Japanese maple not leafing out.

[Nor Cal AC]

I think you should carefully undo the bottom of the bag and look at the bottom of the girdle to see if the bark is black there (just below the missing bark ring). Since I've seen this happen many times, I'm going to predict that is what you will find.

No black. Here's a pic.

 

[0soyoung]

Okay. Bad guess, I guess.

Let's see, you've never said what this tree is supposed to be. The shoots below with leaves look to be green dissectum leaves.

Now I see that there is a branch below the girdle that looks to be as dead(?) as what is above. So, if you nick the bark here is it dead also? Is there no green underneath on the trunk between the girdle and the live shoots. IOW, is there a graft union right above those live shoots?

 

[Nor Cal AC]

Okay. Bad guess, I guess.

Let's see, you've never said what this tree is supposed to be. The shoots below with leaves look to be green dissectum leaves.

Now I see that there is a branch below the girdle that looks to be as dead(?) as what is above. So, if you nick the bark here is it dead also? Is there no green underneath on the trunk between the girdle and the live shoots. IOW, is there a graft union right above those live shoots?

It is a Japanese maple. I don't know the exact variety as I acquired it from a yard in a pot near where I was living. It has always provided the same leaves throughout the entire tree. So it hasn't given me any indication of being grafted. One of my trees that is obviously grafted has a lower branch below the graft that is a completely different leaf than the upper portion of the tree which leads me to believe it is definitely a grafted tree. Here are some pictures.

 

[Nor Cal AC]

I'm having such a hard time posting pictures. why is this?

 

[Nor Cal AC]

Pic

 

[Nor Cal AC]

Pic

 

[0soyoung]

This is very weird!
Seemingly dead above the girdle = no green cambium under the bark.
Seemingly alive below the girdle = green under the bark. Leaves on shoots! No black back at the bottom of the girdle.
BUT there is seemingly a dead, older branch too, below the girdle --> at least it doesn't have any leaves.
This tree is not grafted.

There is something very wrong with this picture. What is it that we are not seeing? Or what have we got wrong? Some things are being implicitly assumed to be true that aren't OR something(s) thought to be fact(s) is(are) not fact(s) but, rather, erroneous assumptions. Gotta dig deeper @Nor Cal AC. Methodically.

 

[Nor Cal AC]

This is very weird!
Seemingly dead above the girdle = no green cambium under the bark.
Seemingly alive below the girdle = green under the bark. Leaves on shoots! No black back at the bottom of the girdle.
BUT there is seemingly a dead, older branch too, below the girdle --> at least it doesn't have any leaves.
This tree is not grafted.

There is something very wrong with this picture. What is it that we are not seeing? Or what have we got wrong? Some things are being implicitly assumed to be true that aren't OR something(s) thought to be fact(s) is(are) not fact(s) but, rather, erroneous assumptions. Gotta dig deeper @Nor Cal AC. Methodically.

if you have any questions or need more pictures please ask for specific details. I am an open book. Just ask.

 

[Nor Cal AC]

if you have any questions or need more pictures please ask for specific details. I am an open book. Just ask.

I am new to the bonsai culture.my uncle has been practicing bonsai for 50 years and I have been following his teachings for 15 years but am naive too many techniques and knowledge in the industry.

 

[Cascading-Echinocactus]

1. What does the soil mix you have the tree in right now consist of (it looks like potting soil)
2. When was the last time you did a full repot or a full repot/ root pruning?
3. Can you post a picture of just the leaf? (This is just because I'm curious as to what Japanese maple this is, from the previous pictures it looks like a dissectum)

 

[larlamonde]

Slip potting into a different sized granular soil is a bad idea. The water is likely to run right through the exterior granular portion and never actually wet the untouched interior portion. If the tree hasn't budded out above the air layer, there in lies the problem with that part of the tree. If the soil is still draining, I'd leave it alone until next year and do a meaningful re-pot at the right time of year.

I agree

 

[Nor Cal AC]

 

[Nor Cal AC]

I re potted it 2 years ago from a 3 gallon pot to a 1.5 gallon pot. I never cut it back from it's original size.

 

[Nor Cal AC]

The soil is a mix of pumice stone,bark and potting soil. The roots are not overwhelming the pot.

 

[0soyoung]

if you have any questions or need more pictures please ask for specific details. I am an open book. Just ask.

How about pix of the buds on branch above the girdle and buds on that leafless branch below it.
As close up as you can get and in focus.

 

[Nor Cal AC]

There are no new buds above the girdle. And no new buds on the established Branch below the girdle. There are some buds just below the lower branch. I will take some pictures tomorrow after I get off work as it is dark now.

 

[Nor Cal AC]

Pic

 

[Nor Cal AC]

Hopefully this picture will work

 

[0soyoung]

Hopefully this picture will work

Good enough.

Somewhere between that bud and the branch below the girdle is apparently where something happened, last year or over winter, most likely. The tree was going to do this, for whatever reason and this isn't because you girdled the trunk (just a confounding coincidence that you did).

I've got a red dissectum in my landscape that I pruned very hard about three weeks ago. Many branches had lost their buds over winter and they are just now beginning to pop little red buds through the bark at old nodes. Consequently, I think you should see new buds on any stems that are going to survive.

So, you will not get an air-layer. This is the end of the story for that. But, it is important to learn what you can about what really affected the tree.I strongly suggest that you do an autopsy of the trunk/stems you remove --> cut short sections of stems/trunk and split some lengthwise, looking for differences in wood and cambium. Somewhere between that branch below the girdle and the closest bud leafing out there should be tell tale evidence. Since it could be fungal, so be sure to sanitize your cutting tool(s) before the last cut into live tissue of the tree that is left.

 

[MrWunderful]

Looks like maybe a “Seiryu” or “ao jutan” but I am not 100%. Definitely a dissectum, which might be the cause of the air layer failing.