Beginner and first japanese maples

[rrgg126]

Hi guys,

So after some research and practice on cheap shrubs I decided to try the famous japanese maple. I went to my closest nursery and picked this one up.

Japanese Maple 'Ukigumo'
Height: 3' tall
Trunk base: 2" thick


I then saw this one a home depot for 15 bucks.

Japanese Maple 'Bloodgood'
Height: 4' tall
Trunk base: 1" thick


I read that as a beginner and since this is my first time using japanese maple it is better to aim for a taller tree (12"-14" tall) instead of the really small 6" ones. These are my starter goals:

0. keep it alive
1. keep it this size
2. increase the trunk diameter
3. encourage dense growth on branches and trunk

I just bought it today and I was wondering if I should do anything right now like pick an apex and pinch off the new bud to prevent any increase in height or should i just let it grow and just chop it smaller later? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[JudyB]

Hi rrg, and welcome.
I'm a bit confused about goal #1.

I think that you should take a look at the rootball, and see if the roots are compacted in that soil. If it were me, I believe that I would cut the rootball in half (maybe more, but I'm pretty brazen about root cutting nursery container plants) and plant in the ground.
I might keep this in the container until late summer/early fall and do it then. If this is one of those plants that the soil falls off of when you pull it out, go ahead and plant it now.
This may not be the best course for you, but this is just what I would do at this point.
The bloodgood isn't the best candidate but it may work out, the other one I don't know the cultivar. You'll want to get some buds to pop lower on the trunk, (I can't tell from the photos, but usually these trees are grafted, so where the graft is will be important here) but I believe I'd wait till late winter to do a chop. If you want trunk growth, then you'll need to let it grow in the ground for a while, and not keep the branches pruned.
There is a good book called Bonsai with Japanese Maples by Peter Adams. It describes in clear details with pictures how to develop these trees. I would pick that up if I were you.

 

[Eric Group]

It looks like both trees have pretty nasty grafting scars... The first one has a graft a couple inches above the soil, and the other has one about half way up the trunk I think...

There are a couple ways to work around that. Personally I use the "parent tree" to give me cuttings to work with, then once they are well rooted ( after a couple years) you use the cuttings to style into bonsai.

This takes a long time as most cuttings are not very big, and this they need to grow for years before turning into any kind of mature looking bonsai.

Another option is to air layer the tree right above the graft (you can find a dozen ways to do this on the Internet if you look) this is a good way because you wind up with two trees, both pretty mature and after a year or two to let the air layer grow roots in a regular pot, you can probably start working on it ifit healthy. The bottom piece that is left can be turned into a broom style frequently, as you are doing a serious trunk chop on it...

I don't think your second tree is a regular Blood Good variety, it looks more like some kind of lace leaf variety! Regardless they are a somewhat weaker variety and don't tend to be real easy trees to work with on their own roots... Might make it difficult to air layer it and get a real nice tree... Doesn't mean it is impossible though. I migh recommend doing cuttings off that one, and keeping the main tree as a landscape plant in your yard!

Good luck, you already found a great resource in This site to learn and ask questions... I recommend you go to you tube and look up some online bonsai lectures/ classes if you want to learn the basics, and buy a few books!

 

[JudyB]

If Eric is correct about the graft placements, you'll probably want to do as he says. For the lower graft, you can do a ground layer, might be easier to do that if you put it in the ground. The taller one, you'll want to air layer. You'll need to read up on these techniques before you do anything else...

 

[rrgg126]

Hi rrg, and welcome.
I'm a bit confused about goal #1.

I meant that I want the trunk size to thicken but keep the height the same. Sorry about the confusion!

 

[rrgg126]

Thanks for all your advice guys! So I want to air layer the ukigumo but I think I might want to wait until the tree matures a little first. The trunk is still pretty green so isnt that a sign that its still young? Maybe next year after it thickens up then I can air layer.

The red lace leaf one looks really fragile so i wanna let that sit first and mature too. It looks like it been sun burnt while being at home depot so I wanna keep it in the shade and let it come back to life. I like both of your ideas on using both as a parent tree and then using the air layering to propagate and avoid the graft scars (which i had no idea about until you mentioned it so thank you!).

What do you guys think?

 

[JudyB]

[FOOTNOTE][/FOOTNOTE]

I meant that I want the trunk size to thicken but keep the height the same. Sorry about the confusion!

3' and 4' tall trees do not a bonsai make...

Yes you should just let the trees recover for now, and learn a lot more about bonsai before you begin.

 

[0soyoung]

Both of your trees may be mis-tagged.

The second tree is definitely a red dissectum which means it definitely isn't a 'bloodgood'. Red dissectums, however, are quite rugged and thrive in full sun. Their downside for bonsai is that the leaf size won't reduce much at all.

'Ukigumo' is also known as 'floating cloud' because its 'true' leaves are almost totally white. It can take full sun if well protected from wind/breezes, but is generally prettier if grown in shade. It is one of the most beautiful and unusual JMs, but it seems to be fussy. Yours could temporarily have ordinary green palmatum leaves. If you are patient, wait until next year to see what the foliage looks like. If not, you can defoliate a branch or two - at least some, if not all of the replacement leaves ought to be white with flecks of green (more green spots as time goes on). The leaf size tends to be smallish and can be reduced dramatically (good characteristic for bonsai).

 

[Smoke]

Both of your trees may be mis-tagged.

The second tree is definitely a red dissectum which means it definitely isn't a 'bloodgood'. Red dissectums, however, are quite rugged and thrive in full sun. Their downside for bonsai is that the leaf size won't reduce much at all.

'Ukigumo' is also known as 'floating cloud' because its 'true' leaves are almost totally white. It can take full sun if well protected from wind/breezes, but is generally prettier if grown in shade. It is one of the most beautiful and unusual JMs, but it seems to be fussy. Yours could temporarily have ordinary green palmatum leaves. If you are patient, wait until next year to see what the foliage looks like. If not, you can defoliate a branch or two - at least some, if not all of the replacement leaves ought to be white with flecks of green (more green spots as time goes on). The leaf size tends to be smallish and can be reduced dramatically (good characteristic for bonsai).

Is full sun Ok for me too in Fresno?

 

[0soyoung]

Is full sun Ok for me too in Fresno?

If your local Bakersfield nursery sells them with a customary sort of guarantee, yes.