Acer Palmatum Beni Hime

[tandaina]

So I am a complete bonsai newbie. I'm a lifelong gardener who has always loved bonsai and assumed they were too difficult or technical. Well to heck with that. I have signed up for a day long class in September with a local bonsai nursery where we'll create a cascading Blue Atlas cedar.

But you know how this stuff goes. At my local nursery I stumbled on a red dwarf Japanese maple (Beni Hime) in among the nursery stock. (Everything else is 5' tall. These adorable things were 12".) Anyway. I fell in love with one particular tree, loved what I saw of it. I'm newbie enough to be willing to say "well if it never really gets much bigger who cares, it's adorable." So it came home with me. I realize these are very slow growing trees and I'm fine with that.

I've just cleaned it up a bit but otherwise left it as is.

It'll stay in it's big nursery pot until spring (is that correct or should it be repotted now?).

Do you all suggest I wire it now, or should I let it just grow out and wire in the spring before it breaks bud?

I am in the Seattle area, we get winters here but generally not much at all below freezing. We'll have a long slow gentle fall, I usually have roses blooming through Thanksgiving at least. (My roses never actually lose their leaves and fuscia over winter outside on their own. Super mild.

Thanks for any advice, I look forward to learning a lot.

 

[0soyoung]

Bene hime is pretty cool little tree. It can be a nice little 'patio tree' (wherein you just grow it in a pot) though I think it would make a great shohin (under 8 inches or so tall) because of its small leaves and short internodes. The horticultural game of bonsai is to make little trees as opposed to just plugging genetic mutants into pots. The rest is artistry. To this end, we want fat trunks that taper in a short distance. So it is quite common to start with 5 foot trees, chop them down to 4 to 6 inches tall and grow the tapering trunk, making it wander around in interesting ways and then growing branches to fit. Quite often, simply cramming trees into little pots will result in smaller leaves befitting the smaller size.

Back to your specific question, I suggest you select an inorganic bonsai substrate this winter and repot your tree next spring, cleaning out the existing soil and replacing it with substrate, wiring it into a bonsai pot. Bonsai Northwest has pots and has Clay King, pumice, and lava, substrates IIRC. I continue to use Turface MVP that I buy at a Ewing Irrigation store. Many BNutters use diatomaceous earth (DE) that they buy at autoparts stores (NAPA 8822, O'Reiley 'Optisorb').

 

[tandaina]

Bonsaï NW is where I'm taking my class so it will be perfect to pickup some supplies then. Thank you!

 

[Mike Hennigan]

Welcome to bonsai! Cascade atlas cedar sounds like an exciting project, that’s a species that I am really dying to work with.

There’s no reason that this tree can’t make a lovely bonsai. One thing to be aware of with Japanese maple varieties bought from nurseries is that it is pretty standard for them to be grafted onto the rootstock of the standard “mountain maple” variety. I believe I see a graft union on your tree, circled in red here.


These grafts tend to create an issue for bonsai since the part of the trunk below the graft can swell over time or the graft site is ugly and just gets in the way of an aesthetically pleasing trunkline.

If a graft is done incredibly well it can be ok. This is probably considered a little advanced for a beginner, but you’ve been gardening for a long time, but usually how we rectify this issue is by using a technique called air layering to produce new roots about the graft site and then are able to remove the the tree off of the graft with a new set of roots. It’s really not a complicated technique, it just sounds intimidating. I suggest you do some research into air-layering for bonsai and see if that’s something you might want to pursue with this tree.

Either way, good luck!

 

[tandaina]

Welcome to bonsai! Cascade atlas cedar sounds like an exciting project, that’s a species that I am really dying to work with.

There’s no reason that this tree can’t make a lovely bonsai. One thing to be aware of with Japanese maple varieties bought from nurseries is that it is pretty standard for them to be grafted onto the rootstock of the standard “mountain maple” variety. I believe I see a graft union on your tree, circled in red here.
View attachment 208155

These grafts tend to create an issue for bonsai since the part of the trunk below the graft can swell over time or the graft site is ugly and just gets in the way of an aesthetically pleasing trunkline.

If a graft is done incredibly well it can be ok. This is probably considered a little advanced for a beginner, but you’ve been gardening for a long time, but usually how we rectify this issue is by using a technique called air layering to produce new roots about the graft site and then are able to remove the the tree off of the graft with a new set of roots. It’s really not a complicated technique, it just sounds intimidating. I suggest you do some research into air-layering for bonsai and see if that’s something you might want to pursue with this tree.

Either way, good luck!View attachment 208155

I've done similar with roses. But we tend to bury them deep to encourage root growth above the graft. I assume that's not normal with bonsai since they aren't in the ground? I could certainly try it in the pot with a but of rooting hormone and disturbing the bark.

I don't really mind the graft myself, I think it gives some character but if it likely to cause later I'll think about it.

 

[Hack Yeah!]

Bury deep in the ground would be an excellent plan, then proceed with your layer process in a few years. It sounds like you are way ahead in your bonsai journey. Best of luck

 

[Mike Hennigan]

I've done similar with roses. But we tend to bury them deep to encourage root growth above the graft. I assume that's not normal with bonsai since they aren't in the ground? I could certainly try it in the pot with a but of rooting hormone and disturbing the bark.

I don't really mind the graft myself, I think it gives some character but if it likely to cause later I'll think about it.

Yea for sure, same idea, ground layering/air layering same thing basically. Air layering would be done by bringing the “ground” to the site instead of burying. Usually using sphagnum moss as the rooting medium, in a container or wrapped in plastic. Same principle though. I’ve seen a lot uglier grafts than that one on your maple for sure, it’s not too bad. Something to keep in mind I suppose!

 

[LanceMac10]

Ground layering looks a bit like this, if you wanted some reference @tandaina

 

[Paulpash]

Most acers appreciate some winter dormancy and frost. I guess if the nursery is selling them it should be OK though?

 

[tandaina]

Most acers appreciate some winter dormancy and frost. I guess if the nursery is selling them it should be OK though?

Oh we definitely get dormancy and frost. We have maples, oak, etc. They go dormant on light. Roses go dormant when they are beaten into submission. Trees have more sense.

 

[KiwiPlantGuy]

Oh we definitely get dormancy and frost. We have maples, oak, etc. They go dormant on light. Roses go dormant when they are beaten into submission. Trees have more sense.

Hi tandaina,
Great to see you are a long time gardener as that is a big plus (eg. Green fingers).
As for your AP “Beni hime”, it is a lovely cultivar, as I have one also.
An alternative to ground layering the whole tree would be to try a few cuttings next Summer, as they root ok with 1% IBA. That way you get a few cuttings to look after and your original tree in a patio pot.
Agree with others that the graft of fast AP and slow (dwarf) cultivar may well be a problem, but if you not worried then no problem.
Enjoy the journey, and search for threads here to get inspiration from.
Charles

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy Sane!

S