Maple Dormancy out of sync

Twin

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Location
East Jordan, MI
USDA Zone
5a
I live in northern Michican Zone 4.

I don't know the name of this hybrid maple. The sales person told me it would only get about 20 feet tall. I've attached photos of the twig & parent.

June – I salvaged some twigs from a damaged branch and tried to root them. All died, save one.

August – All the leaves (2) fell off but the twig stayed green so I left it alone. A new sprout appeared and two weeks later two new leaves.

Sept 20 - Blossoms have begun to sprout.

My questions are: Should I try to force it to go dormant or, should I let
nature take it’s course?
Is this twig a good candidate to attempt my first Bonsai?

Thanks in advance for any help.
 

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I live in northern Michican Zone 4.

I don't know the name of this hybrid maple. The sales person told me it would only get about 20 feet tall. I've attached photos of the twig & parent.

June – I salvaged some twigs from a damaged branch and tried to root them. All died, save one.

August – All the leaves (2) fell off but the twig stayed green so I left it alone. A new sprout appeared and two weeks later two new leaves.

Sept 20 - Blossoms have begun to sprout.

My questions are: Should I try to force it to go dormant or, should I let
nature take it’s course?
Is this twig a good candidate to attempt my first Bonsai?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Might it be an Amur Maple? AMs are from Mongolia and well-adapted (as a specie) to your climate. In my line of thinking, trees go dormant according to certain environmental cues (e.g., length of daylight and air temperature). BTW, I really have no idea how one forces dormancy. There isn't any switch that I know, but I am eager to learn how one forces trees to go dormant on demand.

Your rooted twig does seem to have behaved like it 'thought' September was May. Regardless, it will go dormant in response to winter setting in (if you leave it outside). First-year roots are always fragile - the biggest challenge with cuttings (and air-layers) is survival through the first winter. It will require extra protection this winter and may not make it despite your best efforts. Roots must spend at least 6 weeks below 40F but probably will not survive being colder than 15F. Most commonly bonsai and cuttings are put in a cold-frame, or a shed, or a garage, but some species might be okay burried and mulched outside. IMO, your twig will also require protection from wind and sun - it won't take much to dessicate it during the winter. So, burried and muclched probably isn't an option. It won't require so much TLC in subsequent years.

Your twig should drop leaves before you have to worry about this, but meanwhile you must decide how you are going to protect it for this coming winter. Also, recognize that you will probably be pruning your tree next season. You can (and IMHO should) try again by rooting those trimmings.
 
Do you think I could bury the pot till the tree goes dormant then bring it inside and refrigerate it? Then return it outside early next spring? Could the tree survive the total darkness for a couple months?
I know I'm probably trying too hard to save a little sprig, but I'm hoping to learn a lot with this.
 
1)where are you?

2)Do not put it in the fridge

3)keep it protected as best you can and take fifty new cuttings next year
 
Do you think I could bury the pot till the tree goes dormant then bring it inside and refrigerate it? Then return it outside early next spring? Could the tree survive the total darkness for a couple months?
I know I'm probably trying too hard to save a little sprig, but I'm hoping to learn a lot with this.

Low root temperature also has a lot to do with initiating dormancy. I don't see any need to bury the twig's pot until it is getting cold. On the other hand I don't see any problem with doing it. You need to make sure it is buried in a spot with good drainage. If in doubt, dig your hole too deeply and bottom fill with gravel or bark or similar.

It might be a worthwhile experiment to put it in the refrigerator through the dead of winter. I've read recently about guys in the tropics doing this with their temperate tree bonsais. I've never tried it, but how else are you going to learn? There certainly won't any drying sub-zero winds!
 
I would also just dig the pot into the ground, give it some protection from wind, and leave it for the winter. Don't worry about light, dormant trees do not need light. Try to keep it in the shade because light will warm it up when it needs to stay dormant and cold. Check it for watering, don't water it when it's frozen... If you could update your profile to tell us where you live, that would be great.
good luck!
 
In the original post he said he was in Michigan, zone 4. The profile does need to be updated though.
 
I've updated my profile. I'm new to forums.

I've never tried Bonsai farming. I might like to try a maple. Is this a good tree to start with?
What is the best way to learn the basics?

Thanks for the replies.
 
Twin,
A maple is an ok choice to start with, there are better first tree choices however. I would suggest chinese elm as an outdoor tree choice, and ficus if you want an indoor tree. Elms are very easy and forgiving of beginner mistakes (we've all made them) and ficus are equally so. Maples are not too hard, but there is a learning curve on pruning and growing these. At this time of year, whatever you wind up getting, do know that there is little you can do with a tree other than decide how to protect it for the winter, and plan for the spring.

I would suggest buying a few books (or going to the library) to learn how to... as well as learning from websites. Evergreengardenworks has some really great articles, so does bonsai4me. (b4me is in europe, so read with that in mind...) And some of the people here on the forum have really good blogs, so take a look at those too.
 
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