Acer maple, to young to prune (beginner)

[BonsaiDaddy]

Hello all I'm a beginner and got this nursery stock, it has a slanted trunk with 4 branches running along it, im assuming it's 1 year+ should I eliminate some branches, train all of them away and pick the best route later, I'm not sure what to do or if to young to prune?

 

[Tieball]

If it was my tree….i would let it grow more. I’d do nothing. Just care for it so it grows as much as possible. Those branches may get quite lengthy (well over your height) during that growth over several seasons or years. That branch growth would contribute to a thicker trunk. When the trunk near the ground level was at a thickness I wanted I would chop the trunk just above that first branch growing to the right in your photo. When letting it grow and develop character you may possibly find other alternative directions….however, I think that the chop above that first branch is going to stick out as a best choice.

And, I’m certain others will post in with probably far better solutions and ideas.

 

[Tieball]

Recommendation. Tap on your square icon at the top right in the navigation bar. Then tap on Account Details. In Account Details scroll down to the Location boxes. Fill in some basic location information and your USDA Zone. This will help commenters understand your growing location and get better-help posts.

 

[BonsaiDaddy]

Recommendation. Tap on your square icon at the top right in the navigation bar. Then tap on Account Details. In Account Details scroll down to the Location boxes. Fill in some basic location information and your USDA Zone. This will help commenters understand your growing location and get better-help posts.

If it was my tree….i would let it grow more. I’d do nothing. Just care for it so it grows as much as possible. Those branches may get quite lengthy (well over your height) during that growth over several seasons or years. That branch growth would contribute to a thicker trunk. When the trunk near the ground level was at a thickness I wanted I would chop the trunk just above that first branch growing to the right in your photo. When letting it grow and develop character you may possibly find other alternative directions….however, I think that the chop above that first branch is going to stick out as a best choice.

And, I’m certain others will post in with probably far better solutions and ideas.

Noted, thanks for that I can see it's potential, and was hoping I wouldn't have to do anything yet, I also updated that, I'm in zone 10a

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Hello all I'm a beginner and got this nursery stock, it has a slanted trunk with 4 branches running along it, im assuming it's 1 year+ should I eliminate some branches, train all of them away and pick the best route later, I'm not sure what to do or if to young to prune?

Welcome to the site!

Since you live south of the equator and are heading into winter, I wouldn't do anything to the tree right now. At 10a, your climate is pretty similar to what we had in Southern California. Your tree is already showing fall color and is getting ready to drop its leaves for your short winter. I would consider repotting into a bigger pot with a good soil mix - and the time to do that work in your zone would probably be around August. You want to time the work to just before the tree wakes up.

 

[Tieball]

And…… @BonsaiDaddy ….. Great looking identity icon image.

 

[Shibui]

Howdy neighbour.
There's rarely just one way to produce a bonsai and in this case you have lots of options.
I prefer to prune maples soon after the leaves drop off. If pruned closer to spring they tend to bleed a lot but less when pruned earlier in winter.
Whether you want to prune now depends what you are aiming for and how long you want to take to get there.
Regular pruning slows growth and trunk thickening but it does give us better bends in the trunks and a lot less scarring on the trunks and branches.
Letting it grow helps thicken the trunk much quicker and most of us are in a hurry to develop a thick trunk bonsai. The good thing about maples is that they usually sprout new shoots after heavy pruning so allowing the tree to get way past bonsai size is OK. We can just chop and be reasonably sure it will grow again.

Many beginners are more than happy to have a skinny trunk with a few branches. As long as they have a tree in a pot that's enough. If that's what you want then earlier pruning will help promote branching and bushiness quicker but at the expense of thickness.
For those of us who want older looking bonsai allowing the tree to grow for a few years then chop and repeat is the usual method. I have a couple of hundred maples planted in the grow beds. Most are up well over head height this time of year but will be chopped back over winter ready to do it again next growing season. They'll often spend 5 years in the grow beds followed by another 5-10 years in the next phase growing branches and ramification before eventually getting into a bonsai pot.
In some cases I've developed maple bonsai in pots growing them much slower. It still takes 15-20 years but those trees don't have obvious scars and tend to look more refined.

You can see from the above that most Western bonsai are chopped down from larger plants rather than grown up from smaller ones. Some food for thought. You will also note that developing bonsai is a much longer term process than you'd probably anticipated.

 

[Tieball]

If it was my tree….i would let it grow more. I’d do nothing. Just care for it so it grows as much as possible. Those branches may get quite lengthy (well over your height) during that growth over several seasons or years. That branch growth would contribute to a thicker trunk. When the trunk near the ground level was at a thickness I wanted I would chop the trunk just above that first branch growing to the right in your photo. When letting it grow and develop character you may possibly find other alternative directions….however, I think that the chop above that first branch is going to stick out as a best choice.

And, I’m certain others will post in with probably far better solutions and ideas.

@BonsaiDaddy …One the things I’ve done with trees growing for more trunk is to work on the branch I will chop. If your case this would likely be that first branch on the right. I ignore the rest of the growth as I know it will just be removed anyway. So I focus on making my tree ready for the chop time in the future.

As @Shibui pointed out, you also have a good opportunity for a small tree. You have an excellent option to chop and develop just the tree as it is now. It could look rather nice as a shorter fuller foliage tree. And, keeping it small enhances the weight-feeling of the trunk. This smaller tree path is good…manageable….attractive….and more satisfying right from the start. I wish I would have taken this type of path on more of my trees. I have a couple trees that I maintain smaller but even they have grown over the years. Most important right now for you is to have fun and build experience. They will be more trees to let grow in your future likely.

 

[BonsaiDaddy]

@BonsaiDaddy …One the things I’ve done with trees growing for more trunk is to work on the branch I will chop. If your case this would likely be that first branch on the right. I ignore the rest of the growth as I know it will just be removed anyway. So I focus on making my tree ready for the chop time in the future.

As @Shibui pointed out, you also have a good opportunity for a small tree. You have an excellent option to chop and develop just the tree as it is now. It could look rather nice as a shorter fuller foliage tree. And, keeping it small enhances the weight-feeling of the trunk. This smaller tree path is good…manageable….attractive….and more satisfying right from the start. I wish I would have taken this type of path on more of my trees. I have a couple trees that I maintain smaller but even they have grown over the years. Most important right now for you is to have fun and build experience. They will be more trees to let grow in your future likely.

I feel like that's what I kinda want a smaller varientt

Howdy neighbour.
There's rarely just one way to produce a bonsai and in this case you have lots of options.
I prefer to prune maples soon after the leaves drop off. If pruned closer to spring they tend to bleed a lot but less when pruned earlier in winter.
Whether you want to prune now depends what you are aiming for and how long you want to take to get there.
Regular pruning slows growth and trunk thickening but it does give us better bends in the trunks and a lot less scarring on the trunks and branches.
Letting it grow helps thicken the trunk much quicker and most of us are in a hurry to develop a thick trunk bonsai. The good thing about maples is that they usually sprout new shoots after heavy pruning so allowing the tree to get way past bonsai size is OK. We can just chop and be reasonably sure it will grow again.

Many beginners are more than happy to have a skinny trunk with a few branches. As long as they have a tree in a pot that's enough. If that's what you want then earlier pruning will help promote branching and bushiness quicker but at the expense of thickness.
For those of us who want older looking bonsai allowing the tree to grow for a few years then chop and repeat is the usual method. I have a couple of hundred maples planted in the grow beds. Most are up well over head height this time of year but will be chopped back over winter ready to do it again next growing season. They'll often spend 5 years in the grow beds followed by another 5-10 years in the next phase growing branches and ramification before eventually getting into a bonsai pot.
In some cases I've developed maple bonsai in pots growing them much slower. It still takes 15-20 years but those trees don't have obvious scars and tend to look more refined.

You can see from the above that most Western bonsai are chopped down from larger plants rather than grown up from smaller ones. Some food for thought. You will also note that developing bonsai is a much longer term process than you'd probably anticipated.

Thank's for the advice that was very informative, yeah I was looking at a long term project,
(I have a child so I got time ).
But I may get an older one to and air layer it.

What's your opinion on those potted air bags?
Or is in ground the best method as I'm kinda worried about its root spread as I also have a 6-8 metre or so bottle brush tree hogging basically the entire lawn and a rottweiler in the back who may or may not think it's a snack.

 

[Tieball]

I have not used air bags, potting bags, fabric pots or other soft materials for growing out trees. I have ground grown though. My process has worked well for me. Others may not agree on some points. However, I plant trees in the ground in native soil (my soil is very sandy…like fine beach sand) and sometimes add old bonsai mix to the soil to help with moisture retention. Trees are planted on a tile that’s about 40cm square (because that’s what I have available). Basically floor tiles. I bought chipped and leftover patterns from the store inexpensively. I level the soil area below the tile so the tile is flat and water drains more uniformly. I’m only planting at about 10cm depth. I plant in a grid rather than random tile placement….this helps later with locating tiles. I believe, after several years experience….that I could probably grow just as well without the tiles….and easily cut the roots with the reciprocating saw blade at whatever distance I want from the trunk.

Every two years, and sometimes every spring if I have wildly great growth, I plunge a reciprocating saw blade (carbide tip 30 cm long) in the ground and locate the tile edges. Then I just cut all around the tile. I don’t lift the tree out until the trunk is the thickness I want. The tile keeps the roots flat. When I do lift the tree out I drastically prune the roots further and move the tree to a growing box usually about 11cm x 35cm. This is just what I do. It works for me with materials I have on hand. Others ground plant and root prune differently. I don’t have any pets….just wild roaming animals. Recently, I started eliminating the tiles.

In the winter I add a fence around the trees because the roaming deer herd will consume most of the trees. Deer enjoy the buds and fine branches. Dietary fiber I guess. My trees are almost all native deciduous trees.

Several trees I just grow out in wooden boxes and some in plastic containers (squat pots about 25cm high and 30cm wide). They grow well. Not as fast as ground grown. More controlled growth and easily moved around. I don’t need all my trees to have super-thick trunks. Controlled better-looking growth is my target.

 

[Paradox]

@BonsaiDaddy
Hi2U and Welcome
Nice tree to start with.

Since your part of the world is approaching winter, you have lots of time to read up, ask questions and learn about how to progress this tree.

We have at least a couple of active members here from Australia that can give you the best advice about care in your area.

 

[Shibui]

What's your opinion on those potted air bags?

I guess you are talking about fabric grow bags. I had some experience many years ago but was not really impressed for bonsai root development. Any air pruning happens way too far away from the trunk to be of use IMHO.
In hot climates we find the bags can dry out too quick as moisture is evaporating from all round rather than just from the surface as in plastic pots.
There are many who swear they get much better growth and root development in fabric bags. Not sure if they have also tried large pots and good root pruning to be able to make a vaild comparison or not. They do have the advantage of being able to move the trees if necessary.

Or is in ground the best method as I'm kinda worried about its root spread

Root spread while growing in ground is up to you. I dig and root prune trident maple and other fast growing species each winter to limit root spread and thickness and promote better root ramification. Less aggressive species can be left undisturbed for longer.

I also have a 6-8 metre or so bottle brush tree hogging basically the entire lawn

The roots from that callistemon will definitely be a problem for growing in ground nearby. I suspect you'll get better growth from trees in containers that in ground under those conditions.

and a rottweiler in the back who may or may not think it's a snack.

The rottie will almost certainly be an issue with trees at it's level. Most animals will try chewing anything when bored and, even if not chewing, will invariably walk on or knock trees over. Definitely need to provide separation of the 2.