2 yr old Bloodgood Maple Training help

[animal767]

Hello to all,
I have two 2yr old Japanese Maple trees. I received them for my bday with the intentions of turning them in to bonsai trees during the next few years, however lately i began reading conflicting information online about how to go about that. The trees are currently wired in separate 8" wide bonsai oval vases that are about an inch to two tall. Soil is great. Tree is never wet. Drainage is perfect. Trees have almost double in size in the last month and are still growing strong.

Initially i read that i could train the trees by simple pruning with time. I planned on letting it grow this year and pruning it right before the winter (fall in LA is summer for most). Trunks are currently about 1/8 - 1/4" .

Now im reading that my process will take about a decade to achieve. Should i be planting each tree in gallon pots and letting them grow for the next couple of years to accelerate the process and encourage trunk growth?
Also what kind of pot? Ive read everywhere from placing them in the ground, to a gallon sized pot, to a very wide yet short pot. Any suggestions? Trees were received about 2' tall and have grown to about 4-5' in the last two months.

Any help is greatly appreciated... google is a scary place. Thanks.

 

[Eric Group]

Plant them in the ground 3-5 years+
During that time- When you get a thicker trunk, chop low on the trunk to get movement, let a new leader grow out a couple more years, do it again, getting a leader moving in another direction.. Repeat

After doing this for about 5 years you might have something cool!

Bloodgood is not the best variety of JM to Bonsai, but their leaves are pretty.

Good luck!

 

[Adair M]

Since you are new to bonsai, you didn't know any better, so you picked bonsai material because you liked the color of the leaf! Unfortunately, Bloodgood has too long of an internode to make good bonsai. They do make excellent garden trees, so I suggest planting them out in the garden

If you are going to spend years growing out a tree for bonsai, choose one with shorter internodes. There are some with a nice leaf color that have short internodes that you will be much more successful with.

 

[animal767]

Thank you for your help And suggestion Eric. I will try just that With the longer of the two maples. These trees are truly beautiful and will look nice next to my ceiba and huisache bonsais.