Progression of Acer macrophyllum D

parhamr

Omono
Messages
1,767
Reaction score
6,213
Location
Portland, OR
USDA Zone
8
I’ve posted this tree here and there, but it doesn’t yet have its own thread. (Huh, maybe I should just have one bigleaf maple thread?!)

Like the other 3 Acer macrophyllum I have, this one was part of a 2012 urban collection from flower beds and against sidewalks. It is an informal broom in the works; I plan the canopy to be quite a lot larger than it is now.

The history…

Winter 2014
27988577-8EED-4516-8EAA-C1BB9FAF3309.jpeg

April 2015
B82AEB38-9F74-480C-B78C-50225A5AA9A4.jpeg



October 2016
0A16B0E0-C91F-41FF-88C7-8A28395BEDEA.jpeg

February 2020
576DDD2F-1223-4DD7-BD84-95B679F01333.jpeg
2E27AFD2-F941-405C-934E-6F1054A312EC.jpeg
B42B2A80-8C67-426B-97FE-00FBE6C9C233.jpeg
A1BAB567-39BC-4B39-AE44-2D4F723BEA08.jpeg
1A61DE9B-76F4-450C-8156-A65F37E4190E.jpeg
 
Last edited by a moderator:

AlainK

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
5,394
Reaction score
9,486
Location
Orléans, France, Europe
USDA Zone
9A
A real challenge.

I particularly like the picture from May 19 2020.

I wouldn't try it myself, but you're doing well, congrats mate.
 

Canada Bonsai

Shohin
Messages
461
Reaction score
1,377
Nice progress! 👍

Have you experimented with cutting the leaves in half or removing the lobes of each leaf? This is a common technique with Japanese Maples of course, and I have been thinking about trying it with other Acers but have not seen it document anywhere
 

parhamr

Omono
Messages
1,767
Reaction score
6,213
Location
Portland, OR
USDA Zone
8
Whoops, the latest batch of photos is from 2021. My brain is fried from medication withdrawals 🤪

@Canada Bonsai yes! This year I did a full defoliation of two or three of my macrophyllums. Those were useful. In previous years I’ve done partial defoliation, like removing one leaf from each node or removing a lobe of the leaf. It seemed to be a lot less effective, proportionally. Go big 😎
 

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
Messages
11,337
Reaction score
23,254
Location
on the IL-WI border, a mile from ''da Lake''
USDA Zone
5b
I like this photo as the front. But I would remove that last segment of main trunk just below my red line.

Either of the green circled branches could take over as the main trunk, or both could be developed to head more toward the informal broom for the apex of the tree.

At least that is my thought, remember I am not seeing the tree in 3D.
 

Attachments

  • acer-macrophyllum-95B92D24-DF43-4880-928F-178A0CDDC652.jpeg
    acer-macrophyllum-95B92D24-DF43-4880-928F-178A0CDDC652.jpeg
    184.1 KB · Views: 37

parhamr

Omono
Messages
1,767
Reaction score
6,213
Location
Portland, OR
USDA Zone
8
I like this photo as the front. But I would remove that last segment of main trunk just below my red line.

Either of the green circled branches could take over as the main trunk, or both could be developed to head more toward the informal broom for the apex of the tree.

At least that is my thought, remember I am not seeing the tree in 3D.
Thanks, Leo! I’ve thought about it. That would be like a trunk chop and would definitely fix things. I might even be wise to get this back into a box for a mix of development and refinement efforts.

The rest of the trunk above that spot is a chunky straight piece i should have chopped into about 4 years ago. It’s been gnawing on me and I’ve resisted doing anything about it.
 

Ryceman3

Shohin
Messages
381
Reaction score
2,370
Location
Melbourne, Australia
USDA Zone
9b
Perhaps this ???

339D312B-89BC-49AE-ADEF-7024680F12BC.jpg

Cutting here reduces the straight section in half and the remaining bud below could be developed into the apex ...
The benefit of this (for this angle) is also that it re-directs the apical section back towards the viewer.
I'm not saying this is better, just another option (since you didn't ask!), and as @Leo in N E Illinois says ... I'm not seeing the tree in 3D either so there is that disclaimer too.
🍺
 

parhamr

Omono
Messages
1,767
Reaction score
6,213
Location
Portland, OR
USDA Zone
8
Perhaps this ???

View attachment 408789

Cutting here reduces the straight section in half and the remaining bud below could be developed into the apex ...
The benefit of this (for this angle) is also that it re-directs the apical section back towards the viewer.
I'm not saying this is better, just another option (since you didn't ask!), and as @Leo in N E Illinois says ... I'm not seeing the tree in 3D either so there is that disclaimer too.
🍺
Thanks, bud 😎

The trunk and canopy discussions are welcomed! This is a building project.
 

parhamr

Omono
Messages
1,767
Reaction score
6,213
Location
Portland, OR
USDA Zone
8
Perhaps this ???

View attachment 408789

Cutting here reduces the straight section in half and the remaining bud below could be developed into the apex ...
The benefit of this (for this angle) is also that it re-directs the apical section back towards the viewer.
I'm not saying this is better, just another option (since you didn't ask!), and as @Leo in N E Illinois says ... I'm not seeing the tree in 3D either so there is that disclaimer too.
🍺
I did end up making this cut last fall.

The initial spring push was slow due to weeks of cold weather
IMG_2932.jpeg

Now that it has warmed up a bit, the tree is predictably throwing out a huge response up top where I had lopped off some wood:
IMG_2968.jpeg
 
Messages
234
Reaction score
255
Location
Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Nice work. I’ve got a big leaf maple in the works. How far have you been able to reduce the leaves? I’ve got them to under two inches in the past, but this year I’ve stuck her in the ground to fatten up so they’re huge (as they should be).
 

MaciekA

Shohin
Messages
384
Reaction score
725
Location
Northwest Oregon
USDA Zone
8
I'm not the OP, but I'm working on a shohin bigleaf and tried defoliation last year. The resulting leaves in the non-sacrificial zone were quite small, perhaps a 25 cent coin or thereabouts, and stayed small and productive until leaf drop. I'm quite a ways away from ramification and slowdown, but from my results and from seeing @parhamr 's results in person, I feel good about all of our chances with reduction.
 
Messages
234
Reaction score
255
Location
Vancouver, BC, Canada.
I'm not the OP, but I'm working on a shohin bigleaf and tried defoliation last year. The resulting leaves in the non-sacrificial zone were quite small, perhaps a 25 cent coin or thereabouts, and stayed small and productive until leaf drop. I'm quite a ways away from ramification and slowdown, but from my results and from seeing @parhamr 's results in person, I feel good about all of our chances with reduction.
Me too. some of my smallest leaves (when i had the maple in a bonsai-ish pot) were about an inch in size. Without defoliating. so its promising imho.
 
Top Bottom