Will this stick in a pot ever be anything?

[WavyGaby]

Hello,
I'm relatively new to bonsai. I've been keeping outdoor potted plants, pre bonsai, and a couple of bonsai alive (and lots dead) for about 5 years. Ive been doing lots of reading on this site and most of my questions have been answered. However, this post is in slight jest as well as a real question.
Will this maple ever amount to anything in this pot with a strategy of regular leaf pruning and root pruning ever couple of years? This is just a native red maple in my yard that was going to get mulched over. I had the extra tiny pot and figured I would give it a shot. It's been alive for several months now.
Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

[Paulpash]

It will never thicken, especially if you are leaf cutting too. What do you want it to be? Are the leaves in scale for the size of the tree?

 

[WavyGaby]

It will never thicken, especially if you are leaf cutting too. What do you want it to be? Are the leaves in scale for the size of the tree?

Ideally I would like a thick trunk with the leaves and height to scale for the size of this pot. I know the height and thickness are way off. Perhaps it could become a shohin literati?
Its a free experiment at this point.

 

[WavyGaby]

Photo of the leaves

 

[Cadillactaste]

Ideally I would like a thick trunk with the leaves and height to scale for the size of this pot. I know the height and thickness are way off. Perhaps it could become a shohin literati?
Its a free experiment at this point.

You don't grow a thick trunk when you confine a tree to a pot that tiny. That's why our leaves reduce and things are usually closer to finished before going into a pot. Literati is to give the feel of an old tree struggling and surviving. That young sapling won't give off the look of old. It is what it appears at this stage.

 

[JudyB]

It is a cute mame tree, but will never be anything more than that if you keep it in that pot. But you can play with these sorts of things as accents to real bonsai...

 

[WavyGaby]

Thanks everyone. If it survives winter I'll put it in a pint sized pot early spring. I've got a bunch of saplings in the yard that I can mess around with but I think I'm finally to the point where I can spend $50-100 on much better nursery stock.

 

[Zach Smith]

Trees that small are hard to maintain, given the restricted space to grow. One missed watering, once that pot is full of roots, and you'll likely have a dead one on your hands.

 

[Paulpash]

Ideally I would like a thick trunk with the leaves and height to scale for the size of this pot. I know the height and thickness are way off. Perhaps it could become a shohin literati?
Its a free experiment at this point.

My advice as a learning aid for your understanding is to use 3 maple seedlings and plant one in the ground, another in progressively increasing pots and keep another in a tiny pot. I did this around 30 years ago and this has fired my love of ground growing.

Learn 3 growth maxims - these simple rules are absolutely essential to any successful grower.

Thickening potential is directly proportional to leaf volume. This goes for trunks and the leaf mass above it as well as branches. A 15ft tree will thicken exponentially faster than a 1ft tree in a growing season. More carbs, greater rate of photosynthesis = more thickening due to leaf mass.

Thickening occurs locally on trunks and branches AT THE POINT OF ATTACHMENT. A low branch on a trunk therefore that is 10ft long will significantly thicken the trunk at its point of attachment to the trunk.

Chopping a tree (and thereby reducing leaf volume) seems counterintuitive but must be done to induce taper & movement. Trunks are grown in sections, using well placed branches to continue the trunk line.

 

[jjbutts]

I don't know the answer to your question, man, but I love that little tree.

 

[DayDrunk]

My guess is it will eventually be a slightly larger stick in a pot.

 

[WavyGaby]

My advice as a learning aid for your understanding is to use 3 maple seedlings and plant one in the ground, another in progressively increasing pots and keep another in a tiny pot. I did this around 30 years ago and this has fired my love of ground growing.

Learn 3 growth maxims - these simple rules are absolutely essential to any successful grower.

Thickening potential is directly proportional to leaf volume. This goes for trunks and the leaf mass above it as well as branches. A 15ft tree will thicken exponentially faster than a 1ft tree in a growing season. More carbs, greater rate of photosynthesis = more thickening due to leaf mass.

Thickening occurs locally on trunks and branches AT THE POINT OF ATTACHMENT. A low branch on a trunk therefore that is 10ft long will significantly thicken the trunk at its point of attachment to the trunk.

Chopping a tree (and thereby reducing leaf volume) seems counterintuitive but must be done to induce taper & movement. Trunks are grown in sections, using well placed branches to continue the trunk line.

Thanks for the advice. I will do that. Thanks for clarification on growth maxims too.

 

[sorce]

Welcome to Crazy!

I have one in one of my 4x4 baskets going on year 4 - 6 that hasn't grown much past the half inch it been after the first chop.

Sorce

 

[WavyGaby]

Yall rock! Thanks for the help and chuckles

 

[0soyoung]

Despite all the manly men saying otherwise, I think it is also fun to see how small a bonsai can be made. Most maple species make smaller leaves closer to the ground. It is not at all difficult to keep trees in itty-bitty pots - just put them on a bed of damp sand or nest them in a bigger pot of damp sand --> EZPZ.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Despite all the manly men saying otherwise, I think it is also fun to see how small a bonsai can be made. Most maple species make smaller leaves closer to the ground. It is not at all difficult to keep trees in itty-bitty pots - just put them on a bed of damp sand or nest them in a bigger pot of damp sand --> EZPZ.

My beard agrees with you.
But not on the 'it is not at all difficult' part. I lost all my itty bitty trees this year except for a larch that I've been drowning.

 

[sorce]

My beard agrees too! Lol!



Sorce

 

[Crawforde]

Big trees are impressive and can be beautiful and have enough space to show off nice ramification and attractive foliage. I love looking at them.
My back says that Other People’s big trees are cool.
So depending on how strong you are (or how much help you have) and how much space you have, learning to like little trees can be fun.

 

[JudyB]

Big trees are impressive and can be beautiful and have enough space to show off nice ramification and attractive foliage. I love looking at them.
My back says that Other People’s big trees are cool.
So depending on how strong you are (or how much help you have) and how much space you have, learning to like little trees can be fun.

But learning to make Good little Bonsai as opposed to sticks in pots require growing out and cutting back, just like the big dudes. It's actually harder...natch. Depends on what is important to the poster.

 

[Anthony]

@Gsteil ,

a little trick from the Far East,- place pot on a larger pot
with soil.
Let the root escape.
Plant continues to thicken.
Just make sure the drainage hole never clogs.
Good Day
Anthony

Doing the above with this presently.