Qu: First Foray into Bonsai - Propagating a Japanese Maple Cutting

[mrnvgtr]

I’m new here, so I figured I’ll first say hello and introduce myself. I have been into tropical [house] plants for a few years now, and I’m happy to report after some minor setbacks along the way, I’m doing well. My wife recently expressed interest in bonsai, so I guess I’ll have to blame her for my new hobby!

To set the stage for context, I’ve been down a rabbit hole researching bonsai for a few weeks and I’ve realized that this is one hobby where time is really on your side. Now that I know the general direction that I'm heading (Deciduous --> Japanese Maple (Bloodgood) --> propagation from cuttings), I've decided to take the first steps. I've got a large Bloodgood adjacent to my back patio, so I went out and carefully selected some nice cuttings (5), sanitized them and kept them moist, set up a 6 inch pot, trimmed up the cuttings and applied root hormone, and planted them. They've been stabilized in the pot in a tall Ziploc bag in a partially lit (medium indirect light) corner of my plant room for about a week now.

Now that I've got all that done and set aside, I have a few questions about care and expectations for the coming months that I can't seem to find a lot of information on.

1. What are the basic environmental needs specific to Japanese Maple cuttings that I should meet (specifically light, temperature, water, and fertilizer)?
2. Given the cuttings were potted on 30 Jun 2024, when should I plan (or what should I look for) to do the first root check and repot?
3. Are there any suitable ready-made alternatives for bonsai grow boxes (other than DIY)? Please include any modifications necessary.

 

[stewarjm192]

Well…. There is a lot to unpack here…

You want your first foray into bonsai to
Be successful, and, not to be the bearer of bad news, but Japanese maple cuttings, and particularly bloodgood, have awful success rates, even with professional propagation setups. JM are notoriously tough to propagate from cutting, although certainly not impossible.

Bloodgood specifically has a very large leaf and internode that is tough to reduce, if it will reduce in size at all.

Also, starting from a cutting will mean that you won’t be able to do any real “bonsai” work for 2-4 years. No wiring, no pruning, no styling, just keep it alive and thriving, outside durring the grow season, and in a protected area in winter, assuming you live in a northern latitude, you should really add you grow zone at least to your user profile flair….

That being said, your endeavor is not a fruitless one, growing material from cutting can be some of the most rewarding parts in bonsai, but I would recommend you get yourself a tree or two to work on in the meantime. If you love JM, I’m sure you can order something from any number of online retailers.

1) cuttings need high humidity, indirect light, and often respond well to bottom heat, once you grow a few sets of leaves, you can wean them off to a more normal environment. I wouldn’t worry about fertilizer untill you’ve grown a few sets of leaves and they have darkened and gardened off, then start with low doses
2) I’d say 6-8 weeks is bare minimum for time, but sometimes longer, depends on how vigorous the growth was, care regime, etc
3)you can buy Anderson flats, various bonsai suppliers sell them, americanbonsai NEBG, but you can build a box very simply with wood from home depot, a decent hand saw, and some wood screws

 

[Shibui]

God luck with your maple cuttings. Some people seem to be able to strike JM cuttings but they do not seem to work for most of us.
I find it quicker and easier to grow seedlings.
I also reiterate the problems posed by Bloodgood as bonsai - large leaves, long internodes, difficulty making ramification. They look nice, just not easy to make a really good bonsai.

With cuttings I wait for roots to emerge from the drainage holes in the pots. Most other possible checks will damage tender, emerging roots. That can take anywhere from a month to 6 months depending on conditions. It does not seem to matter what time of year for the initial repot for rooted cuttings. More important timing is stage of root development.

As well as the Anderson flats I have seen growers use plastic trays like oil pans with plenty of holes drilled in to allow for drainage. Almost any wide, flattish plastic tray will be OK as a grow box if you can put enough drain holes in. Someone was using some sort of takeout containers.
Don't be tempted to go too big to soon. Plants need to fil a pot with roots reasonably quickly or we end up with root problems so start a but smaller and move up as the trees grow is the best way.

 

[mrnvgtr]

Well…. There is a lot to unpack here…

You want your first foray into bonsai to
Be successful, and, not to be the bearer of bad news, but Japanese maple cuttings, and particularly bloodgood, have awful success rates, even with professional propagation setups. JM are notoriously tough to propagate from cutting, although certainly not impossible.

Bloodgood specifically has a very large leaf and internode that is tough to reduce, if it will reduce in size at all.

Also, starting from a cutting will mean that you won’t be able to do any real “bonsai” work for 2-4 years. No wiring, no pruning, no styling, just keep it alive and thriving, outside durring the grow season, and in a protected area in winter, assuming you live in a northern latitude, you should really add you grow zone at least to your user profile flair….

That being said, your endeavor is not a fruitless one, growing material from cutting can be some of the most rewarding parts in bonsai, but I would recommend you get yourself a tree or two to work on in the meantime. If you love JM, I’m sure you can order something from any number of online retailers.

1) cuttings need high humidity, indirect light, and often respond well to bottom heat, once you grow a few sets of leaves, you can wean them off to a more normal environment. I wouldn’t worry about fertilizer untill you’ve grown a few sets of leaves and they have darkened and gardened off, then start with low doses
2) I’d say 6-8 weeks is bare minimum for time, but sometimes longer, depends on how vigorous the growth was, care regime, etc
3)you can buy Anderson flats, various bonsai suppliers sell them, americanbonsai NEBG, but you can build a box very simply with wood from home depot, a decent hand saw, and some wood screws

I know this is a lot to unpack. You bring up some excellent points, though. Oh, and I'm in USDA Zone 7A. I have it in my profile, but just noticed it only appears when viewed from my laptop .

I'm intentionally coming into this careful and methodical; not looking for a quick turn-key solution. You've made some great points, so now I'm actually inspired to pursue this along two paths - (1) continue with my Bloodgood cuttings and (2) fast forward a few years with the purchase of an older tree ready for bonsai development. I may be successful with both, or maybe not, but I'm essentially diversifying and doubling the learning and enjoyment of the hobby.

For the latter path, I may get more than one. One will likely be the Bloodgood to meet my wife's wishes. You've given me some ideas to research regarding the internode size, so I could get one with a more optimal internode size. Do you have any recommendations, preferably in the realm of Maple?

Thank you for the answers to my questions as well.

 

[mrnvgtr]

God luck with your maple cuttings. Some people seem to be able to strike JM cuttings but they do not seem to work for most of us.
I find it quicker and easier to grow seedlings.
I also reiterate the problems posed by Bloodgood as bonsai - large leaves, long internodes, difficulty making ramification. They look nice, just not easy to make a really good bonsai.

With cuttings I wait for roots to emerge from the drainage holes in the pots. Most other possible checks will damage tender, emerging roots. That can take anywhere from a month to 6 months depending on conditions. It does not seem to matter what time of year for the initial repot for rooted cuttings. More important timing is stage of root development.

As well as the Anderson flats I have seen growers use plastic trays like oil pans with plenty of holes drilled in to allow for drainage. Almost any wide, flattish plastic tray will be OK as a grow box if you can put enough drain holes in. Someone was using some sort of takeout containers.
Don't be tempted to go too big to soon. Plants need to fil a pot with roots reasonably quickly or we end up with root problems so start a but smaller and move up as the trees grow is the best way.

Excellent, thank you for the answers to my questions!

 

[dbonsaiw]

First, welcome aboard. JMs are great, albeit they can be a little finicky. I personally like plain vanilla JMs - they are hardier than the rest and, while the various cultivars are truly stunning, the plain vanilla are beautiful as well. I planted a few dozen JM cuttings in the ground in early spring and I believe 4 are still living. I've been trying some summer cuttings as well - again, dozens of cuttings and from different cultivars in the yard. 1 plain vanilla seems to be doing something and a few of one of my unidentified cultivars are still up and kicking. Rest shriveled and died. De Shojo cuttings seemed to have shriveled shortly after planting. I took some trident cutting over the weekend.

If you have a large Bloodgood, might I suggest an airlayer? I've had far more success with airlayers (almost 100%) and end up with much larger starter material.

 

[mrnvgtr]

If you have a large Bloodgood, might I suggest an airlayer? I've had far more success with airlayers (almost 100%) and end up with much larger starter material.

I’ve considered air layering, but I’ve never tried it. Maybe I’ll try it sometime once I’m up and running with all this.

 

[dbonsaiw]

I’ve considered air layering, but I’ve never tried it.

Definitely a good project for next spring. Layering really is not as daunting as it may seem.