Cutting Down a Big Maple

Just wait til it builds up a good head of steam...that thing will look sweet next spring!

WOW look at those red leaves!!

Nice!!!!!!!

Brian Van Fleet said:

Just wait til it builds up a good head of steam...that thing will look sweet next spring!

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I'm thinkin the weather is turning hot Thursday with an 88 then in the low 90's thru the weekend. That should build some steam. I got about a hundred or more buds all over the trunks getting ready to pop. This canopy will be pretty big by Fall. Based on what I see, ramification should be a no brainer.

Speaking of color how about these photos out at Ed's this last weekend at the workshop.

How many varieties can you name?

This one is really cool. Both pics of the same tree, just one in shade. Ed was a propagator of maples for thirty years. Many of these trees have never been seen in the USA before. I plan on having one of all of them.

wow!!! that red!!!

I thought it was a regular AP

Very nice

What variety is yours Al?

Oshio beni.

Lovely - I have 2 deshojos in the ground by my window and they have a very similar colour. Do you have a shade house Al? I'm sure you know the red leaved types scorch easier than the greens and go all black at the edges.

I have a shade house - it's called the UK.

Marie1uk said:

Lovely - I have 2 deshojos in the ground by my window and they have a very similar colour. Do you have a shade house Al? I'm sure you know the red leaved types scorch easier than the greens and go all black at the edges.

I have a shade house - it's called the UK.

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I have something similar mine is called an incinerator.

So many cultivars there are. You might like 'Higasayama'.

thumblessprimate1 said:

So many cultivars there are. You might like 'Higasayama'.

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Fabulous fun is Higasayama. It is also known a the popcorn maple because the opening leaf buds look like yellow kernels of corn that sorta pop to white as the little variegated leafs unfurl into rather unique little plams up hands.

Don't buy one thinking you are going to make a bunch of air layers from it.

Ideally I would love to have several of each cultivar. So far, maples have been the most rewarding to me with the color variation and change of seasons. I also love how well developed trees look great naked too.

I seem to find it hard to know which ones are suitable for bonsai as well as good sources for the less frequent varieties. Is there a cheat sheet for them or a go to guy for the less popular maples?

sikadelic said:

Ideally I would love to have several of each cultivar. So far, maples have been the most rewarding to me with the color variation and change of seasons. I also love how well developed trees look great naked too.

I seem to find it hard to know which ones are suitable for bonsai as well as good sources for the less frequent varieties. Is there a cheat sheet for them or a go to guy for the less popular maples?

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There are so many cultivars I don't know that there is a complete answer to this or a well compiled list of varieties that are suitable vs not suitable for Bonsai. The cut leaf/ lace leaf varieties are considered difficult subjects for Bonsai as they are not extremely vigorous on their own roots to the point of being downright hard to find existing on their own roots- everyone I have ever seen was a graft I think. From what I know of them, most are easily burned by wind or sun/ heat and a little touchy... If we are honest with ourselves, we know what we are doing is hard on trees. Yeah, the after care after a repot or stressful restyle should be exceptional and our daily care should be copious pampering by comparison to a regular tree's life, but the stress we put on trees when we style or repot is simply too much for some trees, and I get the impression that is true of most the lace leaf varieties.

Regular green JM/ Momiji is pretty damn tough and can handle almost any environment except tropical or EXTREME cold, can take a major root work in stride, grows like a weed when happy, leaves reduce well when roots are confined and ramification is dense... Seems to hold true or be very similar for most of the green leafed varieties like Coral Bark, Arakawa, Katsura... Even the Kiyo Hime/ Kotohime are pretty tough.

Red leafed varieties with a regular shaped leaf seem to have more variation as to the care requirements and adaptability for Bonsai. Autopurperum (Sp?) for instance seems pretty tough and adaptable to Bonsai though I have not found it to be an easy species to locate. REALLY want one, so if anybody has a source of good, non- grafted trees... Please let me know!. Vs the Bloodgood, which everyone says is not a good bonsai candidate. I have a young one and I just did the first low chop on it this year. Bought it as a cutting that was pretty small, planted it in the ground, let it grow wild for a year, chopped it to a very low branch to get some movement, letting it grow again, then I will chop and repeat until I have proven everyone wrong and have a stunning Bonsai from a Bloodgood (or a gnarly, twisty, curvy little yard tree!). Then there is Deshojo which makes a beautiful bonsai but the longevity/ health of the tree seems to be in question... Mostly from a post by Walter Pall on his blog I think where he mentioned his Deshojo died due to a fungal infection that attacks that variety commonly. I don't know for sure if that is true, but I know of very few long lived masterpieces made from Deshojo. There is an "improved" variety on the market now- Shin's Deshojo I think it is called, maybe there is more than one improved cultivar?- supposed to be more disease resistant I think. Regardless I have finally decided I must have one. I will get my hands on one as soon as possible. A buddy let me take some cuttings and if none strike I will buy one from a Evergreen Garden works most likely.

So, that is a fairly good start on a break down of what JM varieties are widely used... There are probably only about 150+ more options out there! These are just the ones I have owned or worked with or know a good bit about from reading and talking to/ working with others who own them...

Were you just looking for the cheat sheet on JM or Maples in general?

Some other good varieties for Bonsai are of course Trident, Field Maples, Hedge Maples (isn't it Acer Campestre or something?), Vine Maples, Full Moon Maples (Japonicum) and Amur Maples...

Questionable but doable- Red Maple (Rubrum) and Sugar Maple (Acer Saccharum)- thick branches, large leaves, not super intriguing leaf color change or bark in my experience.

As for a good source to buy a whole bunch of different ones? By my experience you have to go all over... Evergreen Garden works has a good selection, Valvanis has one or two you cannot find at EGGW... Might find a few randoms at other bonsai sources, but once you get away from trees grown for bonsai and try to order from regular nurseries or wholesale providers, damn near every one is crudely duct tapped to a green JM base in what they call a "graft" and completely useless as bonsai. All you can do is try to air layer or root some cuttings from the top...

Hope some of that helped you- or others- though I imagine most of this info was already known. I just thought a quick write up could compile it in one place.

I too love Maples and have a bunch already... But cannot own enough! I have probably 50+ cuttings in the works, a couple air layers, three pots slam full of Trident seeds and the same number of JM seeds... So perhaps by the end of this season I will have quenched my thirst for more trees! Nahhhh.... You know all of the cuttings Never root and all seeds won't sprout so I will probably wind up doing double this amount next Spring! LOL

This was tonight...

Is reviving an old thread bad form around here? How’s this maple look these days? How about the Oshio Beni? Thanks!

Btw I love the search function on this board!

I would be interested to see this tree now too

I believe it is dead. Remember read it somewhere in this forum where he had issues with his sprinkler.