Mapple any chance to fix?

[maroun.c]

Got this tree couple days back. Bad tree from many aspects but wondering if I can make something half decent out of it.
Came in a bag yes as it fell from wind and pot broke.

Horrible trunk chop guess I'll play with carving or just re chop at an oblique angle

It's been wired and wire went deep in the branches some cant be removed


Roots were a huge ball filling the pot but most were thick roots


This is after I removed most and I went and removed few more of the lower thick roots before I placed in pot. Hope I didnt kill it by removing that much of the roots.

In new pot, believe it's a bit too small as root flare is nearly touching pot from front to back
Last and worst is the branches on this tree it's more like a bush. Do u think I should take off all the branches and wait for new branches to pop? or just cut the branches at secondary branches level and regrow ratified branches?
I just reported and bare rooted today how long to wait before working on branches?

Thanks

 

[plant_dr]

Trident maple?

 

[maroun.c]

Trident maple?

Believe so. Only few leaves have started opening looks like it's a red leave

 

[Shibui]

If it is a maple you can definitely cut branches at the same time as doing roots.
For now I would just cut all the branches back to 1 or 2 nodes and wait for new shoots to grow.
The wire that has grown over is not too bad because it is in spiral so there is still room for sap to flow up and down the branches. The wire going round the trunk worries me more because it will interrupt the sap going up and down the trunk. Sometimes the tree can grow over it quick enough and re-establish sap flow before the to dies, other times the entire top will lower branches usually grow to replace the apex.

As it is the trunk does not look very attractive. Not sure yet whether there is any way to make it look better. Maybe some pictures of the trunk after it has been pruned will help. Might need to wait until it starts to grow before making any decisions.

Not sure what maple this is. I don't think it is trident maple and probably not Japanese maple either.

 

[maroun.c]

If it is a maple you can definitely cut branches at the same time as doing roots.
For now I would just cut all the branches back to 1 or 2 nodes and wait for new shoots to grow.
The wire that has grown over is not too bad because it is in spiral so there is still room for sap to flow up and down the branches. The wire going round the trunk worries me more because it will interrupt the sap going up and down the trunk. Sometimes the tree can grow over it quick enough and re-establish sap flow before the to dies, other times the entire top will lower branches usually grow to replace the apex.

As it is the trunk does not look very attractive. Not sure yet whether there is any way to make it look better. Maybe some pictures of the trunk after it has been pruned will help. Might need to wait until it starts to grow before making any decisions.

Not sure what maple this is. I don't think it is trident maple and probably not Japanese maple either.

Thanks will prune all branches ton1-2 nodes today and post pics of it. I'll also remove the thick crossing branches.

 

[maroun.c]

before pruning

After pruning. Few branches I can still remove but thought I'd leave to get enough foliage e to sustain the tree.


Considering one of the following chops later on to make the trunk a bit more interesting and get rid of the ugly forward branches


Any advice ?

 

[Douglas Fir]

If I were in your place, I would remove the branches I painted in gray leaving the structure in green and develop it into the structure i painted in blue.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Why is it a maple? The few leaves look like Redbud.

 

[maroun.c]

If I were in your place, I would remove the branches I painted in gray leaving the structure in green and develop it into the structure i painted in blue.

Thank you, that actually looks very nice. Will go that way.

 

[maroun.c]

Why is it a maple? The few leaves look like Redbud.

I'm not sure, i only received it couple days back and guy in the nursery said it was a red Acer Palmatum. Will post pics when leaves open to check if it is

 

[_#1_]

Why is it a maple? The few leaves look like Redbud.

Redbuds make flowers before leaves... I think

 

[Forsoothe!]

Redbuds make flowers before leaves... I think

When they are old enough, yes. I have a 'Little Woody' that has only just bloomed in the last two years and it's been in the landscape for 11 years.

 

[_#1_]

Well dang! Didn't know they take that long to produce flowers.

Thanks for the info

 

[maroun.c]

Why is it a maple? The few leaves look like Redbud.

Indeed doesnt look to be an acer palmatum. Redbud ?
Do those make good bonsais or is the leave to heavy

 

[plant_dr]

Trident maple

 

[Forsoothe!]

 

[BrianBay9]

In my opinion the best part of your tree is the base and first few inches of trunk that shows some taper. Other than that you have a taperless cylinder, then a right hand bend to another taperless cylinder. I know it sounds pretty radical but if it were mine I would let it get healthy and recover this year, then next year do a radical trunk chop, keep the bottom three or four inches and start over.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I see all that scrub in the background of the one photo and ask myself why you aren't out there with a shovel? It's all hardy and in many sizes suitable to bonsai, and you can learn the basic shopping strategies cheaper than buying big trees before you ask yourself the most important question: "What do I need to remove to make this have the right proportions?"

You need to be able to go to a nursery with money burning a hole in your pocket, look at everything, and decide that there isn't anything worth buying for bonsai. That's often just a function of having acquired some large number of trees that are harder to work than it's worth. Once learned, it gets easy to avoid the bad ones. Stop acquiring canopies and start acquiring the first very few inches of trunk and first three branches. Everything else is superfluous.

 

[maroun.c]

Good base trees are very hard to find in nurseries here and that's the only reason I got this one to be honest.
I don't mind chopping the trunk completely next year especially as the previous trunk has a very bad scar and upper trunk is scarred by previous wires they did.
Can u chop the trunk and leave no branches or foliage at all or should I leave a branch at least initially. When would be the best time to chop and should I fertilize heavy this year for tree to have enough energy to recover from an aggressive chop?
Thanks

 

[maroun.c]

I see all that scrub in the background of the one photo and ask myself why you aren't out there with a shovel? It's all hardy and in many sizes suitable to bonsai, and you can learn the basic shopping strategies cheaper than buying big trees before you ask yourself the most important question: "What do I need to remove to make this have the right proportions?"

You need to be able to go to a nursery with money burning a hole in your pocket, look at everything, and decide that there isn't anything worth buying for bonsai. That's often just a function of having acquired some large number of trees that are harder to work than it's worth. Once learned, it gets easy to avoid the bad ones. Stop acquiring canopies and start acquiring the first very few inches of trunk and first three branches. Everything else is superfluous.

I'm surrounded by a pine forest, will post a pic of those to.see if they work for bonsai, believe its red pine...
Last year they were digging for a building and i picked up 4 trees taken out with no root damage by a pocklain yet non made it. Need to try again and hopefully will get a few trees that work from collecting from the forest as u say.