Japanese Maple material

[AlainK]

Do you have an idea of the shape of the tree in the future?

 

[BobbyLane]

Hi Alain, yes some type of informal broom.
looking at the tree closely, its actually a twin trunk, with the sub trunk on the left coming up from the base of main trunk, main trunk then splits into two sub trunks. i think there is some options to reduce the middle and right side trunks to growth down the trunks.
i think potentially further cuts could be made at these points
2019-02-13_04-37-08 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

this will still leave me with branches that can form the basis of a broom style without too many big, visible cuts.

ill also want to get variation in trunk heights, so will take that in account when making further cuts, maybe also possible to achieve some harmony

other angles


i thing the three pronged base in the last image, would also be a good angle with which to build an informal broom from, then the cuts might be slightly different, so a few options to ponder. i love material that gives me different options.

 

[BobbyLane]

so based on what ive seen on the mirai streams, generally in regards to making branch/trunk chops on deciduous.....

if i were to make a cut here on this maple, at the red line......

there is a very strong chance that section will die back to the ring/shoulder underneath indicated by the yellow arrows, you would then just simple go in with a pair of knob cutters and tidy up there, or at the main shoulder underneath. these are little things i take in consideration when doing cuts, more on maples though, i will give this less thought on other deciduous
2019-02-13_05-21-50 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

might have to zoom in to see the shoulder im talking about.

this is important to know.

had to google to remember the word Ryan speaks about.

Compartmentalisation is the word he uses. so, im pretty certain, if i were to cut at red line, the tree will begin Compartmentalisation at the yellow arrows, but if that fails then it will begin at the main shoulder, which is much, much stronger.

im not going to chop there, just speaking hypothetically, this is my thought process on maples.

 

[thumblessprimate1]

japanese maple material 2 Orange dream

the nebari isnt as good on this one, i think it makes up for it by having a better basis for a natural image...
there is some flare at least, thats important and good enough for me and suitable for an informal broom....
happy enough with the cuts made for now...
i think this has good options to ultimately create a maple with no visible scarring and cuts that will heal over, i prefer keeping this over the other one...
View attachment 226905

ive left the shoots quite long, i'll be looking to get extension all over before cutting back, i'll also be reducing the roots quite a bit in a few weeks.
got some variation in sub trunk heights

Of all these, this one looks most interesting to me. Very unique.

 

[BobbyLane]

Of all these, this one looks most interesting to me. Very unique.

thanks Thumbless.....what are your thoughts on the heights of the trunks? be interesting to hear some other thoughts here....

 

[thumblessprimate1]

thanks Thumbless.....what are your thoughts on the heights of the trunks? be interesting to hear some other thoughts here....

I think that depends on how big a tree you want. I like the difference height as they are now. If you want a smaller tree, consider cutting lower.?

 

[BobbyLane]

I think that depends on how big a tree you want. I like the difference height as they are now. If you want a smaller tree, consider cutting lower.?

I would definitely prefer it as bigger broom. i will just leave it to get some height and width now, thicken up the branches. tidy up the roots in spring.

@AlainK something along these lines, i know you've seen this celtis
http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t12607-my-broom-celtis

 

[BobbyLane]

back budding has started on the first maple, looks like i will get a few popping on the open side which will give me great options going forward
informal broom with two upright leaders and everything else going horizontal at the sides of these leaders

 

[BobbyLane]

This one is responding well so far, but theyre in the greenhouse where its a little warm.i think the UK will see one more really cold spell.as long as these remain in the greenhouse they should be ok. i suppose these could be re potted very soon, the second maple is further ahead

 

[BobbyLane]

ive been looking at this and almost went in and drastically shortened all the trunks!
but i think leaving it to grow as a taller multi trunk tree will eventually look quite natural, the trunks have some movement and taper with the shoots at the ends.one or two trunks can be cleaned up n reduced by an inch or so, but not necessary to do anything drastic
think im going to hold on to these for a while
showing some really nice colours.
might put one in a shallow seed tray and one in a wide shallow oval

 

[AlainK]

Hi Bobby,

Firstly, I'm not sure I'd keep the central trunk: if the view on the other side is correct, the scar would not be apparent. To me the trunk would look morenatural: three trunks about the same diameter may be natural, but three don't look that natural to me.

Secondly, when the leaves are out, I'd shorten the stubs left to the base of the new "leader". Leaving part of the stub, like in the thead https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/ebihara-maples.18215/page-19 could help it heal faster (Haven't tried it yet).

My two € cents'worth

 

[BobbyLane]

more recent work on two new maples, first one has problematic roots.i know most would ground layer it.
i probably wont have it that long.

now i can see how the die back occurs on these crotches n cut stubs where previous work was done.
can see where the wood has rotted out without comprimising live areas.ive done some cleaning up but will go in with a termite ball in areas, clean out the rotted wood properly and seal everything up.
no big scars on these, just stubs that need work.
ok not sure why the pics are coming out jumbled up but oh well

this is the first of two

 

[BobbyLane]

So i think im going to try a new angle, tilt the tree towards the left and give it a slight lean. this will get some of the base on the left under the soil....
53257558_2127962353935461_4935435928735842304_n by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

i removed one of the sub trunks to get a better view of some movement im seeing here
53520561_2127962483935448_4811991267204399104_n (1) by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

this is just a thought, but its one way of killing two birds with one stone. transition the wound into a shari. the nebari is lousy, but there is some flare here and creating a hollow through the base automatically, visually gives the base more power, appears wider even
53520561_2127962483935448_4811991267204399104_n by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

but the shari might not be necessary, i could start with just a big uro where a trunk was removed....but it does give the tree a spooky, fairy tale feel

 

[BobbyLane]

Hi Bobby,

Firstly, I'm not sure I'd keep the central trunk: if the view on the other side is correct, the scar would not be apparent. To me the trunk would look morenatural: three trunks about the same diameter may be natural, but three don't look that natural to me.

Secondly, when the leaves are out, I'd shorten the stubs left to the base of the new "leader". Leaving part of the stub, like in the thead https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/ebihara-maples.18215/page-19 could help it heal faster (Haven't tried it yet).

My two € cents'worth

i was looking at it earlier. that is one possibility i think. each time i look at the three trunks, something just seems off. reducing the left trunk that comes from the base, is also something im considering. buds are popping up n down all the trunks now so that gives me good options.

 

[BobbyLane]

some work on this maple
J maple by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
Acer P by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

 

[Paulpash]

I've not had the best fortune hard pruning Japanese maples - lots of dieback. I hope this responds to being carved way better than my efforts. If you could post an update on this in a few months I'd be interested in how it gets on.

 

[BobbyLane]

I've not had the best fortune hard pruning Japanese maples - lots of dieback. I hope this responds to being carved way better than my efforts. If you could post an update on this in a few months I'd be interested in how it gets on.

Hi Paul, yeh sure....
this work might actually look quite harsh. but the depth of the Uro's are barely deeper than the tip of my pinky finger. the tree was then stained to give the effect of a totally hollow trunk, which is far from it. then the shari through the centre was simply defined with a wire brush and also stained. my work varies from species to species, not one size fits all so to speak.

 

[ConorDash]

Hi Paul, yeh sure....
this work might actually look quite harsh. but the depth of the Uro's are barely deeper than the tip of my pinky finger. the tree was then stained to give the effect of a totally hollow trunk, which is far from it. then the shari through the centre was simply defined with a wire brush and also stained. my work varies from species to species, not one size fits all so to speak.

Ah it does look deeper than it is then.. that totally worked on me in that case..

 

[BobbyLane]

the wood is very thick in the carved areas

 

[BobbyLane]

I was looking at this tree from the swindon winter show and a wild tree i snapped in the park the other day....then a virtual of how my maple could look without the middle trunk....just some thoughts, i think this is the best direction


both the sub trunks in the show maple and wild tree are of a similar height.....but it seems to work