Acer palmatum beni tsukasa (from cutting)

[amcoffeegirl]

This is a fantastic progression. Thank you for sharing this. You should be very proud of your work. I have learned a lot from seeing this

 

[clem]

do they mean not natural for a deciduous or not natural for a maple?
i beg to differ, the bends you achieved do look natural, flowing, sinuous. 10 times more natural than a maple styled like a conifer.
i can see that youve applied the bends at the correct places at branch nodes and joints. the bends look like the oak in your inspirational image. im not at my computer but i have old quercus rober images with similar branching.
i think you do want a tree to look natural, you dont want it looking contrived thats for sure. this is far from looking contrived, or forced.

They mean not natural for a japanese maple. Many people prefer to build deciduous trees with scissors only (no wire) in order to get more natural breaks on the branches. I think it is far more difficult to build branches without wire, because you get straight parts on the branches and you need to cut them back, so you loose time. With wire + trimming, you save time, but some people don't like "curves"

 

[clem]

Wow! Thank you for sharing the tree's voyage! Such an inspiration.
I have one deshojo that is still in it's nursery pot. When you transferred yours in the shallow grow box, how much nursery soil and roots did you get rid off?

hello, i removed all the soil (with water) and i cut all the vertical or too long roots. I removed approx 1/2 of the original rootball

 

[clem]

This is a fantastic progression. Thank you for sharing this. You should be very proud of your work. I have learned a lot from seeing this

thank you Denise ! i hope it will evolve well in the coming years..

 

[AlainK]

They mean not natural for a japanese maple. Many people prefer to build deciduous trees with scissors only (no wire) in order to get more natural breaks on the branches. I think it is far more difficult to build branches without wire

I agree.

you loose time. With wire + trimming, you save time, but some people don't like "curves"

I like curves on people, and on some trees too

But "saving time" at the expense of making a tree look natural is not really my cup of tea, just like over-using "dead" wood on a deciduous : some may like it, others don't. It's not about the technique, it's about what one has in mind when designing a bonsai.

I have quite a few "over-twisted" ones too, to experiment. I like to experiment, explore, but to me, between "Burton" and "Pall", there's no comparison to what "bonsaï" is. I respect what people do, even if big-mouthed me is not always very diplomatic, but I prefer "Art nouveau" to "gothic", or "neo-gothic" and even "Art deco" to "Art nouveau" for its search of pure, elementary forms...

I just found a twisted wired seedling this afternoon, it's dark now, I won't post a picture, but I'm pretty sure that's the kind of thing I could sell for ten times I would if it was a "clip-and-grow" piece. Like the ones you can see in supermarkets.

 

[dlayton]

Have you decided what shape and size pot you’re going to go with? That will have some determination on the length of the branch you want to root? Maybe?

 

[clem]

Have you decided what shape and size pot you’re going to go with? That will have some determination on the length of the branch you want to root? Maybe?

You are right.
I didn't think about a pot yet, but adding the virtual tree a nice oval pot, i realize that it will be difficult to give enough space on the soil to root a branch. I prefer this size of pot to make the tree look big & powerfull ->




The more i increase the size of the pot, to give more room for a branch to root, the more the tree will look small and the pot big ->

 

[dlayton]

Well... I’m learning myself. And watching your progress, pot, pot, pot, kept coming to mind and I didn’t want you to go through the work to grow that branch out without thinking about that!
Honestly, don’t know what made me think about it!
That rendering looks good!

 

[Davidlpf]

"The Strange case of the growing pot"

Cheers!

 

[clem]

hypnotic

 

[ConorDash]

I dont know if this is even a debate, but certainly the smaller pot. No matter how that branch would look when rooted, I don't think it could make up for the reduction in image, that the bigger pots do.
It harms the tree too much to go in to something wider.

 

[clem]

Here is the tree now.. The good point is the tappered base and nebari (imo) ->




This year the climate is very humid and cool, maybe it is why my palmatum started their summer growth 1 month later than previous years (?). This year they started their summer growth in the middle of July.
This tree has also brown leaflets this year, i dunno exactly the reason why. The palmatum specialist in my french EDG forum say it may be the exces of watering combined with the humid and cool climate. Here are the pics showing the brown tips and necrosis->




I spray bordeaux mixture (copper fungicide) so i don't think it is a fungus attack..
The positive/reassuring point is that the roots and old leaves look healthy ->

 

[Colorado]

The nebari that you have created looks great! I really enjoy your threads, @clem !

 

[BobbyLane]

nebari and tree developing nicely, looks like you have a great little microclimate there.

 

[ConorDash]

What are your trees smoking? Development is great.

 

[Njyamadori]

Just amazing. This is probably my favorite thread since I’m a beginner and I can understand the process easier .

 

[clem]

The nebari that you have created looks great! I really enjoy your threads, @clem !

thank you ! i didn't do anything on this nebari, except letting some roots crossed together, because i saw a Japanese pro doing that in a old Bonsai Today magasine (more natural) . I had chance to find a good pre-Bonsai matérial with good roots repartition..

 

[clem]

nebari and tree developing nicely, looks like you have a great little microclimate there.

i have also a deshojo cutting outside the greenhouse, and it doesn't grow at all. So i think it is the greenhouse providing heat and avoiding wind that is the key point in my place. I guess a greenhouse in a warmer zone would be too much (too hot).. dunno

 

[leatherback]

i have also a deshojo cutting outside the greenhouse, and it doesn't grow at all. So i think it is the greenhouse providing heat and avoiding wind that is the key point in my place. I guess a greenhouse in a warmer zone would be too much (too hot).. dunno

Not sure. I have 3 deshojos, none in a greenhouse and I am thinking, my place is not warmer than yours. Putting on some good runners, maybe 50cm or so.

 

[BobbyLane]

i have also a deshojo cutting outside the greenhouse, and it doesn't grow at all. So i think it is the greenhouse providing heat and avoiding wind that is the key point in my place. I guess a greenhouse in a warmer zone would be too much (too hot).. dunno

Peter chan always goes on about the amazing growth he gets in the greenhouse, ive stood inside that green house in spring and its humid and baking, a nice environment no doubt.