First bonsai design help

[Darkxness]

Hey there!

My first bonsai just arrived today and I wasn't expecting to be as stuck on what I should do with it as I am.

The main trunk splits into 3 and I was wondering if now is the time to pick which is the leader or to leave all 3 grow out and thicken?

Thanks in advance

 

[sorce]

I still don't know what to say about the grafo interruptis.

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[SeanS]

Leaving all 3 will cause the trunk to swell and form a big knob where the 3 branches originate. You could cut 1 off and use 1 for the next trunk section and 1 as a branch.

Or considering it’s grafted could layer the 3 branches off as a clump and create a 3 trunk clump which could be quite nice. I’d probably go with this option. But then again all 3 trunks are the same thickness and have long internodes of the same length so it would be a very uniform clump, which isn’t ideal either

 

[Darkxness]

Thanks very much for the reply Sean.

How can you tell it's grafted?
Also do you mean cut one off and graft it onto one of the others as a branch?

Would you mind explaining a bit more as to what a trunk clump is and what layering would look like in this case?

 

[SeanS]

You can tell it’s grafter by this spot here, a shoot from a named cultivar maple (Katsura, deshojo, etc.) is grafted onto a regular green Japanese maple root stock to create a tree of that cultivar. This is how named cultivars maples are created. They cannot be grown from seed as seedlings from a cultivar have varying genetics and do not produce identical genetic plants as the mother plant



A possible tree using the existing trunk and that small shoot coming from the trunk could be created from here



Air layering is a technique used to essentially grow new roots from an existing part of a plant. Once the roots have grown you then cut the newly rooted section off of the existing plant, pot it up and then have a brand new independent plant, plus the original plant. Doing this as I suggested could create a new maple bonsai with 3 trunks emerging directly from the new soil, in a clump style (multi trunk tree with the trunks all joined together at the soil line)

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Greetings @Darkxness and welcome aboard!

To expand on @SeanS reply...

Grafting marks often, but not always show where the rootstock connects with the scion. There are many types of grafts, some are better then others on hiding the graft. You can barely see the graft below as a “V” halfway up this trunk on a Sharps’s maple from Medicino Maples. A subtle graft mark comes when the grafter matches the growth rate and caliper of the rootstock with that of the scion. In this example, the grafter did an excellent job.


In the case of your tree, looking halfway between the media and the three branches on the trunk, the grafter did a good job. Yet the growth of the rootstock is a bit faster then the scion, hence the slight bulge. Also and the placement of the graft is a bit off kilter, hence the angle at the graft off the normal.

Whatis being suggested is that you do an airlayer right under the junction of the three branches. Below shows the steps of one type of airlayer. (I have to apologize here because this airlayer technique is a bit more advanced one then usually used.)

Here’s a series of images showing an airlayer being performed on a Pacific Fire (cultivar of Vine Maple).



Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Darkxness]

Thanks for your replies guys.

I think because it is my first bonsai I won't try air layering as I feel like I will just kill the tree

In the second picture you sent Sean, is this recommending to cut off both other trunks in favor of the 1 left and grow branches from that?

I appreciate both of you guys time in replying and explaining these techniques

 

[Pj86]

Hey there!

My first bonsai just arrived today and I wasn't expecting to be as stuck on what I should do with it as I am.

The main trunk splits into 3 and I was wondering if now is the time to pick which is the leader or to leave all 3 grow out and thicken?

Thanks in advance

Nice. It is exciting to receive your first bonsai.

Your maple bonsai is in its early stages and can have a multitude of options with the proper care and technique.

Any general ideas of what designs you like? or what you envision?

Also it is important to know the general horticultural aspect of the species of maple you have. You do not need to make any major decision right now, your tree won't grow that quickly for you to miss any opportunities.

 

[Darkxness]

Hi Pj thanks for replying

I very much like the idea of it looking full and semi-circle in shape like below:


I am not quite sure how to achieve this but I just didn't want to go cutting off trunks if I shouldn't

I have done quite a bit of research into soil/placement/fertilising but design is where I feel like you need experience hence why I am here for my first one.

Great to know it's not too big to miss possible design opportunities

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

I like your enthusiasm and determination and I get your drift, however what you are aiming to create takes good growing, proper pruning, practice, time and good research skills as well as a solid bonsai worthy tree to start out with. You are at a disadvantage here, yet there is much to be learned from working on a practice tree

All the general rule is develop the roots first for most Bonsai projects.

Yet the decision not to air layer somewhere on your tree will have the effect of developing a tree with a less than desirable trunk, but you can still work the nebari early next spring - be sure research the Ebihara Method there are threads on this site about this technique.... here’s a recent one https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/rookies-sorting-out-roots-ebihara-don’t-look.48769/

@SeanS is definitely correct about the wheel spoke effect of multiple branches (more than two) coming together in one spot.

Perhaps the beat resource on Maple development is “Bonsai with Japanese Maples”. by Peter Adams. Get it used. It with be worth your money.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[cornfed]

I'm new like you, but I would imagine that tree pictured above is pretty darn old and maybe an unrealistic expectation until 2040 or so.

I got some yearlings like you just last week. First thing I am going to work on is trunk thickening and root development. I put them in large, 5-gallon air-pruning pots filled with a fast-draining, sifted substrate to accomplish those goals. I am not planning on doing any pruning because I want the branches to grow out. (I read somewhere 1m of growth on the shoots = 1cm growth in the trunk).

Eventually I will have to prune everything back and select leaders & branches. I don't want to wait too long because the thicker the branches grow the larger the eventual scar will be when I chop it off. But on the flip side, when I prune it I will also be sacrificing trunk thickening. So that is the decision I will have to make, but maybe not until next year. We will see what they look like when the first flush of growth is done.

I don't present this as advice, but as insight into how I (another beginner, mind you, so maybe incorrectly), am thinking about developing my trees.

 

[Darkxness]

Thanks for your replies guys.

After doing some research into air layering and what comes I could get from a 3 trunk clump, it is looking a lot more attractive now
If I was to air layer and take the 3 trunks off as a clump, would I cut the main trunk back to just below the grafting and grow that tree out by itself?
There would only be about 2 inches of trunk with no branches once the clump is taken off, would this not kill the tree?

It's great to hear your experience cornfed, seems like you really have done a lot of research and I have a lot of reading to do

Thanks for the resources Deep Sea Diver, I will look into both of there

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Good thinking.

In the plan proposed of creating a clump you could cut either below the graft and depending on the care you give the roots, you could likely end up with a “reborn” tree, if there is a viable node in the remaining stump.... more likely then no in a Maple

There are other possibilities.... you could also air layer each of the three branches some where above the junction interesting and get three new trees, plus the lower part of the old tree. If done well, you’d potentially end up with each having an excellent nebari.

I wouldn’t do all three at once, perhaps two to start with. Remember one air layer per branch, at least until you get good a it!

Here’s an awesome link by @Bonsai Nut to help you understand more about air layers.....

cheers
DSD sends