Coral Bark Maple

[shakotan710]

Good age and compaction.

Thank you Brain!

Nice! You hardly see any Sango-Kaku around specially for bonsai. I'd like to get one myself.


At this point I would start to make some decisons on what you'd like to keep. Otherwise you'll get unsightly swelling if all is left alone to grow. Whatever is left then you can let that grow to heal your scars.

Thanks MACH5!
I've been quite happy with the growth it's put on the past year I've had it. I haven't seen any other Sango-Kaku bonsai locally. I think the biggest issue for a lot of people is that it's usually grafted with an ugly scar. I will make sure that I decide on what to keep this year, I don't want any more swelling to occur. Thanks for the tip!

good potentiol.
ive been scouring the nurseries lately, ive seen quite a few sango kaku about, they must be very popular here as garden trees. nearly bought one the other day but opted for a katsura.

Thanks! They are fairly popular around my area too, only issue is scorch in the summer since highs are around 37-43°C. This is my only JM with any potential at the moment, I'm hoping to get a couple more good specimens of varying sizes and cultivars over the next few years.

I went out and looked at them. They have nice sized trunks but they all also have an ugly graft 6" up from the ground...I mean ugly! Guess I could buy one and air layer it in several places. Does anyone know if they air layer well?

Peter,

https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/sangokaku-propagation.25940/

This link doesn't give much info on the success rate of layering but people say that the cuttings do well and I would figure that since S-K are quick growers they should have little to no problem layering. I will talk to the previous owner of this tree to see what the history of it was (see if it was an air-layer). The only thing I really know about this one is the nebari was due to the fact that it sat in a small nursery pot for about 15 years. The next time I repot it I'll take a picture to show the roots, it's a mess in the pot haha.

 

[substratum]

Someone was selling “whips” of this variety on eBay earlier this year. Any idea of how well whips like that will root?

 

[August44]

Shakotan...thanks for the report! I think I'll buy the one at the nursery and get a bunch of trees from it. Be good experience for me too.

 

[parhamr]

Someone was selling “whips” of this variety on eBay earlier this year. Any idea of how well whips like that will root?

Whips are usually seedlings with roots, but one long, narrow trunk without side branches.

 

[Shibui]

We also have some growers selling seedling grown Coral Bark maple. The problem with seed grown is every seedling will have different genetic mix. Some will have the red twigs, others will not. All will be Japanese maples and can make bonsai but seedlings are a lottery. You are never sure what you will get.
Seedlings should never be given the variety name of the parent. Every seedling is a new and unique variety just as we are all different from our parents.
Whips are often sold to graft new roots onto older trees.

 

[shakotan710]

Leafing out some more.


Some pictures of the nebari as requested.


This side needs quite a bit of help. The plan for next winter is to remove some more circling roots and I'll consider where root grafts should go.

 

[shakotan710]

Update: Light pruning done to allow more light.

 

[evanjt]

Nice tree. Anyone else think it looks like the Harry Potter sorting hat? haha

 

[akhater]

Nice tree. Anyone else think it looks like the Harry Potter sorting hat? haha

Now that you mention it, can't unsee it ?

 

[shakotan710]

Fall color, will try to get better pictures with daylight this weekend.

Unfortunately there were some bad winds in excess of 50 mph these past few weeks during the middle of the night so some leaves crisped up before I could do much.

Hoping to make some good progress on the winter silhouette soon.

 

[Mikecheck123]

I'm late to the party. Sango kaku's are ubiquitous in the Bay Area. They even used them to landscape the new Burger King near me!

Beautiful tree!

 

[Paulpash]

Those longer stems could be useful if you have to graft. What size chop wound does it need to heal?

 

[shakotan710]

I'm late to the party. Sango kaku's are ubiquitous in the Bay Area. They even used them to landscape the new Burger King near me!

Beautiful tree!

Thank you!!

Those longer stems could be useful if you have to graft. What size chop wound does it need to heal?

Great idea! There are a couple of chop sites that I can take detailed pictures of soon. I’m pretty sure those are healing well for the most part. I think I’ll need to focus on getting a better nebari in terms of grafting.

I’ll get some more pictures posted in the upcoming weeks.

 

[Paulpash]

Thank you!!



Great idea! There are a couple of chop sites that I can take detailed pictures of soon. I’m pretty sure those are healing well for the most part. I think I’ll need to focus on getting a better nebari in terms of grafting.

I’ll get some more pictures posted in the upcoming weeks.

Then use some of the existing length for cuttings too unless you are sourcing seedlings elsewhere. Fortunately, you won't have to bark match.

 

[just.wing.it]

Very cool tree!
Do you have any plans to attempt to improve the nebari?....Or just gonna roll with it?

 

[shakotan710]

Then use some of the existing length for cuttings too unless you are sourcing seedlings elsewhere. Fortunately, you won't have to bark match.

That's the plan! Just need to do some research and get a protocol set up that has a good success rate.

Very cool tree!
Do you have any plans to attempt to improve the nebari?....Or just gonna roll with it?

Improving the nebari is a long term goal. I think that the left side in this picture is interesting and gives the tree character, however there's nothing on the right half, which is disappointing. You can see that there is at least one circling root that is part of the issue and will have to be removed soon. I don't have pictures of previous root work but most of the root mass in the pot directly below the trunk is woody. I've been cutting slowly away at the mass, while only trimming fine roots slightly. I'm seriously contemplating building a box for it so that I can get a wider root spread.

 

[ysrgrathe]

I like your plan. While the existing nebari is unconventional, I agree that it adds character, especially in the profile view.

 

[shakotan710]

Better pictures in daylight. I'll have some more photos soon, it recently lost all its leaves.

 

[shakotan710]

Shots of major scars and some photos before and after cutback. The top had a leader pruned before it came into my possession and it died back leading to it rotting. This was cleaned out as much as possible and then filled with hard wood putty. I'm still contemplating cutting back some branches to get a better profile since some of the upper growth has some long internodes and the length is almost symmetrical with lower branches.

The lowest branch became quite strong this year which is what I was going for. As time goes on I'll keep pruning it back but I'll allow it to grow much more than the rest of the structure to build it as one of the larger branches.

I want to do some root grafts on the right side of the trunk based on the last picture. I was told that I could use any generic green Acer Palmatum for the grafts but I'm skeptical that the root bark texture won't be the same when it matures. If I need the same stock I'll try to propagate cuttings next year.


Any suggestions on root grafting or branch selections are highly encouraged. I want to take a long term approach on the structure and would appreciate people's inputs!

 

[Woocash]

Cool looking tree. She’s never going to win any beauty contests, but not the point. The bulge half way up is the problem point for me. I’d consider growing out another leader from the stump on top of the bulge and turning it into a twin trunk jobby. Then you can disguise it more and make it look more intentional. Looks fun though.