Collected Vine Maple (Acer circinatum)

NHATIVE

Yamadori
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Hey All,

I've recently become quite interested in the native Vine Maple we have here in the Pacific Northwest. Given their distribution and abundance, they are one of the more "readily available" species for collection around here, not to mention they are a beautiful tree in their own right. It was only a matter of time before I collected one from the wild, and I finally made that happen yesterday afternoon with a permit for the Olympic National Forest. This definitely isn't something many would consider "world class", but it is my first ever collected tree and I really like it's potential. It has great movement and ramification for such a small tree, the nebari is quite interesting, and it was able to be collected with plenty of roots, both tap and fine feeders.

I did have a question to pose for the group on potting this tree directly after collection. I was able to collect this tree straight from the ground with quite a shallow (only about 4" deep) and nicely sized root mass with plenty of fine feeder roots, and I have a training pot that would fit the root mass nicely without much if any space between the roots and the wall of the container, and would hardly require, if any, pruning to get it into. Should I pot directly into this training pot, or do you think it is necessary to either build a box for it that is bigger than the root mass or go into a pond basket or Anderson flat for increased oxygen flow? I'll be planting it in straight pumice either way.

Also, this tree was collected at around 3800', hence the snow. I live right at sea level and pretty much on the water in Puget Sound, and we don't often get a ton of frost where I am, though it does happen. The climate is fairly mild though, and plenty wet most winters.

Forgive the poor photos, I will try and take better ones soon. Thank you for your responses, and please give any other feedback you deem fit.

Cheers!

274631274632274633
 

NHATIVE

Yamadori
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Why did you cillect now instead of in the spring?
For a number of reasons, but the simplest answer is curiosity. First, this is the first tree I've collected from the wild, and would like to eventually collect trees at different points in the year to see what species respond best to collection and when. In this particular case, curiosity struck now, I wanted to do a "late fall" collection at some point in the future anyways, Vine Maples are extremely abundant here and supposedly quite hardy and this one was in an easily collectible soil and location, and this was a perfect piece of material in that it isn't so epic that devastation would strike if it didn't make it. For what it's worth, the temps were not far below freezing (29-31 degrees Fahrenheit) and the soil was not frozen, just a dusting of snow on top.
 

rodeolthr

Shohin
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In this part of the country, vine maples are routinely harvested both from growing fields and in the wild throughout winter and moved into landscapes or containers for future sales. They are extremely adaptable and don't seem to mind at all. You shouldn't have any problems with this one.
 

NHATIVE

Yamadori
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I ended up potting this one up in a pond basket. After removing some loose gravel around the trunk, I was able to expose a really nice curve in the trunk and a decent nebari. Not quite sure where to go on this one, even in deciding the front, but this tree has plenty of options and I've got plenty of time to study it over.

If the first picture of the full tree is the front, I'm thinking the first branch on the right (the one that crosses over the trunk), can be bent back to the right to become a defining branch. Or, could chop that branch off right above the first secondary branch on the right above the "elbow". There is opportunity abound with this tree, I think...

Your thoughts/ideas are welcome!

274939274940274941274942
 

Brad in GR

Chumono
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Olympic National Forest is a magical place. Can’t believe you can get permits to collect... so cool! Congrats on the interesting looking tree and wish it well.
 

Atom#28

Chumono
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Lucky! No National Forests on my side of WA are allowing collection permits this year :(

But I do have about 6 old vine maples in my yard, just begging to be air layered...….
 

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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Looks good.
I would not worry too much about which side is "front", this can, and usually does change often during the first years of development. Or at least you won't have to worry until maybe mid June when you do a first pruning. Give time for different views to settle in.

When you photograph, to ask for help with design. the lens of the camera should be LEVEL with the rim of the pot. Not looking down at the tree. The angle you used in your photos foreshortens all the lengths of the vertical branches because you are looking down. Try backing up, crouching a bit and shooting on a horizontal plane level with the rim of a pot. This is the "straight on" view used for portraits of bonsai trees and judges routinely adopt while evaluating a tree. Good photos will get you better advice. On the plus side, your photos are all in focus, better than most peoples photos. Re-reading this sound like I'm dogging you. I'm not. Just trying to help. I can not make a suggestion for a front because all the photos were looking down at the tree.
 

ghues

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Nice find. I wouldn’t do much with it for a number of years.....let it grow.....the lower branches left on will help thicken the lower trunk and try and encourage more basal roots as this will really help the design in 10-12 years.
 

NHATIVE

Yamadori
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Looks good.
I would not worry too much about which side is "front", this can, and usually does change often during the first years of development. Or at least you won't have to worry until maybe mid June when you do a first pruning. Give time for different views to settle in.

When you photograph, to ask for help with design. the lens of the camera should be LEVEL with the rim of the pot. Not looking down at the tree. The angle you used in your photos foreshortens all the lengths of the vertical branches because you are looking down. Try backing up, crouching a bit and shooting on a horizontal plane level with the rim of a pot. This is the "straight on" view used for portraits of bonsai trees and judges routinely adopt while evaluating a tree. Good photos will get you better advice. On the plus side, your photos are all in focus, better than most peoples photos. Re-reading this sound like I'm dogging you. I'm not. Just trying to help. I can not make a suggestion for a front because all the photos were looking down at the tree.
That is a great tip thank you! Here's some other photos, though not much better, but at a more proper angle I think. I like all of the options this particular tree provides. I'm really enjoying looking at it having no concrete idea as to what the plan with it will be, as it isn't obvious in my eyes. Really looking forward to playing with this one...
 

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RH-W

Yamadori
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Wherever you cut plan for a decent amount of die back.
 

Arlithrien

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That is a great tip thank you! Here's some other photos, though not much better, but at a more proper angle I think. I like all of the options this particular tree provides. I'm really enjoying looking at it having no concrete idea as to what the plan with it will be, as it isn't obvious in my eyes. Really looking forward to playing with this one...
I have that same pond basket. Biggest one I own. How much did you pay for it because I can't find any for the price I originally paid.
 

NHATIVE

Yamadori
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I have that same pond basket. Biggest one I own. How much did you pay for it because I can't find any for the price I originally paid.
If I remember correctly the nursery charged me $8? I managed to score a few more used ones for free from a different nursery as well.
 

NHATIVE

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Update: Leaves are unfolding and afternoon light is getting really nice. I decided to break out my nicer camera for some semi-proper photos too. This is the first I'm getting to see leaves on it and it's getting me really excited for the future with this one. Maybe I'm partial because it's my first and only collected tree, but I love it.
 

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mrfish33

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Update: Leaves are unfolding and afternoon light is getting really nice. I decided to break out my nicer camera for some semi-proper photos too. This is the first I'm getting to see leaves on it and it's getting me really excited for the future with this one. Maybe I'm partial because it's my first and only collected tree, but I love it.
Did you have any more photos of this through fall? I wanna see how things went.
 
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