I too am curious how he made out with this maple.
Jaberwky, did you buy one of those Korean Maples that you were talking about?
I got one this spring as a nursery orphan... the old lady at the nursery gave it too me after she first demanded $60.00. I don't know if it was my toothless grin, grey hair, or bulge in my pants that caused her to give it away, but I could have outrun Usain Bolt when she said "take it, you can have it for free"... I'm unsure if it was the thrill of getting it free or the possibility that her next words were going to be "but you have to..." in any case, my joints sounded like the dice rattling around in that little can when kids play Yahtzee on Saturday nights as I ran down the street to my car...
It was a nasty looking piece of material, even for a pre-bonsai. I repotted it and found that it was severely root bound. It took off soon after it was in the new pot. But, like a dumb a _ _ though, I trimmed "just one little branch" that had developed a bad knuckle over the years. Not knowing that they have very thin bark, I did more damage to the tree than I would have liked. This set the tree back again, but I'm looking forward to next spring to see how it recovers. They are supposed to be surprisingly hardy, even here in zone 3... and the fact that I got it from her after it had been at the nursery for a couple of years is testament to that.
From now on I will aways use a sanding disc to trim a maple, not pruners or any cutter design.
From what I can see so far, they may have a leaf that is too big for a small bonsai... however, they may also be like a Cottonwood or American Elm that will throw a massive leaf the first couple of years and they gradually reduce in size as the density of the foliage increases.
I'm really curious about them though as I have never seen one in my travels (even in private yards or public parkways), and they have a very distinctive leaf, shape, colouration, and form.
Through the years I have found that nursery orphans make the best bonsai because they are almost always free here (or almost free; like $5.00)... especially if I explain what I intend on doing with them and show a great deal of scepticism about the prospective plants possibilities. Plus, I toss in a great deal of "geeze it's ugly", as I roll the pot 'round and around. What most growers don't know is that "ugly" is the #1 thing that I'm after and #2 is "free"... lol... call me a greasy, cheap, old man, but getting an ugly free little something and helping it grow turns my crank... PLUS, I don't have to dig it!