Share Your MAPLE LITERATIS

[Mimstrel]

thought I would share my pre-literati maple. I purchased a number of maples this year and most of them will be cut back and trained to other styles, repotted in big grow-out pots for a few years, this one will be keeping that long Slender curve and will probably get a preliminary styling and a bonsai pot in the spring if I can decide on a pot I like.

 

[Hack Yeah!]

Update
View attachment 321119

I repotted this in the spring. Roots are horrible, so I wedged one seedling under the tie-down wire to attempt an approach graft. I've got a couple of wires on it to pull in the arch. It got stunted by a couple of nights hitting just at freezing after it leafed, so probably won't make much headway in ramification this year unless it starts picking up a little steam. Was fighting the shadow for the photo, so I decided to give it the stage in the last photo, maybe the best one??

 

[badatusernames]

That Penjing book is great, I picked it up a bit ago, I should revisit it... Love the examples given. I feel like I'm not often exposed to the style in general.

 

[Dalai]

My take on a Japanese Maple literati, 3 years in the making. Still got a bit to go, bottom 2 bends from the base natural from branch my work [have a maple in front garden] so plenty to choose from each year.

 

[LeoMame]

I just found out about this thread, some beautiful bonsai here! I will contribute with my momiji, which defies anything I've learned about bonsai rules, nature and such and yet it's one of those trees that I just can't stop looking at.

 

[C-Jewel]

Literati maple today ready to take a long nap until next spring.

View attachment 267452

Any updates on how the tree has progressed over the last few years?

 

[MACH5]

Any updates on how the tree has progressed over the last few years?

No photo updates yet. However two things I will say. Last year a strong storm blew it out of the bench and the apex broke off. Due to that mishap, I think I will now shift the future new apex to the left instead of following the strong directional movement to the right. Nature has a way of helping you sometimes!

 

[penumbra]

Nature has a way of helping you sometimes!

If you include my wife knocking the pot of the shelf, not so much. My cat was a lot more helpful.
Seriously though, I am glad this thread came back up. I have several maple that I need to start training in a few weeks. I have the book referenced and I am pulling off the shelf now.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

Many people despise literati or think that they are only for thin trees with no other option to style them, not quite I think its one of the hardest styles to accomplish, and needs a special sensitivity and an artistic vision

 

[penumbra]

I think its one of the hardest styles to accomplish, and needs a special sensitivity and an artistic vision

I agree with you. By the same token, if sensitivity and vision is what you are stuck with.............
you will see literati everywhere.
It is why people hire designers and artists. Being involved in landscape design for 50 years, it took me many years to understand why some people see it right away in multiple variations, while others could not see it until it was done.
I am sitting in my house now looking out the window at my snowed in trees and nursing an injured shoulder ............. anticipating.

 

[badatusernames]

I’ll put this here as a “before” and document elsewhere if I do it

this JM trunk may become one, I’m still deciding. Hard to get a good photo right now even without a bunch of snow!

 

[Ohmy222]

No photo updates yet. However two things I will say. Last year a strong storm blew it out of the bench and the apex broke off. Due to that mishap, I think I will now shift the future new apex to the left instead of following the strong directional movement to the right. Nature has a way of helping you sometimes!

just put it on one of your rocks and reinforce why I should quit this hobby

 

[Drew]

@MACH5 here's my literati Seigen maple... which angle is best and what would you guys do with it if it were yours out of interest? 360 pics:

 

[Drew]

One idea maybe?

 

[MACH5]

One idea maybe?View attachment 419998

Drew I really like and agree with your plan and virt for this tree! At least as one good option moving forwards. With that said, I am afraid that this tree is far too complex to fall within the literati category. In the end it doesn't really matter. A good tree is a good tree regardless. Thank you for sharing!

 

[jimib]

Not a maple but at least deciduous. I picked this Korean Hornbeam il this weekend for the price of a pizza…had the pot laying on my shelf. Wired it and repotted it.I’d like to out a little more movement in the trunk once it’s settled in..

 

[Colorado]

‘Katsura’

 

[baron]

Last fall this kinda happend. Haven't had time to update the topic of the tree in a while...
but the decision to go this way was a recent one. Ofc it still need a few years, but with the trunk movement and nebari it should be pretty nice

 

[AlainK]

Not really a literati, but I have so many seedlings of various sizes that I though I could play with this one that, to me, had no particularly interesting features except a nebari that was not too bad :



My first idea was to "train" it, leaving the first branch for the base of the trunk to thicken, then in a few years, prune it down 2/3 and remove this first branch.

But I find this unusual look has a kind of 'literati feel".

We'll see...

 

[leatherback]

Not sure I ever shared this one