First Acer Palmatum progression thread

[Scrogdor]

Picked this JPM Acer Palmatum up back in July. Had some health issues due to being shipped through a hurricane. But has bounced back and roots are bursting out of the bottom/ sides of the airpot.

I first cut a slant chop at the top, but decided to chop lower to keep some good movement. I’m thinking of keeping the long lower branch there as a sacrifice branch.

 

[leatherback]

Isn't this the same tree you have in another thread?

 

[Scrogdor]

Isn't this the same tree you have in another thread?

Aye, that thread got off topic and was mainly a question about pruning/chopping times for JPM in California; which did get answered. Just going to consolidate here and keep this post updated with this trees progression.

 

[0soyoung]

herding cats

 

[Scrogdor]

I can’t really figure out what to do with the design here. Main thought block I’m running into is the long internode from the top to that next section. A slanted cut to create taper would leave no opposite branch.

Also, is that first large branch going to work as a sacrifice branch? Or is it just going to crest inverse taper at that junction. My hope is it would thicken that lower section after a while.

other option is that large first branch does have a decently low dormant bud. Could chop it and see if it back buds there and crest another trunk.

 

[0soyoung]

A few quick takes:

All the branches appear to be on a plane. My first thought is to prune that lowest branch down to the first node that has buds (more or less) perpendicular to this plane. This appears to be the lowest node. Further, you could carefully wire the new shoots later this year so that the internodes aren't arrow straight. Btw, I find it curious that you have wire on this branch, but it isn't doing anything. I'm thinking that it is a vestige of your discovery that JM stems quickly become quite rigid and brittle --> 2 year's old and it is too late.

The branch pair at the top of the chop are pretty much what one wants so that the chop wound can be grown over. However, no one seems to care much for the competing leaders theme, so ultimately one will need to be chopped down and made into a branch while the other will be more of the trunk - just something you'll need to keep in mind. Meanwhile you just need to let it grow for a few years, carefully wiring young stems (for a month or two) so that your tree's internodes are not arrow straight.

On the other hand, you could chop it again, down to that node of your lowest branch, if your ambitions are to produce a shogun. It's the same game all over again, with the risks that you recognize, but maybe a more exciting/interesting future. Of course, the smaller the tree, the more important are shorter internodes. I've noted that the shortest internodes are naturally produced by the last flush of the season. So one strategy might be to let it grow and then prune back in Aug/Sep. Then careful fall wiring of that be growth. Rinse and repeat annually with selective pruning to produce the bones. The alternative is the conventional bonsai thing of plucking out the tips of emerging buds in spring. It stops branch extension, hence making a short internode. It also saps the vigor of the tree which is not what one wants during development. Nor is it something one can continually do with a 'finished' tree.

Lastly, internode size only matters where you need short internodes, which is primarily in the final branching. One can graft to put branches in a long internode on the trunk, for example by thread/approach grafting.

 

[Scrogdor]

A few quick takes:

All the branches appear to be on a plane. My first thought is to prune that lowest branch down to the first node that has buds (more or less) perpendicular to this plane. This appears to be the lowest node. Further, you could carefully wire the new shoots later this year so that the internodes aren't arrow straight. Btw, I find it curious that you have wire on this branch, but it isn't doing anything. I'm thinking that it is a vestige of your discovery that JM stems quickly become quite rigid and brittle --> 2 year's old and it is too late.

The branch pair at the top of the chop are pretty much what one wants so that the chop wound can be grown over. However, no one seems to care much for the competing leaders theme, so ultimately one will need to be chopped down and made into a branch while the other will be more of the trunk - just something you'll need to keep in mind. Meanwhile you just need to let it grow for a few years, carefully wiring young stems (for a month or two) so that your tree's internodes are not arrow straight.

On the other hand, you could chop it again, down to that node of your lowest branch, if your ambitions are to produce a shogun. It's the same game all over again, with the risks that you recognize, but maybe a more exciting/interesting future. Of course, the smaller the tree, the more important are shorter internodes. I've noted that the shortest internodes are naturally produced by the last flush of the season. So one strategy might be to let it grow and then prune back in Aug/Sep. Then careful fall wiring of that be growth. Rinse and repeat annually with selective pruning to produce the bones. The alternative is the conventional bonsai thing of plucking out the tips of emerging buds in spring. It stops branch extension, hence making a short internode. It also saps the vigor of the tree which is not what one wants during development. Nor is it something one can continually do with a 'finished' tree.

Lastly, internode size only matters where you need short internodes, which is primarily in the final branching. One can graft to put branches in a long internode on the trunk, for example by thread/approach grafting.

Yeah I thought I could wire that branch, I was wrong. What it is now is just an anchor for wiring on one of the top branches.

those top branches are on the same plane just not sure which one I want to keep yet, so I wired them in the direction I’d want put either in. Once I decide I think I’ll just chop one off and use one of the new emerging branches at the trunk.

do you think that low first branch is worth keeping as a sacrifice branch?

 

[0soyoung]

I don't think that lowest branch will do much of anything in the line of thickening the base. It could make or be made into a secondary trunk along the lines I indicated previously. There are a number of high-class JM bonsai with secondary trunks, but it is up to you to decide about keeping it all or in part or eliminating it entirely.

I have an a. palmatum with which I decided to try incorporating a similar secondary trunk into the design. I think you can see that it didn't have any remarkable effect on the trunk or nebari. I bring this into the discussion simply to show you a similar case that might help you decide how you are going to proceed with your tree.