Acer rubrum Progression

[VAFisher]

I'm going to start some progression threads on individual trees instead of the broad threads I've created in the past. Those threads make it hard to go back and find individual trees and see the changes over time. So this should be better.

This Acer rubrum was collected in early spring 2017 at my parents house in Northumberland County, VA. I liked the base and was happy with the trunk thickness, so it went directly into a bonsai pot.

 

[VAFisher]

A little later in 2017.




Also in 2017.

 

[VAFisher]

This is the only pic I could find from 2018. It was repotted into a shallow oval and I carved the chop.

 

[VAFisher]

In 2019, the tree got a bigger pot. I wasn't happy with the apex, so I removed a branch from the upper left and angled the chop.

 

[VAFisher]

Not much changed in 2020 during the growing season.



I still wasn't happy with the apex, so I chopped it off in winter 2020.

 

[VAFisher]

I repotted the tree in 2021 again but it stayed in the same pot. I think this will be the final pot for the tree. My original leader died after I chopped it back, but luckily there was a branch growing right at the base that I bent up to create a new apex.



However, it created an ugly transition from trunk to leader. I'm hoping that will get better in time. I defoliated the tree and did some wiring in summer 2020. I also attempted to graft a branch into the upper left where I had a hole.



End of 2021

 

[VAFisher]

Early this spring, something snapped my grafted branch right at the trunk. I'm thinking a bird landed on it or something. So I abandoned that plan. There's a shoot on the back of the tree that I should be able to make work in time.

This is the tree today after defoliation and some more wiring.

 

[Shogun610]

Early this spring, something snapped my grafted branch right at the trunk. I'm thinking a bird landed on it or something. So I abandoned that plan. There's a shoot on the back of the tree that I should be able to make work in time.

This is the tree today after defoliation and some more wiring.
View attachment 439598

Love it

 

[PA_Penjing]

Leaves don't look bad at all (size wise) considering you're still building. How tall is this tree?

 

[VAFisher]

Leaves don't look bad at all (size wise) considering you're still building. How tall is this tree?

It will definitely put out some huge leaves - especially the first flush in spring. The petioles are the bigger problem, but if you cut off the leaves with the longest petioles, the tree tends to replace them with shorter ones. The tree is right at 20" from rim of the pot to tip of the apex.

 

[brennobonsai]

nice tree!!

 

[VAFisher]

Decent response to the defoliation. I wish the leaves and petioles would stay this size.

 

[canoeguide]

This is some inspiration for my own collected rubrum. It's a bit thicker and will take some more work to get into a shallow pot, and I'm learning a lot by studying your progression pictures here.

This is really one of the great untapped North American species IMO. Love where yours is headed!

 

[VAFisher]

This is some inspiration for my own collected rubrum. It's a bit thicker and will take some more work to get into a shallow pot, and I'm learning a lot by studying your progression pictures here.

This is really one of the great untapped North American species IMO. Love where yours is headed!

Thanks for the kind words. I like the red maples too but not sure I totally agree about it being a great untapped species. They definitely have their challenges and one is enough for me. A trident or a JM would be looking way better for the amount of time I've spent on this one. There are different varieties but this one has big leaves, long petioles and fairly corse growth. I will continue working on it out of sheer stubbornness and hope it eventually amounts to something.

Our native elms are much nicer than our native maples for bonsai. American, winged and cedar elm are all a pleasure to work with.

 

[Frozentreehugger]

Do you remove the first flush of leaves every year or do you skip some years to strengthen the tree

 

[VAFisher]

I have tried a couple different methods. Total defoliation like this year seems to work the best. I've also used a staggered approach where I partially defoliate- removing the biggest leaves with the longest petioles and leaving smaller ones constantly throughout the growing season.

 

[VAFisher]

We're now almost a month since removing the 1st flush of leaves.

 

[VAFisher]

Fall color progression on this one. Had a few spots of red this year and I was hoping it would turn red - but it ended up mostly yellow like usual.

10/15


10/19


10/22

 

[Gr8tfuldad]

Your giving me hope, your trees are amazing.

 

[VAFisher]

Your giving me hope, your trees are amazing.

Thanks for the kind words.