New to maples as bonsai.

[Rubberbandman]

Hello,
Can Japanese maples go through alot of pruning and trimming and or defoliation during the growing season. Reason I ask, is last fall I bought a green leaf japanese maple that was destined for the dumpster at the local nursery. I am wanting to work it back to the main trunk to hopefully get rid of all the dead tips and branches etc etc .
Thoughts?
B.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Post a photo, and a little info about last repot. The answer so far is, “it depends”.

Dead ends and branches can, and should, be removed. This won’t affect the living portion at all.

Likely you could reduce the tree back to just the trunk now, and get some new growth yet this year, but other options may be better, like thread-grafting to place new branches exactly where you want them.

 

[AlainK]

The answer so far is, “it depends”.

Right, but removing the dead tips and branches is OK, even recommended.

Since you probably don't know the reason why some branches died (it often happens when the tree grows freely), I'd say if you prune branches it should be a precaution to treat the tree with some fungicide spray to be on the safe side.

 

[Rubberbandman]

 

[Rubberbandman]

I got a few pics uploaded. thoughts?
B.

 

[AlainK]

Your tree looks very healthy.

In most temperate zones, it's still OK to prune maples, but then you must have a basic design in mind. When the trunk is very thin, there are so many options.

But isn't your tree grafted ? In which case it's a herd of horses of different colors...

 

[Rubberbandman]

Can you elaborate on it being grafted? Whats this allow or not?
B.

 

[plant_dr]

High grafts like your tree has are typical for nursery trees destined for the landscape. Most homeowners dont notice or dont care if its there. On a bonsai, these graft unions can be distracting and unsightly because there are often differences between the bottom rootstock and the cultivar on top. Differences in growth rates, color, bark texture, etc. are jarring to the eye when the tree is being displayed for bonsai.

On trees grown specifically for bonsai the grafts are done as low as possible to hopefully blend into the rootflare and not be as noticeable. You still get the strength and hardiness of the understock (which is typically the basic green acer palmatum) + the desirable qualities of your cultivar on top to build the tree with.

Sometimes people will air layer just below the graft on a tree like this to effectively bring the graft union lower. Since this was going to the trash anyway, you dont have too much to lose. It might be worth a try.

 

[Pitoon]

I wonder what cultivar that is? The leaves seem to be a plain green leaf, but if they grafted it must be some cultivar?