Japanese Bloodgood: Worth it?

[Chicken]

My local nursery is having a rather large sale as they are closing here in the next couple days. They have an assortment of Japanese Maples but they look to my (untrained) eyes to be grafted.


My question is, would these still make good bonsai? I am certainly a neophyte when it comes to Japanese maples (having mostly worked with small Junipers) but I have always enjoyed their look and would like to work with them.
It is about five feet tall and ~2.5" thick at the trunk base. The price is $60 so not too steep. Thoughts?

 

[buddhamonk]

That trunk isn't very good for bonsai purposes. Ok price for a garden tree tho...

 

[0soyoung]

You could use if for learning and possibly wind up with some respectable bonsai a few years down the road. You can air layer the tree off the grafted roots and probably also air layer the top to have multiple trees from it by the end of next season. Blood good leaves are fairly large and don't reduce very much. Still it can be fun and educational.

The leaves have a very nice red color, especially when back lit. Hence buddhamonk's recommendation. But let me say that I have a yard full of 16 different Japanese maple cultivars that I air layer branches from rather than lopping them off and throwing them away.

Keep your eye out for cultivars like Sharp's pygmy, Shin deShojo, Shishigashira, and any cultivar with 'hime' in its name if you are intent on having Japanes maple bonsai. These are all small leafed. Even the generic acer palmatum does nicely.

 

[Chicken]

Thanks for the help! I was leaning that way but needed to hear it from an outside party to convince myself to pass it up. My search for a Japanese Maple continues, though I don't think I will have much luck finding a non grafted one in this area. Thanks again!

 

[milehigh_7]

My local nursery is having a rather large sale as they are closing here in the next couple days. ... The price is $60 so not too steep. Thoughts?

My thoughts are don't pay $60 if they are clearing them out. Always barter in these situations. I recently got a Vitex with a 5.5" base from Lowe's for $12. I bartered it down from $50.

 

[Vance Wood]

It is my understanding, I haven't worked with one myself, that Blood Good JM don't make real good bonsai because the internodes are too large and the leaves don't reduce very well. Great yard tree one of the most popular JM's on the market for yard purposes. They hold their red color most of the year and are pretty hardy.