Sapling Division: Misfit's Japanese Maple Forest

[misfit11]

So after getting the okay from @Kanorin , I'm throwing my hat in the ring on the forest from sapling contest. These saplings were all volunteers in my backyard from a large Japanese Maple tree. I've been growing some of the larger ones since around 2016. I arranged them in the forest grouping on February 27th with the help of my teacher and fellow REBS member, Ivan Lukrich. Here's the original thread:

JM Seedlings

They grow like weeds in my yard! We have a big old JM in the backyard and it drops seeds like crazy every fall. In the spring they start popping up everywhere including in my pots.

www.bonsainut.com

I may be adding a few more smaller trees to the composition over the next few years. If you noticed in the other thread, I definitely don't have a lack of seedlings...

Well, for now it's just feed, grow, prune, wire, and repeat for the next six years.

Cory

 

[misfit11]

Here's an update on this Japanese Maple grove I started last spring. It's coming along nicely and I think will be a nice addition to my collection as it progresses. I snapped this photo a couple weeks ago and it's more leaded out and the shoots have begun to extend. I wanted to post this pic cuz you can see the branch structure that I was able to develop last year better than in its leafed out condition. Any comments and suggestions are welcome as always.

 

[Hartinez]

You’ve got the trunks position and angles as good as it gets!! Great work!

 

[misfit11]

You’ve got the trunks position and angles as good as it gets!! Great work!

Thanks Hart! Most of the credit goes to my teacher. I did reduce the height on the tree fourth from the left to improve the taper and movement in that tree. I eventually want it just a bit shorter than the second tallest tree. I'm also planning on adding a smaller tree in the front just to the right of the third from the left.

 

[misfit11]

Did some work on my Japanese Maple grove yesterday. It's got a long way to go before it's ready for prime time in 2027 but it's slowly getting there. When you only add about an inch of usable growth a year (at best) it's definitely a marathon not a sprint!

Before work


After

 

[misfit11]

Kind of what I'm going for

 

[misfit11]

Today

 

[Balbs]

Looks great

 

[misfit11]

I added eight small trees to the forest at a workshop with Adam Toth a couple weeks ago. I had only planned on adding like three trees or so, but he thought more were needed. This brings the number from ten to eighteen. It's still an even number. Maybe I need to add one more at some point to make it odd.

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