Rjoyce
Mame
I've read the Red Maple (Acer rubrum) does not reduces leaves or internodes well. So if you were to make a bonsai out of one, you should go big, to fit the proper scale. I think I found a good sized base to build from!
This tree was in the woods behind my house (on my property) and tipped over in 2016. I cut it off leaving a stump and planned on just removing the stump eventually. Last year it sprouted back pretty well and seemed pretty healthy aside from the deer constantly removing the growing tips and foliage. Once I realized that I could potentially use it as a bonsai, I went full-weirdo and put up driveway marking stakes around it and tied fishing line between them to protect the foliage. This April, as it was budding out, I dug it up and potted it.
As it was in the ground:
I expected it to have a very large root ball, so I dug a large trench around it.
It turns out the roots were quite flat and only had two roots running straight down into the dirt. I popped it out with very little effort. Unfortunately, there were almost no feeder roots in sight, so I hoped for the best.
My two year-old for scale:
I cut the roots back just enough to fit in the largest grown box I could find/build, a ~30"X30" (76X76 cm) pallet, and potted it in 80% perlite, 10% DE, and 10% bark. I placed it off the ground in mostly shade (away from the deer path) and crossed my fingers.
This tree was in the woods behind my house (on my property) and tipped over in 2016. I cut it off leaving a stump and planned on just removing the stump eventually. Last year it sprouted back pretty well and seemed pretty healthy aside from the deer constantly removing the growing tips and foliage. Once I realized that I could potentially use it as a bonsai, I went full-weirdo and put up driveway marking stakes around it and tied fishing line between them to protect the foliage. This April, as it was budding out, I dug it up and potted it.
As it was in the ground:
I expected it to have a very large root ball, so I dug a large trench around it.
It turns out the roots were quite flat and only had two roots running straight down into the dirt. I popped it out with very little effort. Unfortunately, there were almost no feeder roots in sight, so I hoped for the best.
My two year-old for scale:
I cut the roots back just enough to fit in the largest grown box I could find/build, a ~30"X30" (76X76 cm) pallet, and potted it in 80% perlite, 10% DE, and 10% bark. I placed it off the ground in mostly shade (away from the deer path) and crossed my fingers.
