Landscape to Bonsai

Jluke33

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I tried to air layer a branch on this guy earlier in the fall and failed, but we are contemplating a move in mid 2021 and I’m thinking about taking this guy along. I think if I can successfully air layer along the main trunk I think I could have two very nice trees for bonsai, but I’m a little concerned at how far up the trunk we are before haveing any branches. Base is nice from what I can tell.
Interested in thoughts on where to layer and whether top or bottom would make a better bonsai
 

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Gabler

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I wouldn't bother air layering. Chop the trunk, dig up the root ball, and aside from watering for the first summer while the tree regrows its roots, completely ignore the tree for the next three years. Assuming the tree survives your rough manhandling in the first year, you should have a nice maple bush to work with. Repot it, prune the branches back, and start training. As for all those branches? Don't just toss them out. Take cuttings to grow even more trees.
 

TN_Jim

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I wouldn't bother air layering. Chop the trunk, dig up the root ball, and aside from watering for the first summer while the tree regrows its roots, completely ignore the tree for the next three years. Assuming the tree survives your rough manhandling in the first year, you should have a nice maple bush to work with. Repot it, prune the branches back, and start training. As for all those branches? Don't just toss them out. Take cuttings to grow even more trees.
Is that times font? Viva Revolution!
 

Shibui

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Most Japanese maple bonsai are developed by repeated grow and chop. What you see at this early stage is nothing at all like it will look eventually and probably none of the branches on it now would make it through to the finished bonsai.
The base is usually the best part to keep because it will be thicker but whether it is good for bonsai depends totally on the roots and where they grow from and go to. You cannot really tell until you dig and remove the soil.
Occasionally the upper parts make good bonsai but rarely with fast grown landscape plants because branches are usually straight and lack taper. The best layers for bonsai come from trees that have been pruned and grown for years so the branches are shorter and have short internodes and lots of side branches.

So much depends on your standards - what you expect as a bonsai - as well as how many years you are prepared to put into the development stages.
 

Gabler

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Not sure which font that was. But no all fonts are good for use on screens. I find the font that @Gabler uses a little hard to read 🤷‍♀️

Really? I find it fun playing around with the font options, but if some find it hard to read, I'll have to stop using it to ensure accessibility.
 

TN_Jim

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You odds of success will improve dramatically if you try your air-layer in early spring just as the tree wakes up.
Is there not a fear of J. maple bleeding out if layered just pre or post to bud break? Or, is this just some hyper cautious approach, or wives tale..? I’ve heard the the best time here is late may early June
 

leatherback

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Is there not a fear of J. maple bleeding out if layered just pre or post to bud break? Or, is this just some hyper cautious approach, or wives tale..? I’ve heard the the best time here is late may early June
layering takes a long time. The loss of sap is not from the bark. It is from the wood. And that cut wont be made until at the end of the layering. The sap loss by trimming in early spring is not an issue though
 

TN_Jim

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layering takes a long time. The loss of sap is not from the bark. It is from the wood. And that cut wont be made until at the end of the layering. The sap loss by trimming in early spring is not an issue though
hearing this thanks. so the potential of sap lost on J. Maple in early spring late winter before break is going to occur from cutting into the xylem and not the phloem? this is how I’m understanding what you are saying as the outside vascular cambium we cut into as a layer is the phloem...perhaps over cutting into the xylem during layers at this time is the source of the precaution as the xylem is transporting essential vital sap back up through trunk to branches from winter storage

would you make hard cuts now in December or is it too late? even when on weakened tree trying to save -best time hard cuts?

perhaps derailed thread @Gabler!? apologies. serif the casbah? dammit
 

TN_Jim

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layering takes a long time. The loss of sap is not from the bark. It is from the wood. And that cut wont be made until at the end of the layering. The sap loss by trimming in early spring is not an issue though
hearing this thanks. so the potential of sap lost on J. Maple in early spring late winter before break is going to occur from cutting into the xylem and not the phloem? this is how I’m understanding what you are saying as the outside vascular cambium we cut in a layer is the phloem beneath the bark.
perhaps over cutting into the xylem during layers at this time is the source of the precaution

would you make hard cuts now in December or is it too late? even when on weakened tree trying to save -best time hard cuts?

perhaps derailed thread @Gabler!? apologies. serif the casbah?
 

leatherback

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would you make hard cuts now in December or is it too late? even when on weakened tree trying to save -best time hard cuts?
I make big cuts yearround. I personally prefer mid-to-late spring because the tree can respond to the action and die-back risk is less. But Bobby is showing with carpinus great stuff in winter with no problems.

If the tree is weak, I would aim at getting it healthy before any manjor work.
 
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