New to bonsai - where to purchase affordable and more mature Japanese maple

[leatherback]

early 2018

Shindeshojo, nishiki-gawa, arakawa and Sango-kaku, I think.

This is normal mail-order stock, selling at about 8-12E in Europe. In USA you should be able to get similar. It does time though to grow into big trees.


Getting big nursery stock also works, but be selective in what you buy. Go for cutting grown, or wild- palmatum seedling grown. If not, layer off.

 

[natg]

Arakawa maple layers well, and grows well on their own roots.
No reason to wait for the tree to get larger; If you do it earlier, you will earlier have the rough bark on the roots.

Awesome, thanks for the info! I'll try to air layer my Arakawa this spring. Are there any negative effects to air layer? Are say 50 year old air layered trees discernible from a 50 year old tree planted from seed?

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[Moridin]

Where about are in the central valley?

 

[plant_dr]

Awesome, thanks for the info! I'll try to air layer my Arakawa this spring. Are there any negative effects to air layer? Are say 50 year old air layered trees discernible from a 50 year old tree planted from seed?

An airlayered tree will have a huge headstart compared to a seed- grown tree. It will start with a thicker trunk, better root spread at the base of the tree, and various other good traits. An airlayered tree will save many years of waiting for a seedling to grow to a usable size before you can start bonsai training.

One advantage a seedling grown tree would have is that you can wire and bend the trunk quite a bit while the tree is young to give it plenty of movement and interest.

 

[rollwithak]

Hi all,

I've just recently started to explore bonsai and I've quickly become obsessed. I was gifted a seed starter kit for my birthday and I also purchase a young Arakawa Japanese maple from my local nursery. This maple came in a 1 gallon container and is only about half an inch in diameter. From what I've ready, it seems the best thing to do with this tree is to progressively pot it into larger pots and allow the trunk to increase in size over the years. I'm quite excited about the Arakawa maple, however, I don't want to wait 10 years for the tree to develop before working with more mature material. Is it generally fine to purchase from a nursery a larger garden tree that I can just chop back to size and start a trunk taper from there? Are there any issues with nursery trees growing too straight at the trunk base and not working well as bonsai? If this is the direction I should go, what is a good age tree to get/what is a good size to start with, what is a good amount of $$$ to spend on a mature tree, and are there any California/west coast suppliers you recommend? Also, are there any Japanese maple learning resources you recommend (books, courses, etc.)?
[/QUOT

Hi @natg and that’s awesome you’ve started finding your love for trees! I too am in 9b more specifically central California. There are a lot of bonsai nurseries across our great state, not quite sure who will have Japanese maples. Perhaps if you join a local bonsai club they will be able to point you in the right direction.

 

[Arlithrien]

Join the Japanese maple Facebook group and ask around. Maybe list a few cultivars you are interested in. Theres always someone nearby who can give you solid info. And who knows, someone might be feeling generous

 

[August44]

Personally I would look on the Facebook auctions that go on every week...99 cent bonsai, bonsai pot auctions, and bonsai auctions. There is always some nice maples and other trees on there for sale. Make sure that what you are looking at is what you are getting and that it is NOT grafted.

 

[ForThemWhatCare]

If it is a grafted tree, arakawa has the unfortunate problem of the root stock not producing the same textured bark. You can fix that by airlayer.... here's an example of one I currently have set. Easy to do, just a little research here on b'nut, welcome to the site
View attachment 347617

I was thinking that air-layering an established 20 year old Japanese Maple could get you a great start on a meaty trunk. When is the best time to apply the air-layer?

 

[Hack Yeah!]

I was thinking that air-layering an established 20 year old Japanese Maple could get you a great start on a meaty trunk. When is the best time to apply the air-layer?

Generally in the spring after leaves have developed and danger of frost has past. This article may help

Thread 'The science of air-layering' https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/the-science-of-air-layering.27034/

 

[August44]

I was thinking that air-layering an established 20 year old Japanese Maple could get you a great start on a meaty trunk. When is the best time to apply the air-layer?

You're not suggesting that one should air layer the trunk on a 20 year old JM are you?

 

[River's Edge]

Check the website for Evergreen Gardenworks, contains good information and write ups by Brent with good product at fair prices. Another California site is Lone Pine Gardens near Sebastapol.
Also you can check the web for Encinal Nursery in the Alameda area!

 

[MrWunderful]

You're not suggesting that one should air layer the trunk on a 20 year old JM are you?

Depends on how bad the nebari is

 

[ForThemWhatCare]

You're not suggesting that one should air layer the trunk on a 20 year old JM are you?

No, just a large branch that needs to be culled anyway. Before starting this journey into bonsai and niwaki I've never pruned my weeping JM or my kousa dogwoods. Seems like air-layering might be a good way to get ~10 years of growth from material at hand.

 

[Hack Yeah!]

No, just a large branch that needs to be culled anyway. Before starting this journey into bonsai and niwaki I've never pruned my weeping JM or my kousa dogwoods. Seems like air-layering might be a good way to get ~10 years of growth from material at hand.

Research your cultivar of maple before proceeding. Red lace leaf are difficult if not impossible

 

[SouthernMaple]

Hi all,

I've just recently started to explore bonsai and I've quickly become obsessed. I was gifted a seed starter kit for my birthday and I also purchase a young Arakawa Japanese maple from my local nursery. This maple came in a 1 gallon container and is only about half an inch in diameter. From what I've ready, it seems the best thing to do with this tree is to progressively pot it into larger pots and allow the trunk to increase in size over the years. I'm quite excited about the Arakawa maple, however, I don't want to wait 10 years for the tree to develop before working with more mature material. Is it generally fine to purchase from a nursery a larger garden tree that I can just chop back to size and start a trunk taper from there? Are there any issues with nursery trees growing too straight at the trunk base and not working well as bonsai? If this is the direction I should go, what is a good age tree to get/what is a good size to start with, what is a good amount of $$$ to spend on a mature tree, and are there any California/west coast suppliers you recommend? Also, are there any Japanese maple learning resources you recommend (books, courses, etc.)?

If you want cork/pine bark on your maple buy a Nishiki Gawa, it develops bark in half the time Arakawa does. I go to a lot of nurseries and take pictures of potential air layers on trees I want to purchase, I don't even care about how ugly the graft is anymore but I look at where I can layer. You can get a nursery tree for a lot less than a pure blood. The red leaf and dissectums are harder for roots to take on cuttings and layers so I try and stay away from those, sadly Vridis, Pixie and Shaina are 3 that are beautiful but un layerable as far as I know. I would also watch youtube, Peter Chan is hated on by a lot of bonsai elite here in the states, but I really enjoy his knowledge on maples and follow his layering advice to the t.

Once I have purchased a tree usually 3 gallon or 5 gallon, I immediately up pot it to a 5 or 7. I get cottonseed meal and put it into the pots in early spring and watch them grow. On mothers day I start my layers I check them on fathers day and if they aren't ready to take off then I leave them on another month. I like to use the rooting gel and I water the layer the first two weeks with willow root water. After the first two weeks I water with fresh mountain water, people in my club say it is overkill but I like to do what works. When you layer make sure you use spagnum moss and make sure you have plenty last year I layered a nishiki gawa with green shelf moss and the layer did not take.

Peter Chan, Vertrees book on maples and Bill Valvanis are good sources on maples, also some people on here and if you have any questions, I can try and answer as best I can. I have only been bonsaing for 4-5 years now. @Pitoon has been helpful with any questions I have propagating, he also sells trees and has really good maples. But honestly most of the people I have met on here have been really helpful, you are in good hands.

 

[Gabler]

Also, consider collecting wild trees this spring. You can get a head start on trunk growth and pay in sweat instead of cash. When I'm older, I might prefer the ease of buying nursery stock, but at 25, I prefer saving money and getting exercise.

 

[SouthernMaple]

Also, consider collecting wild trees this spring. You can get a head start on trunk growth and pay in sweat instead of cash. When I'm older, I might prefer the ease of buying nursery stock, but at 25, I prefer saving money and getting exercise.

you know where there are any Arakawas in the wild? If so I am down

 

[Gabler]

you know where there are any Arakawas in the wild? If so I am down

LOL. You know what I mean. OP is new to bonsai, and collecting is a great way to get a large number of mature trees of a variety of species in a short time.

 

[SouthernMaple]

LOL. You know what I mean. OP is new to bonsai, and collecting is a great way to get a large number of mature trees of a variety of species in a short time.

I didnt really get into collecting trees until this year mainly because I have always lived in a city or a town, now that I am out in the woods, its great. I also didn't know what to look for until after I went to about 3 shows. I go hiking about 2-3 times a week and I look at trees completely different now than I did before.