Help with Acer palmatum
- Thread starter readc
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papymandarin
Shohin
yes so the answer to your question about what to prune is : nothing, let it grow freely
It depends on what you mean by letting it grow out. I would start to create branches and prune yearly. I usually prune once in late June and again in dormancy - late winter. If its a branch I am trying to grow out, I let it grow one full year. I have found over the years that letting things grow out tend to make it too difficult to bend branches and style - I end up cutting branches completely off and starting over. This is just my way of doing things.
readc
Yamadori
I guess the thing is i dont know really what to bend. I want to have good nebari, and something similar to this: http://www.flickriver.com/photos/stevegreaves/3607451071/.
I'm scared to cut and I'm scared not to cut haha
RKatzin
Omono
The hardest thing to do when beginning is to do nothing. However, this is the best thing to do when you get a new tree. You want the tree to grow as fast and strong and everything you do to the tree only slows down the process.
Get tree, enjoy. Grow tree, enjoy. Train tree, enjoy. That's the process and you see the joy is there all the way. Man! I had a hard time with this my first few years! I kept going from get tree to train tree and in most cases right on to lose tree, no joy.
Could I refer to this process as 'poormans bonsai' without offense? I mean if you've got the dough you can buy a four inch trunk and go to work. The rest of us poor schmoes have to grow our own. What we have is more time than money and like me you got what you could afford. Now invest the time and get that trunk.
Give it at least two years and look it over. By then you should see a basic structure developing and you can decide your next move. Show no fear! Rick
Get tree, enjoy. Grow tree, enjoy. Train tree, enjoy. That's the process and you see the joy is there all the way. Man! I had a hard time with this my first few years! I kept going from get tree to train tree and in most cases right on to lose tree, no joy.
Could I refer to this process as 'poormans bonsai' without offense? I mean if you've got the dough you can buy a four inch trunk and go to work. The rest of us poor schmoes have to grow our own. What we have is more time than money and like me you got what you could afford. Now invest the time and get that trunk.
Give it at least two years and look it over. By then you should see a basic structure developing and you can decide your next move. Show no fear! Rick
readc
Yamadori
I have no problem doing nothing haha. Thanks for the advice.
I guess, to me, it just looks like this tree is growing really fast and kind of all over the place. I shouldn't trim that at all? Those 2 top shoots are like 6-8 inches new growth in like a month....
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Ryan820
Mame
Totally get the sentiment you're conveying-- but I really do agree with the other poster. Honestly, with few exceptions, the branches etc you have now aren't the ones you'll use later in a more official design to your tree... and the ONLY way you'll get that great nebari is to let this tree put on some weight.... I love seeing my j maples growing like weeds and being all bushy... means my "poor mans bonsai" is becoming something better and more beautiful...even if I can't see it physically or metaphorically.
It'd be awesome to have a finished looking tree etc-- but this is what I learned (maybe because I'm getting older now)... but... it truly is the journey....you and your tree will have a great time.
At risk of Disney suing me... I quote their movie Frozen with a slight modification when I say...as to the the tree... Let It Grow.
readc
Yamadori
Totally get the sentiment you're conveying-- but I really do agree with the other poster. Honestly, with few exceptions, the branches etc you have now aren't the ones you'll use later in a more official design to your tree... and the ONLY way you'll get that great nebari is to let this tree put on some weight.... I love seeing my j maples growing like weeds and being all bushy... means my "poor mans bonsai" is becoming something better and more beautiful...even if I can't see it physically or metaphorically.
It'd be awesome to have a finished looking tree etc-- but this is what I learned (maybe because I'm getting older now)... but... it truly is the journey....you and your tree will have a great time.
At risk of Disney suing me... I quote their movie Frozen with a slight modification when I say...as to the the tree... Let It Grow.
Okay awesome. Grow she will. thank you!
kirk@localbonsai.com
Mame
Letting it grow is usually a solid conservative choice, so long as the tree is healthy as is.
For future reference, you will get much better pruning/styling feedback, if you provide pictures of the tree without its foliage. This way we can see the 'framework' of the tree.
Best of luck,
-Kirk
For future reference, you will get much better pruning/styling feedback, if you provide pictures of the tree without its foliage. This way we can see the 'framework' of the tree.
Best of luck,
-Kirk
Dav4
Drop Branch Murphy
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Totally get the sentiment you're conveying-- but I really do agree with the other poster. Honestly, with few exceptions, the branches etc you have now aren't the ones you'll use later in a more official design to your tree... and the ONLY way you'll get that great nebari is to let this tree put on some weight.... I love seeing my j maples growing like weeds and being all bushy... means my "poor mans bonsai" is becoming something better and more beautiful...even if I can't see it physically or metaphorically.
It'd be awesome to have a finished looking tree etc-- but this is what I learned (maybe because I'm getting older now)... but... it truly is the journey....you and your tree will have a great time.
At risk of Disney suing me... I quote their movie Frozen with a slight modification when I say...as to the the tree... Let It Grow.
Highlighted for truth!
readc
Yamadori
Noted thanks. this is the only picture I have since i have only had the tree a month or so. will post when she defoliates.
readc
Yamadori
Awesome. thanks yall
Read, there are a few things you can do while letting this grow:
1. Make sure there are no areas with too many branches growing from the same hight on the trunk (a whorl): If there are more than one or two I would thin them down to one or two. Because if you don't the tree will bulge there and give you inverse taper, which is very hard to get rid of.
2. Just letting it beef up won't necessarily give you great nebari. It's already been potted this year so don't do anything now. But, next spring or the spring after, repot it again and make sure the roots are coming out of the tree in as much of a radial pattern as possible. Remove any crossing roots, and cut back any that are too heave and long. Also, remove any roots that are growing straight down, from the trunk.
Just remember, you have to let the tree grow freely to thicken, (especially at the top) BUT you do need to guide the tree, in order to achieve the results you want without creating more problems for yourself.
Look up Brian Van Fleet's posts on maples. Especially the thread entitled "Keep it or cut it", He highlights these procedures very well on his Japanese Maple, with many great pictures. There's more on his blog too.
I love maples by the way! Enjoy yours!
1. Make sure there are no areas with too many branches growing from the same hight on the trunk (a whorl): If there are more than one or two I would thin them down to one or two. Because if you don't the tree will bulge there and give you inverse taper, which is very hard to get rid of.
2. Just letting it beef up won't necessarily give you great nebari. It's already been potted this year so don't do anything now. But, next spring or the spring after, repot it again and make sure the roots are coming out of the tree in as much of a radial pattern as possible. Remove any crossing roots, and cut back any that are too heave and long. Also, remove any roots that are growing straight down, from the trunk.
Just remember, you have to let the tree grow freely to thicken, (especially at the top) BUT you do need to guide the tree, in order to achieve the results you want without creating more problems for yourself.
Look up Brian Van Fleet's posts on maples. Especially the thread entitled "Keep it or cut it", He highlights these procedures very well on his Japanese Maple, with many great pictures. There's more on his blog too.
I love maples by the way! Enjoy yours!
readc
Yamadori
Read, there are a few things you can do while letting this grow:
1. Make sure there are no areas with too many branches growing from the same hight on the trunk (a whorl): If there are more than one or two I would thin them down to one or two. Because if you don't the tree will bulge there and give you inverse taper, which is very hard to get rid of.
2. Just letting it beef up won't necessarily give you great nebari. It's already been potted this year so don't do anything now. But, next spring or the spring after, repot it again and make sure the roots are coming out of the tree in as much of a radial pattern as possible. Remove any crossing roots, and cut back any that are too heave and long. Also, remove any roots that are growing straight down, from the trunk.
Just remember, you have to let the tree grow freely to thicken, (especially at the top) BUT you do need to guide the tree, in order to achieve the results you want without creating more problems for yourself.
Look up Brian Van Fleet's posts on maples. Especially the thread entitled "Keep it or cut it", He highlights these procedures very well on his Japanese Maple, with many great pictures. There's more on his blog too.
I love maples by the way! Enjoy yours!
Great advice. thanks. Luckily, when I repotted this tree a month or so ago the roots were properly pruned as well as the branches. The branches were pruned so that no whorls should exist. To prevent whorls, is that where the idea of 1 branch-->2 branches-->4 branches comes from? or is that just to help with ramification?
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