Japanes Maple question

[ChristianDGreat]

Hello,

Long time lurker first time to post.
So i pulled the trigger and get this Awesome maple at the nursery


The question i have is.... Is this the month i should repot (February)?

Or just let it grow first?

Im planning to put it to a smaller pot.

Thanks

 

[Forsoothe!]

If you go to the upper right hand corner and click on your Icon, you can add your location and people will be able to customize advice for you.




<<<<< It will show here.

 

[ChristianDGreat]

If you go to the upper right hand corner and click on your Icon, you can add your location and people will be able to customize advice for you.




<<<<< It will show here.

Got it, I update my profile. thanks !

 

[penumbra]

It is a very nice maple but I am not in your zone. Its too early here.

 

[ChristianDGreat]

It is a very nice maple but I am not in your zone. Its too early here.

Thank you, It caught my attention right away, and got it right away.

This is my first maple bonsai. I want to do it right.

 

[ChristianDGreat]

By the way I saw this post

Japanese Maple Pre-Bonsai Question

My maple is in a small little training pot. (I'm assuming that is what you call it) I was wondering should I repot it into like a 2 gallon pot to allow the roots to grow and help thicken up the trunk or should I leave it as it is and let it keep growing?

www.bonsainut.com

With this PDF

http://nebaribonsai.com/Nebari_Bonsai/Projects_files/Evolution%20of%20Jap%20Maple.pdf

I notice on the PDF that he

Repot mostly on March.

Is this valid? I really want to put this to a better pot.

Thanks!

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

Go shallow.

Sorce

 

[ChristianDGreat]

Welcome to Crazy!

Go shallow.

Sorce

I think I will follow the march repot.

any tips on my first repot?

so rake the roots and cut any roots pass this area (line)?

 

[Hack Yeah!]

What cultivar? Stronger green leaf variety... I'd start with your root cut line, rinse it out, cut more and leave the top somewhere in here.

 

[August44]

Hold on a minute...before this new guy wastes time, energy, money and a lot of hope with this tree...do we even know what kind of maple it is, do leaves reduce, is he aware that it is grafted, and does he understand what that means? Lets give him some correct and professional help here. If I was him , that's what I would want anyway.

 

[ChristianDGreat]

What cultivar? Stronger green leaf variety... I'd start with your root cut line, rinse it out, cut more and leave the top somewhere in here. View attachment 352954

The labels says acer palmatum japanese maple assorted, (YUP it really says ASSORTED )


Do you think i should cut this as well after the repot? or wait for next season?

Is this the one your referring?

 

[ChristianDGreat]

Hold on a minute...before this new guy wastes time, energy, money and a lot of hope with this tree...do we even know what kind of maple it is, do leaves reduce, is he aware that it is grafted, and does he understand what that means? Lets give him some correct and professional help here. If I was him , that's what I would want anyway.

Thats why I posted here , i need help

 

[ChristianDGreat]

According to the nursery that sold me this, this is not grafted(not sure if they are lying, they are selling maples with grafted but he said this is not).

 

[BonsaiDTLA]

I didn't think it was grafted on first sight, but there is that weird spot a few inches up from the base..

It looks like a good tree to start off with. I would reduce the root ball to 30-40% of the original, assuming there are nice feeder roots able to sustain the tree post-repot.

Make the red cut, and if you want, for--hopefully--obvious reasons, you can cut a notch out of it like so:


(Image taken from Bonsai Tonight - https://bonsaitonight.com)

 

[August44]

This sure looks like a graft to me.

 

[ChristianDGreat]

This sure looks like a graft to me.

Heres a picture closeup

 

[TimberLakers]

I think I will follow the march repot.

any tips on my first repot?

so rake the roots and cut any roots pass this area (line)?

High pressure water hose is good to have handy for nursery can / ground soil repots.

If you end up not having a pot to fit the roots this year, cut the can and use the bottom.

You have a comfortable window to repot over the next few weeks. Buds should be pushing soon on maples in your area.

 

[ChristianDGreat]

High pressure water hose is good to have handy for nursery can / ground soil repots.

If you end up not having a pot to fit the roots this year, cut the can and use the bottom.

You have a comfortable window to repot over the next few weeks. Buds should be pushing soon on maples in your area.

Thanks for the tips.


Just curious should I do the Root Reduction + Repot.
And chopping all at the same time?

Or its too hard for the tree to recover from that?

thanks!

 

[TimberLakers]

You could do both this spring. Also nothing wrong with leaving it in this container for another year and repotting in '22.

Any large cuts are easier to do before repotting. Easier to make precise cuts on a stable tree.

 

[Shibui]

There is no problem root pruning, repotting and pruning in one session for Japanese maple.
I would do this any time from mid winter through to buds opening here. I suspect CA has a similar climate.
The cut @Hack Yeah! has suggested looks good. That section has long internodes and straight sections and they are not desirable for bonsai. It will also reduce the height - also a good thing. i would also shorten any other longer branches so they will ramify when they grow this season.
It is definitely easier to prune a stable tree before repotting but I generally do the root pruning first then prune the branches. Sometimes the rootage you uncover will suggest a different trunk angle and therefore a different trunk line and branching and you will not know any of that until the roots are uncovered. Final step is to pot into a new pot.

It looks like there are good lateral roots near the surface so you could just cut through the root ball at the red line you have proposed. Never do that unless you know there are good lateral roots above the proposed cut as some trees have been planted deep and it is possible to cut right through the trunk and leave no roots if you chop through without looking. I know because I have done this (only once!) Much safer to rake off surface soil until you see a good layer of lateral roots before making the first horizontal cut.

Some people seem to want to see grafts in every trunk. I see no sign of this having ever been grafted. If it is grafted the job was so well done there is no need to worry about it. Correct and professional help is what you are receiving from most of the replies here.