First repot and work on new Acer

[coachspinks]

This is an acer palmatum of unknown species. It is a pretty substantial air layer that I bought from Steve at Plant City. He had just gotten it from a customer when I came by a day or so later. I was looking for a larger maple so I went ahead and bought it. The first picture is last fall. It had some leaf scorch but what you can't see is the knobs behind the leaves. I knew that going in so it wasn't a big deal. The next picture is after repotting and cutting a lot of knobs off the tree. The third picture is today as the leaves are starting to pop. I suspect that some of the longer branch will go away but I'll be patient.

 

[Shibui]

Knobs are one of the perennial problems with JM. Trimming and maintenance must be good to avoid these problems.
The other issue that is common for JM bonsai is long internodes. The main trunk looks good but I see a few of the branches consist of long sections that will limit your options for ramification. Many of us have found the best solution is to remove most branches and start again. That may seem drastic but does produce results. You may not be ready for that yet but should remember it as an option when you get frustrated with the long, straight sections in branches.

BTW, The species is known. It is Acer palmatum. You don't know the cultivar name so it is simply Acer palmatum - Japanese maple. That's not a bad thing. Many of the named cultivars are not great for bonsai and many of the better trees are simply JM seedlings so be proud of your tree as a Japanese maple instead of trying to pin a different name on it.

 

[LanceMac10]

Nice color.