zachkent29
Mame
Adding arakawa to my bonsai bucket list...
Arakawa Japanese Maple
- Thread starter MACH5
- Start date
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
Not refined at all. Just an air layer growing out in an Anderson flat, but with the nebari work, it'll cost more than $35.
JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
What a lovely shot of your garden... and that pot stack! And the rain catcher pool feature! And that arbor, and the surrounds...
oh, yeah,
and the arakawa. I've had to redo two thread grafts on my hackberry three times this year! Last one's were the charm though. Is the low trunk a keeper, or just a root graft? This is the one from Ray isn't it? Good to see it doing so well.
oh, yeah,
and the arakawa. I've had to redo two thread grafts on my hackberry three times this year! Last one's were the charm though. Is the low trunk a keeper, or just a root graft? This is the one from Ray isn't it? Good to see it doing so well.
JoeR
Masterpiece
Nice potensai. Hard to tell from the pictures, but is the base about 2"?
So thats what an anderson flat is.
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
What a lovely shot of your garden... and that pot stack! And the rain catcher pool feature! And that arbor, and the surrounds...
oh, yeah,
LOL thanks Judy! Like I mentioned I am working on things
I was surprised to see that my original graft had failed. I made sure to cut a deeper groove the second time so it had nowhere to go. I had secured it firmly with a push pin. It worked. The low thin trunk as you may recall started as a root graft. But now I am still playing around with the idea of creating a third and very small trunk as you can see in the previous virtual I did. We'll see.
Yes this is the one from Ray. He put it up on EBay and I remember winning it but not after a very heated bidding war!
Eric Group
Masterpiece
That is a nice little tree Brian! Deff worth over $35! (And I am a royal cheap skate!)
Not much lower movement, but the bark is getting nice and scaly! I am sure you have a nice root spread down there too... It would immediately be my best Arakawa if it was mine- all the ones I own are small..
JoeR
Masterpiece
And (assuming price is right) would you be willing to hold it for a while?
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
I was able to work on this maple recently. Although I usually like to wait another few weeks to begin work on my trees, I decided to start doing some wiring since I anticipate lots of it will have to be done this spring to many other trees.
About 2/3 of this maple was wired along with some pruning. I continue to try and work a third small trunk into the composition. It was left unpruned to thicken it and will be cut back eventually in another year or so (see virtual in post #52). Apexes are still being sorted out specially the left one which still has an approach graft in progress.
Recently I saw that someone who studied in Japan for a few months said that he was told by his teacher (well known master but I will leave his name out) that arakawa die very young. Something around 25 years old. I was very puzzled by this since I saw many in Japan that were well over that age. Bill's arakawa is at least 40 to 50 and Walter's is said to be around 80 years old and going strong. I bring this up because this person has a YouTube channel and is spreading information that is simply not true. I fear some people will pass this information along giving these beautiful maples a bad reputation. Perhaps he misunderstood? I sent him an email but have not gotten a response.
Approach graft in progress on the left apex. To ensure the graft is successful, I will wait until early summer to cut off the branch supporting it.
About 2/3 of this maple was wired along with some pruning. I continue to try and work a third small trunk into the composition. It was left unpruned to thicken it and will be cut back eventually in another year or so (see virtual in post #52). Apexes are still being sorted out specially the left one which still has an approach graft in progress.
Recently I saw that someone who studied in Japan for a few months said that he was told by his teacher (well known master but I will leave his name out) that arakawa die very young. Something around 25 years old. I was very puzzled by this since I saw many in Japan that were well over that age. Bill's arakawa is at least 40 to 50 and Walter's is said to be around 80 years old and going strong. I bring this up because this person has a YouTube channel and is spreading information that is simply not true. I fear some people will pass this information along giving these beautiful maples a bad reputation. Perhaps he misunderstood? I sent him an email but have not gotten a response.
Approach graft in progress on the left apex. To ensure the graft is successful, I will wait until early summer to cut off the branch supporting it.
JoeR
Masterpiece
It is such a beautiful tree. Really outstanding, which seems to be the norm for your trees.
That straight part really bothers me, cant wait until that is fixed.
......And I thought that a trees life expectancy no longer mattered when in a pot?
Sigh.. I want an arakawa starter badly but it seems nobody has them and the ones that do are expecting a bit much.
That straight part really bothers me, cant wait until that is fixed.
......And I thought that a trees life expectancy no longer mattered when in a pot?
Sigh.. I want an arakawa starter badly but it seems nobody has them and the ones that do are expecting a bit much.
Les
Mame
Beautiful tree , I plan on adding one to my collection this year. 
JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
This tree has come a long way under your care. Graft is looking good, such nice bark on this tree...
0soyoung
Imperial Masterpiece
Spreading falsehoods through YouTube
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Joe have you tried Bill? Also you may want to try Mark Comstock (pre-bonsai Mark) although not sure if he has them.
Beautiful tree , I plan on adding one to my collection this year.
Les they are great maples with fantastic spring as well as autumn coloration. Arakawa is also very sun scorch resistant.
JoeR
Masterpiece
I know Bill has seedlings in his catalogue, but I would prefer cuttings that have guaranteed qualities.
I also already put my order in from him and it came yesterday!
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Judy yes I am pleased with how it has come along. I put together a side by side comparison. It is always fun to make these quick comparisons and hopefully see that one is moving the tree forward.
barrosinc
Masterpiece
I want to get one of these so bad!
Kodama16
Shohin
Love what you did with this guy.Judy yes I am pleased with how it has come along. I put together a side by side comparison. It is always fun to make these quick comparisons and hopefully see that one is moving the tree forward.
LanceMac10
Imperial Masterpiece
Wonderful tree! Moving forward nicely and the bark looks to be fissuring nicely.
The glaze on the container reminds me of my old Cadillac!!
Miss that ol' gal.....
Thanks for sharing....
The glaze on the container reminds me of my old Cadillac!!
Miss that ol' gal.....
Thanks for sharing....
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Autumn 2016 update. Next spring I plan on doing a much needed repotting and the tree will once again be pruned and wired where needed. The small third trunk is still in progress. It grew unchecked this past year. I am letting it thicken some more and then will be cut back drastically.
Finally the approach graft took and the union is now completely fused together. I cut off the entry portion back in July leaving a short stump which will be removed next year.
Finally the approach graft took and the union is now completely fused together. I cut off the entry portion back in July leaving a short stump which will be removed next year.
