Maple Progression Advice

Hawke84

Shohin
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oh yeh nice trident. so what endeared you to these trees in the first place, what stood out apart from the fact they were a bargain? practice material?
well one of the first things i look for is a good nebari, but i dont see that on these trees. for the style of tree that you want, i dont see much branching low on the trunk. being maples, if you cut them back hard and low they should backbud. then you can fatten up a leader. there is an article on bonsai4me about building trunks and branch structures. sounds like you need to grasp the basics of building trunks and branch structures. then take it from there. when i was a newbie i did all this
thank you for the replies. It was mainly the trunk thickness and the chance to work on something a bit more than a stick which i've practiced on previously. also picking them up for £10 each for maples is a great price, even if they just end up as landscape trees.
I agree with you on the tall trunk one, this is my least favorite and I have been struggling to see anything other than inverse taper, but i can practice thread grafting and air layering on it and stick it in the ground when done if it survives.

Sorry I didnt understand this comment "i think cutting it back to make one trunk line will just make a mess of the material." This was the one i could see the trunk taper building, are the cuts i've put on not a good idea and its better to go straight up and broom style?

thanks again for all the help. I am keeping an eye on your ebay from time to time :)
 

BobbyLane

Imperial Masterpiece
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a lot of it comes down to tastes and how can you maximise what you have. the quicker route to a decent image is broom as everything is already in place.the longer route is taking it to one trunk line. my tastes are varied i do both approaches depending on the material.
i bought n sold this sango kaku that would of started the same way.if you do what you want to do with your maple and hack one of the trunks off to cubby hole it into a particular style.you set it back and in the process create large wounds. do what you like, cant go wrong for the money😉Screenshot_20190626-114803_eBay.jpg
 
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