Big Tooth Maple (Acer grandidentatum)

Desert O'Piñon

Chumono
Messages
568
Reaction score
744
Location
SE New Mexico
USDA Zone
8a/
This tree is the first I've acquired from another bonsai enthusiast. This was collected in Utah by @Captkingdom. Many thanks for your help and advice! No immediate plan for "Captain Maple" yet. I definitely like the two trunks.
You can see how he captured plenty of finer roots.
VideoCapture_20241212-063019.jpg
One option (I'm risking the hope that it grows well starting sometime in March) is to pull them a little closer together to build a more cohesive and compact form, kind of a mother and child feel.

On the other hand, with its current spread, it has potential for an interesting "rivalry" of sorts, a conflict of siblings.

A third option (currently my least favorite idea) is to layer off the smaller trunk, ideally giving me a second tree to work with. I should have plenty of time to take cuttings and air layers in the next two or three years while it grows in the ground. 20241127_164554.jpg
 

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This is one of the only  Acer species native to my area. The desert is unforgiving, and even less forgiving with contained plants. I realize (after paying attention to so many people giving the same advice repeatedly) that I have to learn how to grow natives first. Then learn how to get them to thrive. And then, maybe, I can start to learn bonsai culture. It's not just the trees that take a lot of time to grow, it's the knowledge, experience, and understanding that takes so long.
I definitely need to learn how to get better photos!
So, this will be the first of my Bigtooth Maples. These will be the focus of my deciduous collection, for now. I hope for great results, once I figure out what they need to thrive.
 
Another angle, but still a bad photo. Keys for scale.
20241212_145249.jpg
As I am such a novice, I really have no idea where to go next. I'm studying on nebari development, ratification, and trunk thickening, which I believe should be my first focus, but what steps and how soon are the questions I have to figure out answers for.
 
I have bigtooth maples in my landscape and love them! Success with air layers has been very spotty, only about 30% made it. I don't have any in training as bonsai, watching this with interest.
 
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