Help for a noobie

[Vt92]

Hello friends, I got these two maples. The coral bark is in a 1 gallon and the bloodgood is in a 3 gallon.

I’m a huge noob and although I’ve done a decent amount of reading and YouTube university I kinda find myself in information paralysis mode.

I know I want to thicken these trunks so should I just keep letting them grow in these pots for a few years?

I’m in zone 5b in we’re mid summer here. These guys are currently on my patio which gets morning sun until around 11:30 then they’re shaded.

What advice do y’all have for me?

-Thanks!

 

[BonsaiDTLA]

I know I want to thicken these trunks so should I just keep letting them grow in these pots for a few years?

Patience.

Don't kill them with love.

Yes, do grow them out. Maybe different pots as it gets bigger.

Work the roots if you want good nebari.

Bottom up, roots then trunk then branching

 

[Vt92]

Patience.

Don't kill them with love.

Yes, do grow them out. Maybe different pots as it gets bigger.

Work the roots if you want good nebari.

Bottom up, roots then trunk then branching

Thanks for the feedback!

When you say work the roots do you mean give them a trim when I repot? The 1 gallon actually has some roots starting to poke out the pot.

I appreciate your advice!

 

[Shibui]

Definitely trim and rearrange roots when you repot. That will be early spring before the leaves open. At that time you can do extensive root reduction with the aim of having more shallow lateral roots spread evenly around the trunks. It could involve removing well over 3/4 of the exiting root mass.

Looks like the bloodgood is grafted. The vast majority of named cultivars are grafted but I can't see any obvious signs on the coral bark trunk. Grafts can sometimes disappear as the trunks grow but sometimes the graft union swells up and looks terrible. Many bonsai growers elect to layer the trunk above any unsightly grafts to get a better trunk and root system. Choice is yours as the grower.

You have the choice of trimming the trunks down to get a shorter 'bonsai' soon but doing so will slow trunk thickening dramatically.
Allowing free growth helps speed up thickening. Fortunately with maples we can chop hard to reduce tall trunks with reasonable surety that we'll get lots of new buds to regrow branches and apex when the trunks look good.

 

[TrevorLarsen]

I personally think Peter Chan has the best videos about maple bonsai. He makes everything simple (some think too simple) and has grown the best maple bonsai I have ever seen. I have learned a lot from him and I love how he does things he has tons of videos so you should have tons to learn from him.

https://m.youtube.com/@HeronsBonsaiUK

 

[Vt92]

Definitely trim and rearrange roots when you repot. That will be early spring before the leaves open. At that time you can do extensive root reduction with the aim of having more shallow lateral roots spread evenly around the trunks. It could involve removing well over 3/4 of the exiting root mass.

Looks like the bloodgood is grafted. The vast majority of named cultivars are grafted but I can't see any obvious signs on the coral bark trunk. Grafts can sometimes disappear as the trunks grow but sometimes the graft union swells up and looks terrible. Many bonsai growers elect to layer the trunk above any unsightly grafts to get a better trunk and root system. Choice is yours as the grower.

You have the choice of trimming the trunks down to get a shorter 'bonsai' soon but doing so will slow trunk thickening dramatically.
Allowing free growth helps speed up thickening. Fortunately with maples we can chop hard to reduce tall trunks with reasonable surety that we'll get lots of new buds to regrow branches and apex when the trunks look good.

Thanks so much for feedback. Seems like the path forward is more clear.

When I repot them and do some root training next spring should I also trim it back a bit at all given the root mass will be cut back a bunch? Or will the new root mass still be able to support the entire tree? The coral bark is kind of thin and almost seems to be a bit too heavy as well, would you leave that be?

 

[Tieball]

Grow the trees more. Trim and take good care of the roots…but keep the roots buried.

 

[Vt92]

Grow the trees more. Trim and take good care of the roots…but keep the roots buried.

Thanks for the response. After the advice I’ve gotten here I plan on repotting the 1 gallon early next spring, I’ll give the roots a trim at that time along with trying to spread them laterally as. It has one 1 root already coming out of the pot. The larger one seems fine for now I’ll probably just leave that one be until the following spring.

I appreciate the help!

 

[Shibui]

When I repot them and do some root training next spring should I also trim it back a bit at all given the root mass will be cut back a bunch? Or will the new root mass still be able to support the entire tree? The coral bark is kind of thin and almost seems to be a bit too heavy as well, would you leave that be?

It is all about balance. Trees can cope with a reasonable amount of root reduction without reducing the top but if I do extensive root reduction as is often required at initial root prune, I usually also prune the top.
Trunk taper is just as important as trunk thickness. I get better results from repeated grow and chop cycles than growing the trunk to thickness and making a single large chop. Your initial root reduction would be an opportunity to do an extensive root reduction to promote shallow radial roots coupled with the first trunk chop to start the trunk taper. Then let them grow as much as possible for the next couple of years before another chop.