Aldingbonsai
Sapling
Hi everyone
I'm looking for a bit of advice with a field maple (Acer campestre) I am currently ground growing. The tree is tall and straight, with the beginning of a good nebari. The trunk diameter is roughly 2.5"/6.5cm.
The first picture shows what I think is the best front, with several existing side branches.
The options as I see it are either to keep more of the straight trunk and make a formal upright with relatively little taper, or to chop lower for a more informal tree with better taper and movement.
I am currently planning on air-layering the top off around the red line in spring, then (assuming the layer roots) removing the layer in mid summer and cutting back down to the blue line to make the left branch the new leader. I'm concerned such a big chop will leave an ugly scar which will need lots of carving - I'm not really thinking of this tree being too gnarled and hollow, as I have another tree for that which I will post about another time.
It would be great to here anyone's thoughts on which route they would take with this tree.
Thanks in advance!
I'm looking for a bit of advice with a field maple (Acer campestre) I am currently ground growing. The tree is tall and straight, with the beginning of a good nebari. The trunk diameter is roughly 2.5"/6.5cm.
The first picture shows what I think is the best front, with several existing side branches.
The options as I see it are either to keep more of the straight trunk and make a formal upright with relatively little taper, or to chop lower for a more informal tree with better taper and movement.
I am currently planning on air-layering the top off around the red line in spring, then (assuming the layer roots) removing the layer in mid summer and cutting back down to the blue line to make the left branch the new leader. I'm concerned such a big chop will leave an ugly scar which will need lots of carving - I'm not really thinking of this tree being too gnarled and hollow, as I have another tree for that which I will post about another time.
It would be great to here anyone's thoughts on which route they would take with this tree.
Thanks in advance!