Ebihara maples

[markyscott]

All during the season that passes for winter here in Houston, I look forward to the spring foliage on the Japanese maples. Maybe it's because our typical fall colors are only great if you like brown and crispy.

 

[Lars Grimm]

Thank you Lars.

This tree was originally potted on the board last year. I'll probably repot next year or the year after. Timing is really not a matter of keeping the soil fresh, it's a matter of directing the root growth. There is only so much you can see and do during cleanup - you need to get in there periodically and direct and rebalance the growth before the roots get too thick.

When developing nebari, the surface roots are easier to develop if the tree is planted deeper than you would like the final planting. I probably have 2" of soil on top of the board plus abt 1/4" of sphagnum.

Scott

Thanks Scott! I definitely wouldn't have expected to put the roots so deep. (Might need to go pile some more soil on top of a couple newly repotted plants now...)

 

[markyscott]

Thanks Scott! I definitely wouldn't have expected to put the roots so deep. (Might need to go pile some more soil on top of a couple newly repotted plants now...)

You'll find it easier to keep the surface roots alive if you do. It's these guys that you're trying to keep alive:



With a good mix, you should get healthy surface roots like these rambling along on top of the soil. So protect them from dessication by putting the moss on the soil surface.

This is the same maple in 2013, btw.

 

[markyscott]

Happy spring maples, fully leafed out now. Just about time to wire.


Gently pull back the moss - here's what we want to see:


Lots of new surface roots close to the trunk right under the moss. The moss is doing its job to keep these roots healthy and alive. These are exactly what we need for the future development of the tree.

 

[MACH5]

Nice growing Scott! You guys are way ahead of us here in the northeast. Most of my maples are just leafing out now.

I've also gotten excellent results using sphagnum moss. The damp environment promotes lots of fine roots around the trunk. I don't like the way it looks but it works!

 

[markyscott]

Nice growing Scott! You guys are way ahead of us here in the northeast. Most of my maples are just leafing out now.

I've also gotten excellent results using sphagnum moss. The damp environment promotes lots of fine roots around the trunk. I don't like the way it looks but it works!

Thanks Speed.

March to December. It's a LONNNGGG growing season. I'm exhausted by the end of it and I stopped growing a long time ago. Up anyway. Out is still happening.

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

Just re-read the tread for the 3th time i guess. I noticed you dress your soil with dry sphagnum moss, and flying away is an issue. Here we soak it in water and apply it that way. Works fast and easy, no dust, no loss. Thanks for the update. Waiting for weather to warm up...

 

[markyscott]

Just re-read the tread for the 3th time i guess. I noticed you dress your soil with dry sphagnum moss, and flying away is an issue. Here we soak it in water and apply it that way. Works fast and easy, no dust, no loss. Thanks for the update. Waiting for weather to warm up...

I have always put it on dry and then misted it until it was wet. After that it's not a problem. Maybe I'll try soaking it first next time. Thanks.

 

[GroveKeeper]

I have always put it on dry and then misted it until it was wet. After that it's not a problem. Maybe I'll try soaking it first next time. Thanks.

I soak before hand too but only because I can never seem to get completely wet just by watering it.

 

[Lars Grimm]

According to Boon at our recent club meeting, Ebihara puts sphagnum moss on top of all maples to maintain moisture, encourage superficial fine root growth, and keep the root system cool.

 

[markyscott]

According to Boon at our recent club meeting, Ebihara puts sphagnum moss on top of all maples to maintain moisture, encourage superficial fine root growth, and keep the root system cool.

Thanks Lars. Boon taught me this trick too, and it's been very helpful for promoting and preserving surface roots in my experience.

 

[Lars Grimm]

Also, he recommends all japanese maples in boxes to keep them cool and reduce the risk of disease. Tridents in contrast go in the ground while developing.

 

[0soyoung]

... one SOB to another

 

[markyscott]

Now in full leaf with strongly growing extensions.



I'm building branches, so I haven't started pinching yet. Still the canopy will get so dense that the inner buds are shaded out. I see some yellowing leaves in there some we'll have to thin the leaves so light can reach the interior and keep the inner shoots healthy. You also have to keep a close eye on the apical growth because the branches will get too thick quickly. This stage is perfect for spring work. Here are things to do:

1. Thin the leaves.
   • On the extending shoots that you want to thicken, remove both sets of older leaves on interior nodes. Keep both sets of young leaves on nodes close to the growing tips.
   • On the puffs that haven't extended, thin each leaf pair to one. Generally there will be an upward leaf and a downward leaf - cut the upward growing leaf to let the light penetrate the canopy.
   • If it's still too dark, cut the remaining leaf in 1/2
   • Don't defoliate
   • Don't cut off the weak interior shoots or cut off any of their leaves - weaken the strong and strengthen the weak - that's how we create balance. Balance means that every shoot grows with the same vigor and every leaf is the same size - no weak ones and no strong ones.
2. Thin the shoots. Keep two shoots at each branch. If there are more than two, keep the side to side and cut off any downward growing shoots. Cut off any shoots growing back toward the interior of the plant. Keep any shoots growing close to the trunk - you want to promote the soft growth so that you can eliminate heavy branches. Keep some upward growing shoots - you'll wire these down to give your branches some depth. You don't want flat pads on a maple.
3. Wire the branches while they're still green. The branches that you want to thicken leave long and don't cut off the growing tip. The branches that are getting too thick (on the apex), wire and cut back to two or three nodes.

That's the plan for this weekend. I have a bunch of maples to work on...

 

[Adair M]

Now in full leaf with strongly growing extensions.

View attachment 101102

I'm building branches, so I haven't started pinching yet. Still the canopy will get so dense that the inner buds are shaded out. I see some yellowing leaves in there some we'll have to thin the leaves so light can reach the interior and keep the inner shoots healthy. You also have to keep a close eye on the apical growth because the branches will get too thick quickly. This stage is perfect for spring work. Here are things to do:

1. Thin the leaves.
   • On the extending shoots that you want to thicken, remove both sets of older leaves on interior nodes. Keep both sets of young leaves on nodes close to the growing tips.
   • On the puffs that haven't extended, thin each leaf pair to one. Generally there will be an upward leaf and a downward leaf - cut the upward growing leaf to let the light penetrate the canopy.
   • If it's still too dark, cut the remaining leaf in 1/2
   • Don't defoliate
   • Don't cut off the weak interior shoots or cut off any of their leaves - weaken the strong and strengthen the weak - that's how we create balance. Balance means that every shoot grows with the same vigor and every leaf is the same size - no weak ones and no strong ones.
2. Thin the shoots. Keep two shoots at each branch. If there are more than two, keep the side to side and cut off any downward growing shoots. Cut off any shoots growing back toward the interior of the plant. Keep any shoots growing close to the trunk - you want to promote the soft growth so that you can eliminate heavy branches. Keep some upward growing shoots - you'll wire these down to give your branches some depth. You don't want flat pads on a maple.
3. Wire the branches while they're still green. The branches that you want to thicken leave long and don't cut off the growing tip. The branches that are getting too thick (on the apex), wire and cut back to two or three nodes.

That's the plan for this weekend. I have a bunch of maples to work on...

Maples are a lot of work!

That's why I prefer pines!

Good stuff, Scott!

 

[markyscott]

Maples are a lot of work!

That's why I prefer pines!

Good stuff, Scott!

No doubt - and the older they get the more work they are. As they develop I find I can only keep a few. I love pines too, but there is something visually arresting about a well done deciduous tree. And the cycle of seasons means a continually changing canopy - the colorful spring growth, beautiful green summer foliage, and the crispy brown autumn colors as the leaves fried and blackened from the relentless smothering heat finally give up the ghost and fall of the tree in a ruined pile of exhaustion.

Well - everything except for that last part is pretty good anyway.

 

[0soyoung]

If there are more than two, keep the side to side and cut off any downward growing shoots

I find that acer palmatum branches especially attractive when one prunes to up/down nodes and removes the upper bud and this is what I prefer to do for branch development in most circumstances. When I want to redirect a branch or develop ramification, however, I usually choose the horizontal pair to prune to, and in the case of redirection, remove the bud going the wrong way.

I don't understand why you would necessarily want to prune back to a side to side, but you're an SOB - so why do you say this?

... just curious

 

[markyscott]

I find that acer palmatum branches especially attractive when one prunes to up/down nodes and removes the upper bud and this is what I prefer to do for branch development in most circumstances. When I want to redirect a branch or develop ramification, however, I usually choose the horizontal pair to prune to, and in the case of redirection, remove the bud going the wrong way.

I don't understand why you would necessarily want to prune back to a side to side, but you're an SOB - so why do you say this?

... just curious

It's a matter of preference, I suppose. Here is a branch built by pruning the top and keeping the bottom (red circle):



Do you like the way it looks? If so, keep pruning to the downward growth. I think it looks unnatural with an odd, distracting, and uncomfortable bend. I'm replacing the branch. I don't like to have to replace old branches so I don't prune to the downward growth. I prune to the upward growth and wire it down. This makes for a much more pleasing and natural shape to my eye. But they're your trees - if you like it otherwise, you can do what you like - you're not making them to please me.

In terms of the horizontal or side to side shoots (blue circle) of course they must be kept - no side branches, no ramification. No ramification, boring branches - like the one in the red circle. I don't like boring branches, so I keep the horizontal shoots.

 

[Adair M]

I find that acer palmatum branches especially attractive when one prunes to up/down nodes and removes the upper bud and this is what I prefer to do for branch development in most circumstances. When I want to redirect a branch or develop ramification, however, I usually choose the horizontal pair to prune to, and in the case of redirection, remove the bud going the wrong way.

I don't understand why you would necessarily want to prune back to a side to side, but you're an SOB - so why do you say this?

... just curious

Oso,

You should be removing the bottom bud, and keeping the top one. Then wire it down.

Done repeatedly, this builds a branch out in a series of little hills. The branch starts up, then the weight of the leaves cause it to bend down. The next year, the branch starts up, then the weight of the leaves, causes it to droop. Over and over year after year.

Why not the bottom branch instead? Well, it would start off growing down, and as it extends and the weight of the leaves add on, it would just continue to droop.

Now, think about this: which bud gets the best light? The upper? Or the lower? The upper! The bottom branches get shaded out. Naturally. And the tree sluffs them off.

Go out and look at the shapes of maple branches. You see as they extend from the trunk, they usually are shaped like a series of hills. Not a series of valleys.

Sure, occasionally a downward growing bud dominates, that's the tree's safety system in case something damages the upper bud/branch.

By the way, John Naka's books advocate keeping the lower bud instead of the top bud. Unfortunately, he got it backwards, too.

To make it work, you do have to wire that upward growing branch down when it's green. The wire simulates the effect of heavy leaves.

 

[markyscott]

My preference is like this:



On every branch I keep the horizontal and top shoots - prune the downward growth. Thin each node to two shoots - I keep the upward growing shoot or the horizontal shoots at every node. But always two shoots only and never the downward growth.