Starter trees

[Sneeki]

I am new to bonsai and just bought a couple of trees for potential future bonsai. Both trees are mountain maples and are tall and thin. The trees are going to be planted in bigger pots to thicken the trunks. Do you have any recommendations on wiring them. I have no idea where to start.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I think it's best to start wiring from the bottom.

Then let them grow for a couple years and hack them back to a trunk shape you'd like to develop.

 

[Shibui]

I develop most maples by chop and grow rather than wiring. You can wire those trunks and make as many bends as you like but no amount of wiring and bending will give the very important taper in the trunk.
Before deciding what to do you really need to decide what you want to achieve. Bonsai means many different things to many different people so you may get lots of conflicting advice just because each person has different outcomes in mind.
Bonsai can have thick trunks and well ramified branches to really look like real trees or they can be small, skinny trunks in small pots with a bushy canopy but no real defined branch structure. Striving for the former will take quite a few years and some skill. If you'd be happy with the latter it may only take a few years.
Note that starting with young trees is one of the slowest ways to bonsai. It is far quicker to take a larger tree and cut it down to a bonsai.

Seasonal tasks will depend on location and I note there's no location on your profile so it is hard to say when to do anything. The trees appear to have no leaves already which, I guess, means a colder, northern location but it is far better to just add your location in your profile so it appears each time you post.

 

[sorce]

I'd start with, not just bigger pots, but more appropriate pots.

Welcome to Crazy!

Step one for me would be getting the roots "unboxed" from that square shape, and get em laid out flat and wide.

Probably not soon!

Sorce

 

[Sneeki]

I develop most maples by chop and grow rather than wiring. You can wire those trunks and make as many bends as you like but no amount of wiring and bending will give the very important taper in the trunk.
Before deciding what to do you really need to decide what you want to achieve. Bonsai means many different things to many different people so you may get lots of conflicting advice just because each person has different outcomes in mind.
Bonsai can have thick trunks and well ramified branches to really look like real trees or they can be small, skinny trunks in small pots with a bushy canopy but no real defined branch structure. Striving for the former will take quite a few years and some skill. If you'd be happy with the latter it may only take a few years.
Note that starting with young trees is one of the slowest ways to bonsai. It is far quicker to take a larger tree and cut it down to a bonsai.

Seasonal tasks will depend on location and I note there's no location on your profile so it is hard to say when to do anything. The trees appear to have no leaves already which, I guess, means a colder, northern location but it is far better to just add your location in your profile so it appears each time you post.

Thanks for the great advice. I like In the UK so not much can be done during the colder months. Ideally I would like to go for a thicker trunk and ramified branches, but not sure if that would suit the type of tree. Would that type of tree look better with a straight trunk.

 

[discusmike]

If you have room it would be much faster to develop the seedlings by planting in the ground

 

[Sneeki]

If you have room it would be much faster to develop the seedlings by planting in the ground

Thanks. Unfortunately I only have room to grow them in pots.

 

[SeanS]

Do a search for developing Japanese maples (that’s what you have), there are loads of resources available online

 

[Sneeki]

Do a search for developing Japanese maples (that’s what you have), there are loads of resources available online

Great, thank you for the link.

 

[Shibui]

Thanks for the great advice. I like In the UK so not much can be done during the colder months. Ideally I would like to go for a thicker trunk and ramified branches, but not sure if that would suit the type of tree. Would that type of tree look better with a straight trunk.

Japanese maples are used for a range of styles in bonsai circles. Most of the really impressive trees have a thicker trunk with some taper from base to apex.




They do look great with taller elegant trunks but even then a thicker base will always attract attention.




You can speed up the thickening of any tree trunk by allowing as much growth as possible. As you can't grow in the ground larger pots are the next best thing. The only other alternative is many years of slow development though that can produce extra special trees with far less flaws than fast grown trunks.

Japanese maples are also grown by many beginners as what many of us refer to as 'sticks in pots' - a skinny trunk with a bushy rounded top. Quick but maybe not as impressive. The choice is yours.