CliffracerX
Yamadori
This is going to be a wall of text, some I'm going to get a TLDR; out of the way first.
==TLDR==
Am a newbie to bonsai with way too much free time of late, have spent the past couple weeks doing naught but researching information about making bonsai from seedlings & how best to care for maple bonsai specifically, have access to a vast array of young maple trees (were from last year's seeds that fell on the lawn, sprouted earlier this year in river rock surrounding the house) and am hoping to maybe try and use them as raw material to eventually shape into some Kerbalized bonsai down the line - nothing too fancy. Extensive picture sharing below, and can try and get more if asked. My ideal saplings are those that appear to be descendants of a large & beloved maple on my property I believe is likely either an Acer Rubrum Trilobum (the three-lobed Red Maple), or some kind of Trident Maple.
I am keenly aware of the drawbacks of maples (being outside-only, requiring a winter dormancy period w/ frost protection - which will definitely be necessary since it can drop to well below freezing here, Acer Rubrums in particular being notorious for having large leaves, etc), and of starting from very young seedlings as opposed to a prebonsai or even a cutting (namely that their chance of survival is lowered, and it will be years before they're ready for shaping - it's not like we're gonna have a whole lot going on for what may very well be years to come thanks to COVID-19), and am under no illusions that things are gonna go well at first, even considering research time.
My main questions are, A, help with identifying what species these actually are, B, when I should try and transplant them from the river rock, and C, what they should go into, soil and potting-wise, with the final question, D, being what my game plan should be once they're transplanted.
==THE TOO LONG PART==
So, first things first: a bit of backstory. I'm part of a multigenerational household that moved last year, and there's a massive old maple tree down the hill from our house that everyone here absolutely adores - we've taken to calling it Totoro's Tree as it's very reminiscent of the massive old oak that Totoro lived under in the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbour Totoro. It's the only one of its kind on the property, and it, like all the other maples, dropped a massive number of spinners last year, some of which sprouted this spring in the river rock surrounding our house. It's a beautiful old tree that has brought our family so much joy, and I want to make sure at least some of its descendants ultimately find a good home - be that as bonsai or transplanted to other locations on the property.
When I saw the first of them, my thoughts immediately went to "oh man, those are begging to become bonsai", and as COVID-19 has escalated & free time has become overwhelming, I finally started digging into the world of bonsai to try and actually figure out what the heck I'd even do to make some of the little seedlings into bonsai.
It's been a wildly informative process that's very much made my head spin from time to time (spending every waking moment obsessively researching things is never good for your mental health, kids, don't do that) and I've gleaned about all I think I can from just obsessively googling things & need to move on to the part where I dive straight on in to the bonsai-making process and maybe ask for some help along the way so as to give these little trees the best chance of eventually becoming something beautiful.
With that out of the way, moving on to the first question:
==WHAT TREES ARE THESE==
Based on their three-lobed structure and rather jaggedy edges, I believe that Totoro's Tree & many of the saplings in the river rock on its side of the house are Acer Rubrum Trilobum, the three-lobed variant of the Red Maple. That said, the wide lobes, especially on Totoro's Tree, do suggest that it could be a Trident Maple of some kind, it's just that the edges are very jaggedy in a way Tridents don't usually seem to be. Some pictures I've taken w/ my phone, first two being from yesterday, rest are today's, trying to get better side-on views of the various saplings. Done some note-taking in the alt-text, as well - make sure to read it for context.
(From today)
Given that things are rapidly getting drier & hotter, and that these see extensive sunlight (the house doesn't shade them until pretty late in the day - they probably see the sun from sunrise to more or less 4:00 PM), and are in river rock as opposed to actual soil, I'm worried they won't survive much longer on their own, leading into question #2:
==WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH THEM?==
I know that common wisdom for older maples, and bonsai in general, is not to transplant until springtime, but I'm not sure these will survive that long, and they're not that old - they came from last year's seed drops, and came up earlier this year, meaning they're probably not more than 6 months old at most, likely less. I'm also aware that they don't have nearly the trunk thickness required to be used as bonsai, even if aiming to be kept very short (my goal is around 6-8", which I understand requires maybe an inch or two of trunk thickness - I am aware the leaves will be pretty large by comparison, not concerned about that aesthetics-wise at least), and so will need to spend time growing their trunks out further.
My most immediate concern is keeping them alive, which given their droop in the afternoon sun today has me worried they might not make it unless transplanted soon or otherwise protected. Given they've survived this long in the river rock I think that's probably a somewhat less pressing concern - they just need not to get roasted by summertime & stay hydrated long enough to survive. Presuming a transplant is advisable & safe, that leads into question #3:
==WHAT SHOULD I TRANSPLANT THEM INTO?==
I understand that small trees like this need some time to grow their trunks out before moving into a smaller bonsai pot, so I figure large pots are an immediate necessity. Beyond that, I've seen a lot of different opinions about soil mixes, especially for trees this young - regular Miracle Gro potting soil, 100% Perlite, 100% Pumice, etc. Given that time may be short, I'd ideally like to use soil that can be found at a big box store nearby, like Lowes or Home Depot, where selections for soil are relatively minimal (mainly Miracle Gro), and similar for potting. Bear in mind my immediate concern is, again, keeping them alive - I don't expect to be making any gnarled, ancient-looking Honey, I Shrunk The Maple Trees anytime soon, so if short-term soil and potting choices keep them more "comically undersized maple with full-size leaves" than anything else, long as they survive, I consider that an absolute win. With that in mind, question #4:
==WHAT SHOULD MY LONG-TERM GAME PLAN BE?==
EDIT: Having connection troubles, this section got eaten during the drafting process. To be replaced ASAP.
==TLDR==
Am a newbie to bonsai with way too much free time of late, have spent the past couple weeks doing naught but researching information about making bonsai from seedlings & how best to care for maple bonsai specifically, have access to a vast array of young maple trees (were from last year's seeds that fell on the lawn, sprouted earlier this year in river rock surrounding the house) and am hoping to maybe try and use them as raw material to eventually shape into some Kerbalized bonsai down the line - nothing too fancy. Extensive picture sharing below, and can try and get more if asked. My ideal saplings are those that appear to be descendants of a large & beloved maple on my property I believe is likely either an Acer Rubrum Trilobum (the three-lobed Red Maple), or some kind of Trident Maple.
I am keenly aware of the drawbacks of maples (being outside-only, requiring a winter dormancy period w/ frost protection - which will definitely be necessary since it can drop to well below freezing here, Acer Rubrums in particular being notorious for having large leaves, etc), and of starting from very young seedlings as opposed to a prebonsai or even a cutting (namely that their chance of survival is lowered, and it will be years before they're ready for shaping - it's not like we're gonna have a whole lot going on for what may very well be years to come thanks to COVID-19), and am under no illusions that things are gonna go well at first, even considering research time.
My main questions are, A, help with identifying what species these actually are, B, when I should try and transplant them from the river rock, and C, what they should go into, soil and potting-wise, with the final question, D, being what my game plan should be once they're transplanted.
==THE TOO LONG PART==
So, first things first: a bit of backstory. I'm part of a multigenerational household that moved last year, and there's a massive old maple tree down the hill from our house that everyone here absolutely adores - we've taken to calling it Totoro's Tree as it's very reminiscent of the massive old oak that Totoro lived under in the Studio Ghibli film My Neighbour Totoro. It's the only one of its kind on the property, and it, like all the other maples, dropped a massive number of spinners last year, some of which sprouted this spring in the river rock surrounding our house. It's a beautiful old tree that has brought our family so much joy, and I want to make sure at least some of its descendants ultimately find a good home - be that as bonsai or transplanted to other locations on the property.
When I saw the first of them, my thoughts immediately went to "oh man, those are begging to become bonsai", and as COVID-19 has escalated & free time has become overwhelming, I finally started digging into the world of bonsai to try and actually figure out what the heck I'd even do to make some of the little seedlings into bonsai.
It's been a wildly informative process that's very much made my head spin from time to time (spending every waking moment obsessively researching things is never good for your mental health, kids, don't do that) and I've gleaned about all I think I can from just obsessively googling things & need to move on to the part where I dive straight on in to the bonsai-making process and maybe ask for some help along the way so as to give these little trees the best chance of eventually becoming something beautiful.
With that out of the way, moving on to the first question:
==WHAT TREES ARE THESE==
Based on their three-lobed structure and rather jaggedy edges, I believe that Totoro's Tree & many of the saplings in the river rock on its side of the house are Acer Rubrum Trilobum, the three-lobed variant of the Red Maple. That said, the wide lobes, especially on Totoro's Tree, do suggest that it could be a Trident Maple of some kind, it's just that the edges are very jaggedy in a way Tridents don't usually seem to be. Some pictures I've taken w/ my phone, first two being from yesterday, rest are today's, trying to get better side-on views of the various saplings. Done some note-taking in the alt-text, as well - make sure to read it for context.
(From today)
Given that things are rapidly getting drier & hotter, and that these see extensive sunlight (the house doesn't shade them until pretty late in the day - they probably see the sun from sunrise to more or less 4:00 PM), and are in river rock as opposed to actual soil, I'm worried they won't survive much longer on their own, leading into question #2:
==WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH THEM?==
I know that common wisdom for older maples, and bonsai in general, is not to transplant until springtime, but I'm not sure these will survive that long, and they're not that old - they came from last year's seed drops, and came up earlier this year, meaning they're probably not more than 6 months old at most, likely less. I'm also aware that they don't have nearly the trunk thickness required to be used as bonsai, even if aiming to be kept very short (my goal is around 6-8", which I understand requires maybe an inch or two of trunk thickness - I am aware the leaves will be pretty large by comparison, not concerned about that aesthetics-wise at least), and so will need to spend time growing their trunks out further.
My most immediate concern is keeping them alive, which given their droop in the afternoon sun today has me worried they might not make it unless transplanted soon or otherwise protected. Given they've survived this long in the river rock I think that's probably a somewhat less pressing concern - they just need not to get roasted by summertime & stay hydrated long enough to survive. Presuming a transplant is advisable & safe, that leads into question #3:
==WHAT SHOULD I TRANSPLANT THEM INTO?==
I understand that small trees like this need some time to grow their trunks out before moving into a smaller bonsai pot, so I figure large pots are an immediate necessity. Beyond that, I've seen a lot of different opinions about soil mixes, especially for trees this young - regular Miracle Gro potting soil, 100% Perlite, 100% Pumice, etc. Given that time may be short, I'd ideally like to use soil that can be found at a big box store nearby, like Lowes or Home Depot, where selections for soil are relatively minimal (mainly Miracle Gro), and similar for potting. Bear in mind my immediate concern is, again, keeping them alive - I don't expect to be making any gnarled, ancient-looking Honey, I Shrunk The Maple Trees anytime soon, so if short-term soil and potting choices keep them more "comically undersized maple with full-size leaves" than anything else, long as they survive, I consider that an absolute win. With that in mind, question #4:
==WHAT SHOULD MY LONG-TERM GAME PLAN BE?==
EDIT: Having connection troubles, this section got eaten during the drafting process. To be replaced ASAP.
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