Little Japanese Maple

darrellw

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Here is little Japanese maple that I picked up at a club auction last year. The first picture is soon after I got it, repotted in a pond basket. My goal was to pump it up. The second picture is today. I already gave it one pruning a month or so ago, but it needed one again today. I'm hoping to get a bud in the top, straight section of the trunk, but no luck so far. Any comments welcome!

-Darrell
 

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It looks very healthy. Great work. What do you think the finished hight will be?
 

bonsai barry

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The tree is looking a lot better in the final shot. If you can't get it to back bud in the straight section, have you given thought to air-layering it?
 

Jay Wilson

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I like the movement in the lower trunk. The straight section doesn't bother me all that much (I guess cause i've got a lot of trees with the same problem and I'm used to it) I don't know it these maples take to thread grafting well, but you might look into that as a solution.

Jay
 

Vance Wood

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You could air layer off the top of the tree at a point where you might want the bend to be. You would then in essence be trunk chopping the tree without the accompanying compost of the throw away top which now would be another nice Maple. Or---You could use an approach graft by letting one of the upper branches grow out enough that it could be bent down to the point where you would like a branch and grafted in place. Or---you could wrap a piece of wire around the trunk at the location you want a branch, watch careful till it starts to create a slight swelling. Remove the wire and wound the trunk just below where you want a branch. Sometime this bit of mistreatment can cause a latent bud to become active.
 

darrellw

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Or---you could wrap a piece of wire around the trunk at the location you want a branch, watch careful till it starts to create a slight swelling. Remove the wire and wound the trunk just below where you want a branch. Sometime this bit of mistreatment can cause a latent bud to become active.

Hi Vance,

Would the wound be above the point you put the wire?

Thanks,
Darrell
 

darrellw

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Thanks for the ideas/thoughts. The straight section isn't horrible, but it looks the worst from the angle that the base looks the best. I've considered layering, I'll see how some of my other attempts this year go before that, though. I had not thought about a graft, but that could be a good option as well.

The tree as it stands now is 8 inches (20 cm) tall.

-Darrell
 
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