Maple nebari cut back

[Lewis87]

Hi guys, can anyone tell me if I can cut these thick roots hard back in future repot. You can see in the pic which is from where I bought it, I used it as it has a white back drop so easier to see.
My plan was to cut them back from the underside next year.

 

[MrWunderful]

That tree looks to have a decent base, why would you want to? It appears to have a been developed pretty well. But the pic is pretty fuzzy.

 

[Lewis87]

Yeah sorry I screened shot from a video. I just think they look really thick. Those large roots are around an 1.5 inches thick. By cutting them back I hoped for finer ramification rather than one thick root

 

[leatherback]

You cannot see what the roots look like. The fat tubes you see in the picture are probably sort of merged into a trunk of sorts. Correcting that is not worth the time considering there will not be a lot of trunk left.. Love it or leave it.

They are probably similar as the pipes on this one of mine:

 

[BobbyLane]

thats very good nebari. i would focus on building the primary branch lines now and ramification. some would kill for a nebari like that.

 

[Lewis87]

Ok. Thanks for the replies I appreciate it. My goal is to train it like Peter Chans spit trunk. I don’t mean to copy someone else’s design but I absolutely love that tree. It has some very similar characteristics. Thanks @BobbyLane. Im from UK too in Essex. I should edit my location so people can advise on similar climates.

 

[BobbyLane]

Ok. Thanks for the replies I appreciate it. My goal is to train it like Peter Chans spit trunk. I don’t mean to copy someone else’s design but I absolutely love that tree. It has some very similar characteristics. Thanks @BobbyLane. Im from UK too in Essex. I should edit my location so people can advise on similar climates.

where did you get this one from, PM me if you rather keep it private! nothing wrong with being inspired by other designs or copying or trying to emulate, bonsai are not trademarked
i think i know the one you mean. if it was me though id be tempted to have that central trunk as the main trunk like in the second image. if you prefer the first image and the split trunk i think the two trunks are a little wide apart.
the central trunk has some thickening to do though but would thicken gradually over the years, maybe i would put it in a slightly bigger bonsai pot to help move it on.

this is also a split trunk of sorts, but see how reigning in the left branch has made a more cohesive image, i think you would need to reduce the left branch if you go with a split type image. but im just going off two blurry images!

 

[Lewis87]

Lovely tree that. I totally agree with the left branch being to long. I’ll take some better pic at weekend. The tree has only just arrived this week.

So this is the plan. The green line on the left I hoped to thread graft. The long shoot you can see seems to be a little mature now but there is another long shoot progressing next to it which I can use.
The two black lines are cuts and the green line on the right will be new leader and crown.
I’m on the fence whether to remove that middle branch and maybe use the smaller one just in front or cut them both off.

 

[Lewis87]

Lovely tree that. I totally agree with the left branch being to long. I’ll take some better pic at weekend. The tree has only just arrived this week.

So this is the plan. The green line on the left I hoped to thread graft. The long shoot you can see seems to be a little mature now but there is another long shoot progressing next to it which I can use.
The two black lines are cuts and the green line on the right will be new leader and crown.
I’m on the fence whether to remove that middle branch and maybe use the smaller one just in front or cut them both off.

 

[sorce]

I reckon you can bring the right side further in too.

I think you can make the middle branch work if you move it some.

Sorce

 

[Lewis87]

Hi @sorce can you tell me which way you would move the middle branch. The larger middle branch grows very far backwards. I prefer the smaller one just in front but I’m open to ideas.

 

[sorce]

How long have you had this?

I just don't want to trash that "front" if you did it.

Perhaps it was put that way just for root size reasons?

This new pic looks a better front but I think between this side and the other, that corner, would be the best best.

I balked at "move", but figured f it. By "move", I mean cut back for movement, And the thickness of the big one in that case is more appropriate, the exit angle and location seems better too.

But the best front will ultimately determine what's best.

Seems keeping both for a couple seasons wouldn't harm anything.

Sorce

 

[Lewis87]

Tree only just arrived this week. This is kind of what I envisioned in later years with one major branch going out then coming in to form a crown and with the left branches to be smaller and shorter. Obviously the tree shown is very nicely done but I think I can get something similar

 

[BobbyLane]

ok but what is the benefit of grafting? couldnt you cut back the left branch to a shoot further back and train it to go upwards.
the back branch is good for depth.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I don't think it's going to live long enough to look like anything much different. Each instance of insult is an opportunity for a mis-step and terminal decline. This tree just needs modest refinement to personal tastes. It sounds like the OP is going to fuck with the tree until... Oops!

 

[BobbyLane]

Mach5 has a few maple stumps that started like this, i would look them up in the search bar.

if you were to sit down and wire this out it could begin to look quite nice already.

 

[Lewis87]

Grafting was the last resort if a bud does not pop further back when its cut back. Obviously I don’t want to do anything that would be detrimental to the tree

 

[BobbyLane]

you can cut here and use those branches and see what pops

to give you one that forks into 2

 

[Lewis87]

Good idea thanks @BobbyLane

 

[Paradox]

Yea I agree with others that I dont know why you would want to cut back the nebari.

This is a very nice trunk and nebari that just needs some branch refinement to be a nice tree