Looking for Styling Advice on Japanese Maple

[Miguelito's Blade]

Yesterday I posted a thread seeking help identifying a tree I had just acquired and learned that it was a Japanese Maple. It is pretty much grown wild but I see potential in it. I would be grateful for any advice on styling it. Thanks.

 

[BonsaiDTLA]

It is pretty much grown wild but I see potential in it. I would be grateful for any advice on styling it. Thanks.

Hi mlmcdonald!

I was originally not going to respond. I clicked in and was about to click out, but then I decided otherwise.

I wanted to discuss the word potential. And please take everything I say with a grain of salt, because I'm definitely--certainly--not an expert.

We might think we see potential from rough pre-bonsai material. That can be from a nursery that specializes in bonsai, or one that doesn't.

For example, a long time ago, I purchased a tree because it had a thick trunk. I thought it had potential given the large size. Then I realized that the tree's roots were disastrous. I basically had to work the roots and, to me, that was basically starting over.. in fact, I could've probably grown a better trunk, with better nebari, better root development, than what I uncovered for that tree in 5-10 years, with results that would outshine what I had paid for.

But that's also different than seeing a potential tree in unshaped/styled pre-bonsai material. An example can be seen here by one of our own bnut members @MACH5 :

BALD CYPRESS

This is a bald cypress I purchased from Martin Sweeny last year at the Winter Silhouette Expo. The material was grown from a cutting. This tree appealed to me because of its small size, good trunk movement and excellent nebari. Most of these BC trees seen as bonsai are collected and large to...

www.bonsainut.com

From my understanding, there are generally several components to good pre-bonsai material that has potential.

The roots and nebari can be developed or set up for future success. That makes the material have extreme potential since good roots are pretty core to good bonsai. Multiple examples or discussions can be found if you search about trident maples grown over washers to develop a basal flare and flat nebari. Another good example is the seedling cutting technique people perform on baby japanese black pines.

Here's a picture, taken from this website, to illustrate from a professional grower and another one of our own bnut members @kingsville grower



You can also have a good trunk, maybe a ton of deadwood, or a crazy twisting trunk. That could also be considered potential.

I guess this is all a long-winded way for me to say that buying good pre-bonsai with good potential is almost a skill in and of itself here in the US.

 

[dbonsaiw]

It is pretty much grown wild but I see potential in it.

I'm new to this as well and also trying to figure out what is good material that I want to work with and dedicate inordinate amounts of time to. I try to look at "potential" from the perspective of what I could potentially do with the tree, meaning what style(s) can best be developed from the material. If I was completely unclear what these potential styles could be/could not be, I wouldn't be discussing the tree in terms of its potential.

Personally, I have a few big box maples that I am working with. I learned a great deal from them, especially the comment made by BonsaiDTLA that certain issues, specifically bad roots for bonsai, are things that may take more time to correct than growing the trunk out in the first place. They also seem to be particularly hardy and have taken serious beatings from my newbie hands and seem to have survived (fingers crossed). You may never get "ideal" nebari from this absent a ground layer, but who cares? Continue to to develop the tree and learn.

It's a little bit hard to tell from the pics, but you could develop this tree as a split trunk, grow additional branches off the split trunk and go for a broom, or maybe just chop off two of the trunks leaving one of the side ones and grow this into an informal upright.

I usually don't know what I want when I just start something out and only discern this from understanding what I do not want. Get the tree out of the nursery pot, bare root it and prune back the roots, taking off the tap root and all downward growing roots. What's left is the potential for your tree's nebari. Compare that to what better nebari actually looks like and then ask yourself what do you want to develop. Not every tree has to be ready for exhibition and the exhibition trees require a great deal of attention to detail.

 

[penumbra]

Personally I would plant it lower and layer the two outside trunks (do away with the center one) and work with the two resultant trees. Otherwise, I am not seeing much potential. Not that it has not, but I'm not seeing it.

 

[sorce]

So many things change our own values on "potential", that one must eliminate the biases.
Collection.
Climate.
Will.
Time.
Budget.
Your level of Materialism.
Your Understanding/Care of what a "good" tree is.

Once those things are eliminated, you can start breaking down the actual potential of a tree.

For me this tree lacks anything taking potential away, this is quite objective. At this, time and your own skill is the only thing keeping this from excellence.

The fact that it's a regular green maple which can be layered and grown on it's own roots makes even the smallest twig loaded with potential also only limited by time and your skill.

Being likely not grafted gives the meat of the tree itself potential too, makes it at least worth a look for considering using what is available now.

Looks like utilizing the deader shoots deadness as a guide to cut back to a clean and useful half of what is to begin your design is a bonus, or added potential.

I don't think the condition of what is under the soil matters much either, because you can ground layer or otherwise flare out a new base to further fix any reverse taper.

I Reckon "potential" is more often than not, a cause for flaw blinders.

Better to look for things like this, that have nothing destroying their potential.

Put a Shitishariishi whateverthefuck weak ass cultivar up, that 9/10 people see mad potential in, and I'd trash it in favor of this one every time.

Everything has potential till it doesn't.

Sorce

 

[Miguelito's Blade]

I Reckon "potential" is more often than not, a cause for flaw blinders.

Better to look for things like this, that have nothing destroying their potential.

Put a Shitishariishi whateverthefuck weak ass cultivar up, that 9/10 people see mad potential in, and I'd trash it in favor of this one every time.

Everything has potential till it doesn't.

Sorce

My idea for this tree includes trying to start some cuttings--this will be my first experience with cuttings--and an air layer or two, which will also be my first time. I haven't yet decided between making the main tree a single or double trunk of some sort. I have also not yet decided where to cut for any of this, but I will. It was encouraging to know that you share my belief that it has potential. I can't know whether the potential I see is the same as what you see, though they are likely to coincide in some places at least. I still lack the experience to be able to see nursery material and have designs pop out at me from the all that I see, but I chose this one over several other candidates because I am convinced that I can turn its wildness to my advantage in realizing its potential.

 

[SeanS]

You need to get it out of the nursery pot and check out the nebari/roots before you can make any decisions

 

[Miguelito's Blade]

You need to get it out of the nursery pot and check out the nebari/roots before you can make any decisions

Good point. Right now I have neither the pot nor the soil to do a good job of it. I'll probably take care of that this weekend. I had already decided to repot it using a 3 inch plastic disk to encourage a nebari.

 

[Shibui]

Yesterday I posted a thread seeking help identifying a tree I had just acquired and learned that it was a Japanese Maple. It is pretty much grown wild but I see potential in it. I would be grateful for any advice on styling it. Thanks.

This does seem to be JM but as for potential I'm not so sure. Obviously that depends on where you start from and your aspirations. I'd want a few more years of development to decide on real potential.
That said any tree has potential. You just need to decide on the quality you aspire to and how many years you want to commit to growing to achieve the results.
You can make a simple bonsai just by trimming all the branches back to a definite canopy.
I'd start by removing the centre trunk which appears damaged anyway then if you want twin trunk just prune back to leave one taller than the other. Single trunk is also possible by removing left or right trunk. Either will need substantial regrow following the chops IMHO.