My Norway maple volunteer.

[Eckhoffw]

I dug this up as a seedling in Spring of 2019
No pics of then I guess.
It took awhile to get going.
In 2020, it seemed to be stalled, but grew like crazy last year.
Pics of it now with repot.
The roots seem to be pretty great.
I would estimate I removed around 30% of the root.


into a wood box. Slant. Just because.
I plan on letting it run wild to thicken.
Would you cut back now or just leave that thing to reach the heavens?
I may chop it back a bit to get some branching.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

I've not had any luck with getting Norway maple leaves to reduce. I'm interested to see if yours reduce.

 

[Eckhoffw]

I've not had any luck with getting Norway maple leaves to reduce. I'm interested to see if yours reduce.

Yeah, that’s what I hear. Have to go big. I guess.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

I thought of trying to graft red maple whips onto them but I haven't yet. Not sure it would work but I'd like to try.

 

[0soyoung]

I've not had any luck with getting Norway maple leaves to reduce. I'm interested to see if yours reduce.

I'm gobsmacked by this.
In my experience they automatically reduce in normal bonsai cultivation.



And the smaller one keeps them, the smaller the leaves.
The petioles, though also smaller, stay annoyingly long, IMO.

 

[Eckhoffw]

I'm gobsmacked by this.
In my experience they automatically reduce in normal bonsai cultivation.

View attachment 427873

And the smaller one keeps them, the smaller the leaves. View attachment 427880
The petioles, though also smaller, stay annoyingly long, IMO.

Very nice!
Is that a red by maple -poking through at top? Or just altered leaf shape?

 

[0soyoung]

Is that a red by maple -poking through at top? Or just altered leaf shape?

Yah, those apical leaves were a bit odd that year. All are indeed acer platenoides (offspring of my neighbor's pair of 35 footers).

 

[Eckhoffw]

Yah, those apical leaves were a bit odd that year. All are indeed acer platenoides (offspring of my neighbor's pair of 35 footers).

Very cool! I often see maple leaves around that look almost like trident, and get confused because they don’t grow here.

 

[0soyoung]

Norways bleed a milky sap from cut petioles.

 

[HorseloverFat]

Preaching to the choir, here...

I love platenoides!!! I have one (seedling) developing strip-bark (?)
Any Acer Platenoides I have grown has produced reduced (comparatively) leaves in a fairly short amount of time.

Can not wait to see this one develop.

 

[HorseloverFat]

One of my favorite seedlings, last year.

 

[Eckhoffw]

One of my favorite seedlings, last year.View attachment 428003View attachment 428004

Nice! Almost looks tropical with the color variations and leaf shape.

 

[Eckhoffw]

There is a variegated green/white Norway maple in the yard.
I may try to do some softwood cuttings. Or layer! Who knows?

 

[HorseloverFat]

Nice! Almost looks tropical with the color variations and leaf shape.

Thanks!

There is a variegated green/white Norway maple in the yard.
I may try to do some softwood cuttings. Or layer! Who knows?

They are one of the most genetically "unstable".. which makes for SUCH interesting variations when you start messing with the seedlings.

From Maple growers I speak to in other areas of the world, apparently Acer Truncatum behaves alot like this.. with a "lean" towards reading RNA diversity.

This got me thinking, "I bet there's REALLY cool Platenoides/Truncatum crosses.... and I'd LOVE to get my hands on seeds FROM those crosses."

Like genetic Mt.St.Helens!

 

[BonjourBonsai]

I'm gobsmacked by this.
In my experience they automatically reduce in normal bonsai cultivation.

Maybe what I have are not Norway maples then. After two seasons of baseball glove size leaves, I gave up on them and did not properly over winter them. If they leaf out, I'll upload a few photos.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

One of my favorite seedlings, last year.View attachment 428003View attachment 428004

Very cool mate, it keeps that color or greens up later in the season?

 

[HorseloverFat]

Very cool mate, it keeps that color or greens up later in the season?

Hehe! that was last year's picture.. mid-summer... That one was selected by rabbits... they PREFER platanoides over any other maple I grow... They strip silver maples.. and just "try" EVERY single other. ..

There are a couple more plantenoidea in my "stock", also.. that was just a favorite.. it was a SEED from a Crimson Cultivar.

I also had a "dark/glossy/rounded-leaf" platenoides variation that was "lunch" for the rabbits..

But a few of my "select" silvers and MANY select Rubrums survived the onslaught.

 

[Ininaatigoons]

Weird... Reds are a favorite of my local rabbits and anything with needles! I now have benches or fences on everything.

 

[HorseloverFat]

Weird... Reds are a favorite of my local rabbits and anything with needles! I now have benches or fences on everything.

Crazy... they definitely TRIED some of my rubrums.

 

[BonjourBonsai]

Somebody are the tips of my rubrums that were planted in the ground... Rabbits!!