end of the month

 

[ABCarve]

I can't. Its going go be all dug up and back filled at the end of the month

Well if you have to...... keep it from freezing and keep as much of the root ball intact as you can.

 

[Tree by River]

I can't. Its going go be all dug up and back filled at the end of the month

Just like ABC said just really make sure you keep a lot of dirt around the root ball and make sure it doesn’t freeze. And put it out of the weather. Good luck and just go for it, you might learn some stuff you never knew.

 

[ABCarve]

If you would like a condensed version of this thread...... from Bill V’s Facebook feed.

I’m pleased to announce the May - June issue of my FREE International BONSAI OnLine has just been released. This issue contains several articles on the culture and training of Wisteria bonsai by Jonas Dupuich and how Mr. Kimura reduces the height of a Japanese flowering apricot. Also a comprehensive article by David Bennett describing how he trained a beautiful Red maple, a native US species, for bonsai.

You can easily read this interesting issue and subscribe FREE at:
www.internationalbonsaionline.com

I hope you find this latest issue interesting and educational as much as I have compiling the May - June issue of International BONSAI OnLine.

 

[Hartinez]

If you would like a condensed version of this thread...... from Bill V’s Facebook feed.

I’m pleased to announce the May - June issue of my FREE International BONSAI OnLine has just been released. This issue contains several articles on the culture and training of Wisteria bonsai by Jonas Dupuich and how Mr. Kimura reduces the height of a Japanese flowering apricot. Also a comprehensive article by David Bennett describing how he trained a beautiful Red maple, a native US species, for bonsai.

You can easily read this interesting issue and subscribe FREE at:
www.internationalbonsaionline.com

I hope you find this latest issue interesting and educational as much as I have compiling the May - June issue of International BONSAI OnLine.

View attachment 369586

Saw the article last night! Awesome!

 

[Gaitano]

Im just waiting for the autumn colors

A few years ago I found a beautiful one in my neighborhood. Nice full mature tree. That fall I collected a big baggie of seeds from the ground below it. The next spring it was cut down . I started a dozen or so seedlings that germinated easily. Last fall I had spectacular color on all my trees, but these went deep red. Thanks to this post and David’s article I believe it’s a Drummond var. The last photo, with the yellow was a week later. Several of these seedlings went into the ground this spring.

 

[Cosmos]

A few years ago I found a beautiful one in my neighborhood. Nice full mature tree. That fall I collected a big baggie of seeds from the ground below it. The next spring it was cut down . I started a dozen or so seedlings that germinated easily. Last fall I had spectacular color on all my trees, but these went deep red. Thanks to this post and David’s article I believe it’s a Drummond var. The last photo, with the yellow was a week later. Several of these seedlings went into the ground this spring.

View attachment 369599View attachment 369598View attachment 369596View attachment 369597

Up here, rubrums turn bright red just like on your pictures, and we ain’t got such thing as a "Drummond variety" I can assure you, although we do have a city called Drummondville...

I enjoyed the article, but it certainly seems to be like an oversimplification to say "real" rubrums turn yellow and the Drummond ones turn red. There’s a massive genetic variance range in that species, given how common it is in most of Eastern NA.

 

[ABCarve]

So this year I decided this tree would look better in a deeper pot. This one is temporary for this growing season. Gave me the opportunity to fool around with the nebari and get some ideas for how a new, deeper pot might work visually. It's just starting to flower now. Also the original "hollow trunk" is now completely healed over. 35 years isn't so long......is it??

 

[Corrado]

looks pretty good to me. I notice the flowers though are yellow and not red. Sure this is an acer rubrum?? My flowers are red on mine.

 

[ABCarve]

looks pretty good to me. I notice the flowers though are yellow and not red. Sure this is an acer rubrum?? My flowers are red on mine.

Embrace the paradox

 

[Crazy Diamond]

looks pretty good to me. I notice the flowers though are yellow and not red. Sure this is an acer rubrum?? My flowers are red on mine.

Those I think are male flowers maybe yours have female flowers

 

[GreatLakesBrad]

Phew, I just love this tree so much. Thank you for sharing an update. So neat to see the flowers.

 

[Frozentreehugger]

Acer rubrum was named for the color of the flowers, not the leaves. Depending on the local race, autumn leaf color can be anything from yellow, the most common, to orange to red.

My understanding is rubrum is named . Because some part of the tree is red in every season

 

[Frozentreehugger]

As a fan of native trees . I love this tree and what you have done with it . Thanks for sharing. Any other advice for this native . Species I’m growing red and silver . Thanks great job I love the style