BobbyLane
Imperial Masterpiece
i might have used secatuers for that cut as the trunk wasnt that thick on thicker trunks i may use an electric saw.
@ConorDash now has this tree
@ConorDash now has this tree
Acer Koto Hime development
- Thread starter BobbyLane
- Start date
I do. Its sitting behind me right now, as I am at a desk for work. I've so far not done right by it. It needs bud reduction and thinning out, much earlier in the season. Now it is a mess of leaves that aren't terribly healthy due to all the clustering... But at least this Maple's problems I can hold up my hands to! I know what I did wrong.
BobbyLane
Imperial Masterpiece
you need to stay on top of these, or they'll easily get away.
this is a good resource. might be too much reading for some
valavanisbonsaiblog.com
this is a good resource. might be too much reading for some
Koto Hime Japanese Maple
The Koto Hime Japanese maple, Acer palmatum ‘Koto Hime,’ is in the dwarf or yatsubusa group of plants which are prized for bonsai training. This cultivar is best when trained as a shohin or small s…
valavanisbonsaiblog.com
you need to stay on top of these, or they'll easily get away.
this is a good resource. might be too much reading for some
Koto Hime Japanese Maple
The Koto Hime Japanese maple, Acer palmatum ‘Koto Hime,’ is in the dwarf or yatsubusa group of plants which are prized for bonsai training. This cultivar is best when trained as a shohin or small s…
In addition to the one Bill posted in Marks, Defoliation 101 topic? Yeah, I read them both this morning
, where you been?I love that koto hime in that blog. Holy crap, what a tree.. There are many great trees of course but some of them just stand out. That is one for me, absolutely amazing. And that dark electric blue pot that it used to be in.. That pot looks more expensive than any of my trees are.. I'd be worried to touch it. It looks immaculate.
JuniperMasterRace
Mame
How do you make the soil slightly more acidic?
JuniperMasterRace
Mame
Thank you!you need to stay on top of these, or they'll easily get away.
this is a good resource. might be too much reading for some
Koto Hime Japanese Maple
The Koto Hime Japanese maple, Acer palmatum ‘Koto Hime,’ is in the dwarf or yatsubusa group of plants which are prized for bonsai training. This cultivar is best when trained as a shohin or small s…
This would be a google question, buddy. Too many variables for Bobby or someone here to answer completely for you.
Personally, I have pyrcantha's, Elms (of 3 different species), a European Olive, maples of 4 different cultivars, hornbeams and a pomegranate.. I've never had to worry about acidity of soil. Its true they say different species prefer slightly different but the amount of other variables that go in to that like exactly how much, how you apply and what fert you use, how you water and what exactly your water contains... etc, maintaining an exact acidity is just madness. I would not worry so much about these things.
BobbyLane
Imperial Masterpiece
ask this guy, because im utterly clueless. ive never, ever had to make my bonsai soil more acidic so i would never know.
ps i know that azaleas love acidic soil, ive never known maples to though.
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james
Shohin
Just saw this thread. Nice find, I like what you have done with it.
Much of my experience with Japanese maple, does not apply well to this cultivar. Some of which you mentioned above. It tends to put out buds everywhere, which can make the tree look like a mess. Rub off the ones you don’t want.
It tends not to put out length, where and when you might expect. But when it does, use it. If you want movement, wire it during the growing season, when shoots are 4-6 inches long. Don’t cut off the tips to profile, let them grow to thicken up the shoot, and help hold the shape. A shoot 1-2 years old gets very brittle, and it hard to move with wire, older branches prone to snap with too much force. When wiring, don’t worry too much about going over buds, because it is nearly impossible not too. Sometimes I thin out a branch before wiring, leave long, let them run.
Here are some images of mine I have been working on for last 5-10 years. Slow process, but what I have described above has helped much in development.
Lastly, you may consider air/ground layer in future. I believe your tree is grafted on root stock.
Much of my experience with Japanese maple, does not apply well to this cultivar. Some of which you mentioned above. It tends to put out buds everywhere, which can make the tree look like a mess. Rub off the ones you don’t want.
It tends not to put out length, where and when you might expect. But when it does, use it. If you want movement, wire it during the growing season, when shoots are 4-6 inches long. Don’t cut off the tips to profile, let them grow to thicken up the shoot, and help hold the shape. A shoot 1-2 years old gets very brittle, and it hard to move with wire, older branches prone to snap with too much force. When wiring, don’t worry too much about going over buds, because it is nearly impossible not too. Sometimes I thin out a branch before wiring, leave long, let them run.
Here are some images of mine I have been working on for last 5-10 years. Slow process, but what I have described above has helped much in development.
Lastly, you may consider air/ground layer in future. I believe your tree is grafted on root stock.
BobbyLane
Imperial Masterpiece
you are spot on about the growth habits of this cultivar, what to do and when to do it.
i have also snapped brittle sections of branch and wiring is tricky with all the buds it puts out.
so things to bear in mind @conar
nice tree James!
yes its grafted but i dont think its an ugly graft where it needs to be layered. i would never consider layering. i dont buy trees with layering in mind. this tree has a good nebari.
i have also snapped brittle sections of branch and wiring is tricky with all the buds it puts out.
so things to bear in mind @conar
nice tree James!
yes its grafted but i dont think its an ugly graft where it needs to be layered. i would never consider layering. i dont buy trees with layering in mind. this tree has a good nebari.
Indeed, nice tree, very nice.
I too am happy with the graft mark, at the moment it is only visible due to the different in colour but even that is going away now as we speak. it has changed in colour since the first pics posted here, so I am comfortable with it + the root stock helps with the trees health, as it will be stronger than the cultivar + the nebari, as you can see in previous pics. The nebari will hopefully really start to stand out more and get better but will take a good long time.
Have a few extensions on this one now but barely in any right places, so looks like it really will be slow going. Just needs to bulk up!
Thanks for posting
Woocash
Omono
Cool, thanks for this thread Bobby. Looks like you’ve got a nice tree there Conor. Thanks for the tips there James. Hope you guys don't mind me piggy backing on, but I picked one up before lockdown in a discount section at a local garden centre. It had already just started to leaf out but the soil was terrible so I pruned it and chanced a repot and obviously got lucky because although I got some dieback it recovered and threw out a few extensions as well as some trunky pom poms.
Today I removed most of the multiple buds per node, leaving only the single strongest shoot with hope that the extensions keep on extending. Looking at it afterwards though, I can’t decide whether to grow it to increase trunk diameter, or to just start developing a really small bonsai. It’s currently about 30cm tall, trunk is 20mm ish at the base. How long in ideal (larger pot grown) circumstances would it take to double the trunk thickness does anybody think? Thanks.
Today I removed most of the multiple buds per node, leaving only the single strongest shoot with hope that the extensions keep on extending. Looking at it afterwards though, I can’t decide whether to grow it to increase trunk diameter, or to just start developing a really small bonsai. It’s currently about 30cm tall, trunk is 20mm ish at the base. How long in ideal (larger pot grown) circumstances would it take to double the trunk thickness does anybody think? Thanks.
Trunk size doesn't look that thin already. That top bit btw, trunk with 2 large branches coming off, you may want to address that.
1. The 2 branches are the thickness of the trunk
2. 3 branches at 1 point will cause it to thicken and get ugly and fat.
In terms of thickening trunk, same stuff as you would see on google and on this forum, providing tree is healthy, fastest way you going to do it is stick it in the ground. Heavily feed with organic fert, first year it goes in don't expect much, second year it will grow well, 3rd year should be the real big one.
Doubling that trunk, as its already just over an inch? Probably like.. 3-4 years in the ground maybe. Or longer.
Woocash
Omono
Yea I left that top simply because I cant decide if I need the extra foliage for trunk growth or if I should just cut it low and start a tree from there. Either way, the whole top will come off at some point. The picture may be deceiving though because it is only 3/4” thick at the graft so it’s neither here nor there and therein lies my conundrum.
I’m going to container grow it entirely because I haven’t really got the space for ground growing. Plus, it’s interesting enough to keep a close eye on and observe its traits. I’ll probably stick it in a large pot next year and let it do it’s thing.
thatguy
Mame
How's this guy looking at the end of the season? Excited to see an update. I have a small shohin koto hime made from an air layered branch in a semi cascade shape. Going to be evaluating it this winter when the leaves are off to see where to take it.
BobbyLane
Imperial Masterpiece
This one belongs to @ConorDash now, he will likely post an update i saw it a few days ago via whatsapp it looks healthy
Ill post an update some time soon. It has had a bad time, bad watering by me. End of the season it went well, as a result, its leaves are currently completely fresh and healthy looking, whereas they should be getting ragged and changing colour.
Next year will be a better year for it... its barely developed this season. Lessons learnt.. will update (do I have my own thread for this tree... not sure)
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