Bloodgood Maple as landscape and as bonsai

[JosefR]

I'll be receiving 2 x 1 quart size trees in a week or so . Second tree will be grown in a large pot for bonsai.
First tree is for landscape use and I would l would like your opinion as to whether I should let it grow naturally or wire it for some subtle shape while it's young and still flexible. Nothing extreme, still aiming for upright growth and mostly a normal tree. As a mature tree, I will attempt to stay on top of pruning, so it won't be going wild. I'm interested to watch the two trees progress in different environments.

 

[Jzack605]

I’d definitely allow the landscape tree to grow naturally and only prune. When planting make sure you expose root flare and remove any girdling or swirling roots. Maples are notorious for developing poor root structure if not addressed at planting. Keep pruning cuts small.

 

[sorce]

So did you knock the other person off?

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[JosefR]

So did you knock the other person off?

Ex wife...

 

[Shibui]

Blood good has long internodes and coarse growth here so I have struggled to manage it as a bonsai but maybe that will depend on your expectations of the bonsai.
Use whatever methods you need to to train your landscape tree. Usually pruning is enough to get a good shape but sometimes moving a branch with string or stakes is useful.
Beware of traditional bonsai wiring on landscape trees. They grow so fast the wire is embedded before you realize then it is too late.

 

[Mikecheck123]

Blood good has long internodes and coarse growth here so I have struggled to manage it as a bonsai b

FWIW, Brent at Evergreen Garden Works still lists these as suitable for larger bonsai.

0531 Acer palmatum 'Bloodgood', This cultivar has broad leaves that are the deepest red of any and keep their color throughout the season given good bright light. Upright to 15 feet if planted out and they are fast vigorous growers far superior to most atropurpureum seedlings. Suitable for larger bonsai, so plan on growing them out to at least 2 inch trunk caliper. Cutting grown plants, no graft unions.
FOUR INCH POTS $29 Available June 2021

 

[Canada Bonsai]

i agree with @Shibui

There are many reasons for not using bloodgood for bonsai, and almost no reason for choosing bloodgood over the cultivars that are appropriate for bonsai.

It's difficult to overstate the importance of starting with material that has genetics that are appropriate for bonsai.

Many of the reasons for not choosing Bloodgood can be summarized with a single term: amoenum. Bloodgood is in the amoenum group, and it does not behave or react like the palmatums and dwarves that we tend to use such as Arakawa, Beni Chidori, Deshojo, Kashima, Katsura, Koto Hime, Seigen and Shishigashira. (To be clear: we are not limited to this list; there are hundreds of cultivars that are potentially appropriate for bonsai).

Leaf size matters, and it is not just a question of scale and getting leaves in proportion with our design. Larger leaves will also limit light and air penetration to the interior of the tree, which impacts back budding and the sustainability of interior growth if you get any at all. Yes, you can apply all sorts of techniques to fight this, for example: hasukashi (remove 1 leaf from each pair); hagiri (remove lobes from each leaf); etc., but they will barely help you in this sisyphean challenge. (Keep in mind that these are techniques that we ordinarily apply even to small-leaved cultivars!)

Other considerations include internode length, flower size, die back, branch loss, and i would add... ugly leaf surface and ugly bark (yes i said it! ), which are all factors working against bloodgood's potential for making fine bonsai. Amoenum also tend to be grafted because air layering and cuttings are difficult or nearly impossible; Bloodgood is an exception in the amoenum group in that some nurseries use cuttings.

When people ask about bloodgood, the same quote from Chris Rock always comes to mind: "You can drive a car with your feet if you want to"

 

[JosefR]

Usually pruning is enough to get a good shape but sometimes moving a branch with string or stakes is useful.

I was referring to the trunk.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Some trees lend themselves to larger bonsai. Littleleaf Linden for one and Bloodgood for another. Some people don't like shohin because almost no leaves are in scale with a tree 9 inches tall and then get into intellectual discussions how the viewer is supposed to see individual leaves (out of proportion) as representing individual clouds, et al. I think a better representation of intellectualizing the sizes, -all of them, its that if the whole is in scale to itself, then the viewer accepts whatever is, as such. Like this one...


Or, not. It all depends upon the viewer's preferences.

 

[Adair M]

Bloodgood make great landscape trees, and poor bonsai.

There are other varieties of red Japanese Maple that make good bonsai.

You are taking on a long term project. Why not start with better suited material?

 

[JosefR]

Because I am not a rigid adherent to rules.
But mainly because I already have them. I do have other plants.
If anyone had answered the question I asked, besides Jzack605, I could do landscape for both.

 

[Adair M]

Yes, you can “train” landscape trees.

 

[JosefR]

Yes, I know you can. I asked for opinions on doing it.

 

[clintonio12]

I think the difference in growth between the two would be even more juxtaposed if you were to avoid pruning or wiring the landscape tree altogether. Truly wild versus styled. Or you might even be able to some day style the bonsai to be a miniature version of its sister specimen growing in your yard! This might be more of a challenge…

 

[Forsoothe!]

Untrained landscapes look like it. Modest guidance is usually required when young and pays off over time. Species has nothing to do with it.

 

[cheap_walmart_art]

I got two ingrafted blood goods in 1 gallon pots back around the beginning of 2018. I planted one in the landscape and put one in a training pot.

The landscape one had to be moved after the first year due to bad location. Much happier in this spot and you can see how it's sending out runners on its own. Hopefully this time next year it will look more like a tree than a wild bush.



The second tree went into admittedly poor soil, though I don't think that's the only problem. The potted one has always been scraggly with irregular growth. You can see by the size of the leaves and length of internodes that the trunk size likely needs to be 3-4x thicker than it is.



Also, this tree seems to want to shade itself out. I always see big leaves causing the leaves under them to get shaded and the grow irregularly. It doesn't seem to respond to pruning as well as other maples, though again it may be the poor soil in this particular case.



Anyway, just my experience with the species, results may differ in your garden.