Sapling Division: Misfit's Japanese Maple Forest

[misfit11]

So after getting the okay from @Kanorin , I'm throwing my hat in the ring on the forest from sapling contest. These saplings were all volunteers in my backyard from a large Japanese Maple tree. I've been growing some of the larger ones since around 2016. I arranged them in the forest grouping on February 27th with the help of my teacher and fellow REBS member, Ivan Lukrich. Here's the original thread:

JM Seedlings

They grow like weeds in my yard! We have a big old JM in the backyard and it drops seeds like crazy every fall. In the spring they start popping up everywhere including in my pots.

www.bonsainut.com

I may be adding a few more smaller trees to the composition over the next few years. If you noticed in the other thread, I definitely don't have a lack of seedlings...

Well, for now it's just feed, grow, prune, wire, and repeat for the next six years.

Cory

 

[misfit11]

Here's an update on this Japanese Maple grove I started last spring. It's coming along nicely and I think will be a nice addition to my collection as it progresses. I snapped this photo a couple weeks ago and it's more leaded out and the shoots have begun to extend. I wanted to post this pic cuz you can see the branch structure that I was able to develop last year better than in its leafed out condition. Any comments and suggestions are welcome as always.

 

[Hartinez]

You’ve got the trunks position and angles as good as it gets!! Great work!

 

[misfit11]

You’ve got the trunks position and angles as good as it gets!! Great work!

Thanks Hart! Most of the credit goes to my teacher. I did reduce the height on the tree fourth from the left to improve the taper and movement in that tree. I eventually want it just a bit shorter than the second tallest tree. I'm also planning on adding a smaller tree in the front just to the right of the third from the left.

 

[misfit11]

Did some work on my Japanese Maple grove yesterday. It's got a long way to go before it's ready for prime time in 2027 but it's slowly getting there. When you only add about an inch of usable growth a year (at best) it's definitely a marathon not a sprint!

Before work


After

 

[misfit11]

Kind of what I'm going for

 

[misfit11]

Today

 

[Balbs]

Looks great

 

[misfit11]

I added eight small trees to the forest at a workshop with Adam Toth a couple weeks ago. I had only planned on adding like three trees or so, but he thought more were needed. This brings the number from ten to eighteen. It's still an even number. Maybe I need to add one more at some point to make it odd.

Front


Back

 

[misfit11]

Worked on my maple forest last night. It's kind of one step forward and two steps back with this thing. Being apically dominant, the top of the main tree grows faster than the lower portions. Therefore, the top branches thicken too fast and quickly become out of proportion with the tree. I had to cut the top back pretty hard to compensate for this. This means starting over on the branch structure on the top. Thankfully, since it's so apically dominant, it should develop relatively quickly.

Also, I ended up chopping down a couple of the trees in the back that I never really liked. They were straight and lacked taper. This will improve the forest in the long run even though it feels like a set back at the moment. Such is bonsai, though.

I absolutely love this hobby, but I wish it wasn't so damn slow sometimes!

The long straight branches are obviously sacrifices, to improve taper and heal chops.

Also, a couple of the seedlings that I added last spring didn't survive. I will be adding a few this coming spring

 

[Colorado]

You say it seems slow, but I feel like this is great progression and great handling! I think it is looking awesome.

 

[misfit11]

Few different views

 

[misfit11]

You say it seems slow, but I feel like this is great progression and great handling! I think it is looking awesome.

Thanks TJ! I'm pretty happy with it. It's just me being impatient and my little nitpicks.