Japanes maple opinions sought

[davetree]

This is a maple about 30 inches tall with a nice 3 inch trunk and good nebari. I like small trees and could make at least 3 or 4 good trees out of this stock. The back branch will make one, it really has to go due to the angle, but the main tree has a few options. What would you do ? First pic is the front, then from the side, then back. Thanks for your opinions.

 

[davetree]

side view of this tree, back branch should be a nice tree to layer.

 

[davetree]

back view of the same tree. thanks again for your opinions.

 

[davetree]

I spelled Japanese incorrectly in the title and cannot edit, oops.

 

[subnet_rx]

How are you measuring your trunk?

 

[davetree]

that is diameter at the base, why do you ask ?

 

[JasonG]

If it were me I would airlayer or cut off at the redline in the photo below. I would use the shorter branch as the new tree and change the planting angle a bit. This gives you a tree with more movement, ramification, and an overall better tree than the leaving the taller tree. You would have 10x the tree in a much shorter period of time.

Just my thoughts.....

 

[grouper52]

Exactly so, Jason.

 

[davetree]

Thanks, that's what I was thinking too. I am always trying to make the smallest tree possible. I think I can layer two more nice ones as well. Thanks for your opinions.

 

[subnet_rx]

that is diameter at the base, why do you ask ?

I guess I'm just trying to make sense of proportions in pictures. I have a maple that has a 2.5 inch trunk that was a chop from a tree that was about 8 feet high. It looked almost just like that picture proportionally...at 8 feet high.

 

[Smoke]

Three inches in circumference would be about 7/8 inch across.

Three inches across would make that a very large bonsai pot.

Need a reference in the picture to offer proportion, a soda pop can is 2.5 inches across ( or 2.5 inches in diameter ), that is why it is used a lot in bonsai photo's.

My maple here is only 24 inches tall with a trunk just over three inches at the base. Just looking at the picture compared to yours looks very different.

 

[milehigh_7]

Jason, kinda like this?

 

[davetree]

Well maybe the picture is not at a good angle. The trunk at the base is 3 inches in diameter. About three inches up from there it is about 2 3/4 inches in diameter. The tree with shoots is maybe 36 -40 inches tall. It is in a very large mica training pot, almost 2 feet across.

 

[davetree]

If you like I will get out a ruler or beer can and take another picture.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Jason, kinda like this?

That was the first thing I saw in the tree when it was posted too. It creates nice taper and movement. This has a lot of potential!

If it's hard for people to grasp the scale, it already has good proportions and is well on the way to the the bonsai "illusion"!

 

[subnet_rx]

Another picture is not necessary for me, I guess what I'm getting at is the height/diameter ratio. While yours looks proportional to me in the picture, your numbers are off (according to the 1 to 6 ratio though I don't want to get into another rules discussion here). Smoke's tree's numbers are closer and looks more like what I see in pictures normally, eventhough his is over 6 inches higher than it should be...technically. I guess if I could get another picture, I'd love to see it in leaf.

 

[Yamadori]

Three inches in circumference would be about 7/8 inch across.

Did you mean to say 3 " across(diameter) would be 7/8" circumference? Circumference is usually 3.14 times the diameter(3") = 9.42" circumference.

Just pickin on ya for the fun of it, being that you are the carpenter and I am a teacher I am compelled to correct the formula.

 

[mcpesq817]

Did you mean to say 3 " across(diameter) would be 7/8" circumference? Circumference is usually 3.14 times the diameter(3") = 9.42" circumference.

Just pickin on ya for the fun of it, being that you are the carpenter and I am a teacher I am compelled to correct the formula.

It's early Friday morning and my coffee hasn't kicked in, but isn't Al's formula correct?

 

[davetree]

Al is correct, and the tree is 3 inches in diameter. I just measured it. About 2 inches above the base it is 2 3/4 inches in diameter.

 

[milehigh_7]

Al is correct, and the tree is 3 inches in diameter. I just measured it. About 2 inches above the base it is 2 3/4 inches in diameter.

Al is always correct. ;-)