First maple styling advice

Drezden88

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I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed thinking of options to style this. This is my first maple. All my other trees are bald cypress, very easy to train and style. The only thing I have in my mind is maybe cutting that bottom branch I marked in red. All advice and help is greatly appreciated.
 

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bonsaichile

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If you cut that branch, you will be left with a long, straight trunk. Is there a way you can incorporate it in your design?
 

0soyoung

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I don't know why you got this maple, but let me speculate that it was to have something other than a bald cypress. Given that, I suggest you try doing the exact opposite, styling-wise, of what you are accustomed to doing. Most bald cypress are basically tall and skinny designs (or let's just say they are for the sake of argument). Try to make something short and fat. Tridents are well suited to this. Further, you could begin by air-layering this tree and doubling your pleasure instead of just radically chopping and tossing much of it into the compost pile.
 

Drezden88

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I don't know why you got this maple, but let me speculate that it was to have something other than a bald cypress. Given that, I suggest you try doing the exact opposite, styling-wise, of what you are accustomed to doing. Most bald cypress are basically tall and skinny designs (or let's just say they are for the sake of argument). Try to make something short and fat. Tridents are well suited to this. Further, you could begin by air-layering this tree and doubling your pleasure instead of just radically chopping and tossing much of it into the compost pile.
Where would you air layer/chop?
You are right. I don't know enough about bonsai let alone maples to choose the right tree. I grew up around a lot of maples as a kid just felt like I had to have one. I'm lucky enough to have a bonsai nursery 20 mins away. I could take it there midsummer for pruning and style.
 

Drezden88

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If you cut that branch, you will be left with a long, straight trunk. Is there a way you can incorporate it in your design?
I honestly don't know my design. I kinda want a natural looking tree.
 

Maloghurst

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That branch is crucial to any design I would attempt.
1. Cut off everything above that branch and use the three visible branches to build a canopy with. Grow out cut back etc to develop movement, taper and ramification.
2. Keep all of it and build a much larger canopy. But I don’t think would ever look as good. The proportion would not be as in scale.
3. wizard hat.0DFAC7E6-2393-49B3-819E-329EAD429101.jpegF936CD89-F6AF-4AA0-B98A-A263766BE59E.jpeg
 

Shibui

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The big branches in the apex are always going to be difficult to work with. Upper branches took better when they are delicate and finer than lower branches. Solution: cut that section off.
Long straight sections of trunk don't look so good unless the tree is styled specifically to be formal upright styles. Solutions: 1. remove the straight section. 2. Develop a formal upright tree (usually broom style for deciduous)
Personally I would remove the straight trunk section and start work on developing a new tree with that first branch. The first virt above is a realistic start. Unlike Osoyoung I don't see any particular value in the upper part of the tree so I would not waste time layering.
 

Drezden88

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The big branches in the apex are always going to be difficult to work with. Upper branches took better when they are delicate and finer than lower branches. Solution: cut that section off.
Long straight sections of trunk don't look so good unless the tree is styled specifically to be formal upright styles. Solutions: 1. remove the straight section. 2. Develop a formal upright tree (usually broom style for deciduous)
Personally I would remove the straight trunk section and start work on developing a new tree with that first branch. The first virt above is a realistic start. Unlike Osoyoung I don't see any particular value in the upper part of the tree so I would not waste time layering.
Starting to think that's what I'm gonna do. Chop at the first branch. If I let the leader in the branch I circled grow s will it fill in and taper?
 

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Hack Yeah!

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I think you are on the right track with the pruning point, I would try to salvage that small branch in the left when you cut, maybe a v notch. There are lots of examples on here of tridents healing large scars so you'll be able to have some leeway with your front after you repot. It'll certainly fill and and allow you to style the canopy as you please.

Screenshot_20200511-174544_Chrome.jpg
 

Shibui

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After a large reduction all the energy and growth goes to the new leader. Provided the tree is healthy and you allow some rampant growth the new leader will quickly thicken to match the trunk below. You should also get a number of new buds on the new leader and on the trunk below that may be used to develop branches to fill out the tree. Lots of feed before and after the chop and a larger grow pot would help with all that.
Unfortunately with deciduous it seems the rule that development is a series of grow and cut that does take time.

I would advise against leaving the small branch opposite the selected leader. Even with a V cut my experience has usually been local thickening as the cuts heal and the branch grows. You might get away with that if you plan on broom style but I would tilt the tree slightly to bring the new leader more upright and work on a gently moving informal trunk with nearly horizontal branches.
 

Hack Yeah!

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@Shibui , I certainly default to your experience. Here on bnut I've read leaving branches to support each side of a trident is helpful. From my limited experience when I've chopped a trident back to a single branch it didn't bud anywhere except on the new leader. Of course I chopped when repotting so during the growing season could've produced better results?
 

Drezden88

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After a large reduction all the energy and growth goes to the new leader. Provided the tree is healthy and you allow some rampant growth the new leader will quickly thicken to match the trunk below. You should also get a number of new buds on the new leader and on the trunk below that may be used to develop branches to fill out the tree. Lots of feed before and after the chop and a larger grow pot would help with all that.
Unfortunately with deciduous it seems the rule that development is a series of grow and cut that does take time.

I would advise against leaving the small branch opposite the selected leader. Even with a V cut my experience has usually been local thickening as the cuts heal and the branch grows. You might get away with that if you plan on broom style but I would tilt the tree slightly to bring the new leader more upright and work on a gently moving informal trunk with nearly horizontal branches.
Thanks for all the info. I'm gonna just do the trunk chop. Make that fat branch the new leader and go
 

Shibui

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A lot does depend on whether the old trunk has dormant buds and how strong the roots are under that spot, how healthy the tree is, how old it is and lots of other factors. Nothing is guaranteed with living organisms.
It often seems that the more we need a bud the less likely it will be to sprout one there.
Getting a branch in that spot is secondary to getting a good transition from thick trunk to new leader and leaving the other side shoot will prevent a good transition. if that branch was a bit lower I would say go ahead and keep it but when it is opposite it just won't be good result.
 
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