Japanese Maple Forest Planting

Drew

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So I've been growing these plants for a while to put in a group some of there nebari's have turned out quite well. It will be a shame to cut them up to fit them closer together:

IMG_1841.jpg
IMG_1842.jpg
IMG_1844.jpg
IMG_1845.jpg
 

WNC Bonsai

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Last year this time (3/11/18 to be exact) I did such a planting at a workshop with trees leafed out about that much. Started with 5 trees and a couple months later was down to 3. Those 3 are still alive but I still believe the other 2 died because they had bud out too far for the extensive root pruning we did to get them to fit together. If you proceed make sure to keep them out of any wind and intense sun until they recover. Misting may also help. I am not a malpe expert but this year I am taking them in at night and keep them in a protected location during the day.
 

August44

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I see disaster coming for you if you do that. I think you're asking way to much from those trees if you stuff them into that pot. Trees are to big and you're to late to even begin to try that this year. Nice trees that I would not take a chance with. Just my opinion. Peter
 

Bolero

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Use a good sized Slab and add a few smaller Maples to give some Context, some Background Rock, plenty of Moss and you will have a Show Stopper...Good work.....
 

Drew

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I have a polytunnel so should be able to protect them in there, they should be fine. The pot is 67c x 45cm
 

bonsaidave

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because they had bud out too far for the extensive root pruning we did to get them to fit together. If you proceed make sure to keep them out of any wind and intense sun until they recover. Misting may also help.

100% agree with this. Only time I lose maples is when I repot them when they look like these pictures. Playing with fire on a windy day here.

Good Luck @Drew
 

Shibui

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They are just a little past when I would choose to repot JM also but if you want to try it will be a good test.
Some tips on group planting:
Random arrangement is critical. I've found that our minds don't seem to work that way. Even after trying to create a random arrangement you step back and start to notice how evenly spaced the trees are. To counteract this - some trees need to be very close together (need to remove almost all roots from a side of 2 trees), others a bit further apart. Try to make every space different.
Avoid rows - check from all sides and move trees slightly to break up any rows that have inadvertently formed.
Trees should conform to a theme. Complimentary shapes and movement. A straight trunk in a group of gently curved trunks stands out like dog's balls and is very distracting to viewers.
Branches rarely grow toward other trees in a forest. Usually need to remove lots of branches, especially interior trees.
Larger, thicker trunks are the focal point of a group. Placed toward the focal points of the pot and arrangement (1/3 - 2/3) Smaller trees toward the outside.
Smaller trees toward the outside will probably lean away from the forest looking for light.

Many more subtleties - too much to go into here.
Don't worry too much about what you create first up. Groups can usually be reorganised (totally or partly) next year when you have had a year to observe and digest the problems in the initial planting.
 

rockm

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These are too far along to do much heavy root work on for now. JMs have an "alternative" repotting time in early summer, just after the leaves harden off and turn leathery. You can do some of the work you need to do then...
 

Hack Yeah!

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How'd you get these? Air layers or cuttings? Looks like a great start
 

Drew

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I actually managed to put it all together last night so missed some of your replies but thanks... it was now or never as I didn't have the space to keep them in their individual pots again this season.

I few things i noted:

1. I cut a piece of cardboard out the same size as the pot and drew two designs on either side just in case the trunks lent themselves to
one or the other design.
2. I then drew the same design on the inside of the pot with a pencil. When I was doing this I forgot about the pot front and ended up with the drip at the front (whoops) I’ll have to change it when I repot in two or three years’ time.
3. I bare rooted all the trees before I started. The nebari spreads on the trees I grew where a little bit too wide so it made it hard to get them really close to each other when planting.
4. I put the trees roughly in the pot first so I could get an idea of the best composition and tree pairings/grouping combinations and you can also see which sides of each trees root balls you will need to cut back hard so you can place them closer together.
5. I started by mounding up dry akadama but it didn’t hold the trees in place that well so I ‘watered’ the hole bag, the wet akadama held them much better.
6. In each little group I tried to put the main tree in last so it was the highest in each ‘mini group’
7. I tried to make sure you could see all the trunks and that they had varying spaces between them this took a bit of tweaking
8. I used some wire to hold the tops in place once I had put all the trees in position.
9. I put a little bit more soil on top to protect the roots a little, when I get time I’ll apply moss. I’ll uncover the nebari’s a little bit more in the next repotting.
10. The main centre tree and its child which I cut back (it’s a twin trunk) will be left to grow to thicken up a little more. Once I know the other trees are healthy I’ll cut them back to size as well and start building apexes and braches etc.

I was aiming for something in between these two:

IMG_1794.JPG
The mirror image of this:
IMG_1852.JPG
 

Drew

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It is now sitting back in the greenhouse. All of the trees still had feeder roots even after I cut back hard on one side of their nebari to fit them closer together so they should be ok.... watch this space! I will start cutting back and regrowing the apexes when I know the trees are healthy and growing nicely.
 

BobbyLane

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nice work Drew, this has potentiol.
i re potted a katsura yest, maybe not as far ahead as yours in terms of leafing up, but i think these trees will be fine.the fact that they were all healthy trees, even if you lost this first set of leaves, new ones would appear in a few weeks.
that horrible wind we had in the UK has passed!
 

August44

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Yes, keep posting this as you go along. Curious if all live and what you do with pruning etc. Lookin good! Peter
 

Drew

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How'd you get these? Air layers or cuttings? Looks like a great start

I bought these as seedlings a few years ago (2014). They went in the ground for a few years then into pots, this picture taken 2014:

Repotted.jpg

I also took 4 airlayers as you can see from my previous posts.
 

Drew

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nice work Drew, this has potentiol.
i re potted a katsura yest, maybe not as far ahead as yours in terms of leafing up, but i think these trees will be fine.the fact that they were all healthy trees, even if you lost this first set of leaves, new ones would appear in a few weeks.
that horrible wind we had in the UK has passed!

Thanks Bobby yeah I think they should be ok. Its in a greenhouse now so not bothered too much about wind and the weather outlook is still on the cool side so they're not going to cook.
 
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Looks good Drew. Very well put together.
I like the first group in your inspiration photos.
 
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