Picked up this JM last year from the garden centre for £20 when i was first starting out and learning the basics. I liked the trunk, didn't seem to have a bad graft Union (if its grafted) and has nice small leaves with an attractive contrast against the branches.
I was fairly sure at the time it would get some big chops and wanted to try air layering it to save a branch or two. Probably not the best part to layer but hopefully some hard wood cuttings I made will also strike in the spring.
Buds have started to swell and given my work schedule it's now or never. The trunk will get inverse taper if some of the thick primaries aren't removed, hopefully manageable until I seperate the layer in the summer.
My tenancy to go down the rabbit hole with a new hobby has gone out of control with bonsai and I've got around 50+ different pieces of nursery stock/saplings to do something with this year. I don't have enough inorganic substrate for everything, so the "better" pieces are getting a generic mix (APL + pine bark) and everything else is getting 50% of the above and 50% of a mix of multipurpose organic, horticultural grit and horticultural sand - either way it is pretty free draining.
I've been binging on the Ebihara maples thread but expect it will be another year or two before I've got some material suitable for that technique, so have tried to be patient and think carefully about what to do with this tree. It's nothing special but might as well aim to make it the best it can be ?
A typical piece of nursery stock with deceiving nebari and a mess of roots underneath.
A few really thick nasty roots came off to get a flatter spread, but ultimately i am thinking it will eventually need ground layering on the red line - there's a few really thick chunky stubs that need to go and hopefully I can be patient enough to take my time and develop the roots to something more useable over a few years.
Potted up and sat out the wind. Again due to work I've had to get everything potted while I can, so it's joined my larches in a sheltered area and will be in a cold utility room if we have any frost on the horizon (we usually get one more good cold snap between now and April)
I was fairly sure at the time it would get some big chops and wanted to try air layering it to save a branch or two. Probably not the best part to layer but hopefully some hard wood cuttings I made will also strike in the spring.
Buds have started to swell and given my work schedule it's now or never. The trunk will get inverse taper if some of the thick primaries aren't removed, hopefully manageable until I seperate the layer in the summer.
My tenancy to go down the rabbit hole with a new hobby has gone out of control with bonsai and I've got around 50+ different pieces of nursery stock/saplings to do something with this year. I don't have enough inorganic substrate for everything, so the "better" pieces are getting a generic mix (APL + pine bark) and everything else is getting 50% of the above and 50% of a mix of multipurpose organic, horticultural grit and horticultural sand - either way it is pretty free draining.
I've been binging on the Ebihara maples thread but expect it will be another year or two before I've got some material suitable for that technique, so have tried to be patient and think carefully about what to do with this tree. It's nothing special but might as well aim to make it the best it can be ?
A typical piece of nursery stock with deceiving nebari and a mess of roots underneath.
A few really thick nasty roots came off to get a flatter spread, but ultimately i am thinking it will eventually need ground layering on the red line - there's a few really thick chunky stubs that need to go and hopefully I can be patient enough to take my time and develop the roots to something more useable over a few years.
Potted up and sat out the wind. Again due to work I've had to get everything potted while I can, so it's joined my larches in a sheltered area and will be in a cold utility room if we have any frost on the horizon (we usually get one more good cold snap between now and April)
