How old is my maple approximately and what species?

[Bonsai.com.cy]

Recently cut this maple back very hard and new growth has appeared. Can anyone help identify the species and approximate age ?

 

[RJG2]

Acer palmatum, and no (you can count the rings on that big chop to get an estimate).

Sorry, being slightly sarcastic. I assume you mean cultivar, not species? That being said, if you don't 100% know the cultivar, the best you can say is "it's a japanese maple that looks like <cultivar name>".

There are many cultivars that look remarkably close, so pinning it down may be difficult.

 

[Bonsai.com.cy]

Acer palmatum, and no (you can count the rings on that big chop to get an estimate).

Sorry, being slightly sarcastic. I assume you mean cultivar, not species? That being said, if you don't 100% know the cultivar, the best you can say is "it's a japanese maple that looks like <cultivar name>".

There are many cultivars that look remarkably close, so pinning it down may be difficult.

No age estimates ? I’m just completely clueless on the age.

 

[Paradox]

Where in the world are you located?
Please put your location on your profile so we don't have to repeatedly ask you where you are. Location is important to give the best advice for bonsai.

Maples will grow faster in warmer areas of the country than in more northern areas.

It is impossible to tell you how old it is based on a picture of a stump. It is at least 15 years old but might be older (probably is)

 

[rockm]

No age estimates ? I’m just completely clueless on the age.

If you're doing a trunk chop, cut straight across, count the growth rings.

FWIW, age is overrated in bonsai, at least until you get into really old, like over 100. Up til then, age is a minor thing. Bonsai LOOK old, but they don't actually have to be very old. Estimating age in trees is very inexact just eyeballing one.

This tree looks to be like 15-30, but you know where you got it. The seller might have a more accurate idea.

 

[Shibui]

Growth rings is overrated as a way to determine age of trees. new rings are laid down whenever there's a check on growth. That's usually winter but can also be drought, fire, storm or heavy browsing so trees may produce several rings each year.
There's also the problem of actually counting the rings produced very close together in slow growing trees. I've tried counting rings on some of the logs we mill and it just gets confusing. The best you'll get is a wild approximation.

Estimating age just from trunk thickness is also difficult. Trees can grow fast or very slow. A 2" thick trunk could be 4 years or 40 years depending how well it was looked after or what conditions it had to endure. The location the tree was grown in may give some insight into how quick other JM grow in a similar climate but otherwise age is very difficult to guess.
I've grown JM trunks to that thickness and more in less than 10 years but I also have JM trunks that size after more than 30 years in smaller pots.

As mentioned, the tree SPECIES is Japanese maple - Acer palmatum. There are lots of selected CULTIVARS but so many have similar characteristics it's not possible to ID them just from a few leaves.

 

[penumbra]

Growth rings is overrated as a way to determine age of trees. new rings are laid down whenever there's a check on growth. That's usually winter but can also be drought, fire, storm or heavy browsing so trees may produce several rings each year.
There's also the problem of actually counting the rings produced very close together in slow growing trees. I've tried counting rings on some of the logs we mill and it just gets confusing. The best you'll get is a wild approximation.

This is true but its all we've got. There are some professionals that can perform this task that are surprisingly accurate.

 

[giventofly]

I would say Orange Dream?

 

[Paradox]

I would say Orange Dream?

There really is no way to tell.
There are 1000s of maple varieties and many of them look very very similar