RobertB
Chumono
very nice.
SHOHIN CASCADE Kiyohime
- Thread starter MACH5
- Start date
cmeg1
Imperial Masterpiece
Looks like a fun Bonsai
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Looks like a fun Bonsai
It is! Hopefully in another 3 years or so it will be "finished".
KiwiPlantGuy
Omono
Hi Mach5,
Great little tree, and cascade being different.
Is it the dwarf cultivar or the cultivar itself that makes it looks slow to ramify?
Not trying to bag your cool tree just trying to understand how different maple cultivars react.
As you have said to me before today, that the green JM is the best for fast vigorous growing, could you explain to me and others why grow JM cultivars. Apart from interesting leaf colors and growth habits.
Charles
papymandarin
Shohin
i think you answered the question yourself lol
Velodog2
Chumono
This is one of my favorite trees on this site, and I actually like it better in its second incarnation as a cascade. It just has that “it girl” quality that looks right.
Back to the ramification question, close inspection of the latest photo after defoliation seems to show some branches that don’t have a lot of taper and branching only at the tips. If that’s accurate Is there a plan to change that or will they be ok as is? Do you expect to get budding back along the branch?
I’m trying to learn the ways of maple manipulation and you are a major resource there! I will be interested in seeing the internodes after this buds out again. Are you fertilizing it now?
Back to the ramification question, close inspection of the latest photo after defoliation seems to show some branches that don’t have a lot of taper and branching only at the tips. If that’s accurate Is there a plan to change that or will they be ok as is? Do you expect to get budding back along the branch?
I’m trying to learn the ways of maple manipulation and you are a major resource there! I will be interested in seeing the internodes after this buds out again. Are you fertilizing it now?
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Hi Charles. Kiyohime cultivar is good for smaller trees such as shohin. Their leaves size is small. The are pretty strong and vigorous. Definitely a very good choice for bonsai in general. I have not been alble to get good color on it no matter what I do. In any case, overall my preference is the green maple just because they are the most vigorous and respond extremely well to a variety of horticultural techniques specially when working with medium to larger size bonsai.
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Thanks Velodog. Yes correct. I look to improve ramification and in doing so taper as well. That is why it was defoliated. Not only to force the tree to produce a new set of shoots but also back budding. As it does so, I will then look for opportunities to cut back at strategic locations to improve taper etc.
And yes, I always feed my trees well if I am anticipating completely defoliation.
A while back I almost sold this little guy, but cascade Japanese maples are about as common it seems as Bigfoot having a picnic in Central Park.
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
One of the benefits of complete defoliation, is activating adventitious buds that otherwise would never pop. In this case two lateral buds that sprouted at the right spot which without defoliation I would have had to wait until next spring for them to appear. Even so, it is also possible they would have never popped either without some sort of encouragement.
The two lateral buds below allow me to cut back shortening my internode length and improve taper.
The two lateral buds below allow me to cut back shortening my internode length and improve taper.
coh
Imperial Masterpiece
Sergio, it's coming along very nicely! But I have an important question:
How many leaves were there? I assume you counted them as you snipped them off!
Kiyohime is a nice cultivar, the new foliage is very attractive. Don't think it gets great fall color though. At least, I don't remember mine getting great fall color.
How many leaves were there? I assume you counted them as you snipped them off!
Kiyohime is a nice cultivar, the new foliage is very attractive. Don't think it gets great fall color though. At least, I don't remember mine getting great fall color.
bonsaichile
Omono
Thank you for showing in such detail how you work this tree. I have learned a lot!
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
barrosinc
Masterpiece
How is this tree doing?
CasAH
Chumono
Probably sold it.
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Nope still have it and still working on it. It's coming along
discusmike
Omono
I like it!! 
johnbaz
Mame
That's a fab li'l tree!! 
I have a Kiyohime that was neglected badly last year, A friend with whom we used to meet fortnightly (There were six of us) was hospitalised through the whole of summer last year with Cancer, He passed away towards the end of the year, Some of the lads that lived close to him had offered repeatedly to water his trees through the hot weather but he declined ☹
When he passed away, His sister went through his phone and found our phone numbers and contacted us with the tragic news, She said his trees were looking bad but if we wanted to and collect the living ones we could, When we all got there, More than half were past help, This Kiyohime had perished in the centre of the crown and the rest that was still surviving was very very brittle, I tried pulling some of the branches together with wire so there were no large gaps but one branch snapped, It was the same with the others I brought home too, They're much more pliable this year now they've had regular watering..!!
The tree has started to fill out some, I think this was perfectly round on the canopy when I saw it some years ago!
By the way, I have a patio Maple that was labelled 'Acer palmatum 'Murasaki Kiyohime', Are these different cultivars or is that the full name please?, It's over six feet tall, I thought Kiyohime was generally a squat tree/shrub..
Can't wait to see how the beautiful Cascade turns out in the future!
John
I have a Kiyohime that was neglected badly last year, A friend with whom we used to meet fortnightly (There were six of us) was hospitalised through the whole of summer last year with Cancer, He passed away towards the end of the year, Some of the lads that lived close to him had offered repeatedly to water his trees through the hot weather but he declined ☹
When he passed away, His sister went through his phone and found our phone numbers and contacted us with the tragic news, She said his trees were looking bad but if we wanted to and collect the living ones we could, When we all got there, More than half were past help, This Kiyohime had perished in the centre of the crown and the rest that was still surviving was very very brittle, I tried pulling some of the branches together with wire so there were no large gaps but one branch snapped, It was the same with the others I brought home too, They're much more pliable this year now they've had regular watering..!!
The tree has started to fill out some
, I think this was perfectly round on the canopy when I saw it some years ago!
By the way, I have a patio Maple that was labelled 'Acer palmatum 'Murasaki Kiyohime', Are these different cultivars or is that the full name please?, It's over six feet tall, I thought Kiyohime was generally a squat tree/shrub..
Can't wait to see how the beautiful Cascade turns out in the future!
John
LemonBonsai
Shohin
Id love to see an update on it if possible 
beautiful tree
beautiful tree
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
By the way, I have a patio Maple that was labelled 'Acer palmatum 'Murasaki Kiyohime', Are these different cultivars or is that the full name please?, It's over six feet tall, I thought Kiyohime was generally a squat tree/shrub..
Can't wait to see how the beautiful Cascade turns out in the future!
John
Thanks John! My understanding between the difference of the two is that Murasaki tends to have brighter foliage in the spring. I would guess that both have very (or same) rate of growth and habits. Both are most likely basally dominant, so lower branches tend to be the most vigorous. They can be VERY brittle specially in spring.
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Id love to see an update on it if possible
Thanks! I will try and update this fall when leaves drop. It almost never colors up for me
