Japanese Maple Bloodgood Mature Tree

[SuperMarioZZZ]

Hi everybody,

Love BonsaiNut and all the information that can be found here. I'm a beginner looking to get into the bonsai world. At this point, I have a couple of Tamarind seedlings started from 0, a Ficus Microcarpa that I have received as a gift and a Ficus Benjamina Kinky, a small one that I've bought from a local DIY store. I also have 100 Chinese Elms seeds that I keep in my fridge for stratification and I don't know if I should plant them as now I have much more information and I understand that planting them into containers and not in the ground will take tens of years to develop a trunk.

Today I found a mature Japanese Maple Bloodgood tree at a local nursery and I was wondering what you guys think about it. Will it be a good starting point? Which are the next steps, I think that the trunk is thick enough?

Thank you for your help!

Vlad

 

[RobertB]

It looks good to me. Nice taper. Lots of branches. I would jump on it for a decent price.

 

[garywood]

Vlad, in the beginnings of bonsai, one of the more important things to look at is characteristics, of not only species and cultivars but individual trees. When you are looking, look for leaf size, bud size, how fine the twigging is, internode length and petiole. This is a starting point for deciduous but will give you and estimation of how suitable a given tree will be for the finished tree that you see . In the end, it's your choice

 

[SuperMarioZZZ]

The truth is that I don't know what to look for at this point to find a good tree. I have ordered 5 books after a good research, that I think that will greatly help me. I'm also looking to buy Bonsai Techniques from John Naka but I have some issues here. Where I have found great prices (like $250 for both books), they don't deliver to my location.

For example regarding this tree, if I'm buying it (it' $370), I don't know what to do next with him. The price is not small for a newbie that is not knowing what he is doing. What will you guys do with this tree? Which are the next steps? Will it remain in this big bucket? Should it be pruned and wired? Should reduce the height of the tree, right?

I want to buy some outdoor trees and start the journey. My yard is very small, only 50 sqm from which I can use only a terrible small part.

Your answers are highly appreciated. I have many questions and your help and patience are very important for me, so I can get started.

 

[Sn0W]

That's a lot of money for a starter tree. I started bonsai this year and brought a huge Japanese Red Pine that I have no idea what to do with currently but it was ridiculously cheap and I figured it could sit in my garden for a few years with maybe just a repot while I experiment with some techniques on some less sizeable specimens. It's giving me something to aim towards.

There are a lot of less expensive trees to purchase and learn on. As someone said to me when I asked a similar question to yours, if you have the disposable income to spend on a tree like this then go for it. If not then there are cheaper alternatives

 

[GailC]

Imo, that's way too much for a nursery tree, even a nice one.
You can get a better, started tree for that price or less if you wait until spring.

 

[theone420]

The truth is that I don't know what to look for at this point to find a good tree. I have ordered 5 books after a good research, that I think that will greatly help me. I'm also looking to buy Bonsai Techniques from John Naka but I have some issues here. Where I have found great prices (like $250 for both books), they don't deliver to my location.

For example regarding this tree, if I'm buying it (it' $370), I don't know what to do next with him. The price is not small for a newbie that is not knowing what he is doing. What will you guys do with this tree? Which are the next steps? Will it remain in this big bucket? Should it be pruned and wired? Should reduce the height of the tree, right?

I want to buy some outdoor trees and start the journey. My yard is very small, only 50 sqm from which I can use only a terrible small part.

Your answers are highly appreciated. I have many questions and your help and patience are very important for me, so I can get started.

Is that US Dollars if so I'm gonna agree $370 seems like a lot to learn on. my most expensive tree at this point is $25. lol I got a 8ft tall Indian Laurel for $5 so there are inexpensive trees to find to practice on.

 

[SuperMarioZZZ]

Yeah, I know that it's too much to pay 370 US dollars for how much I know at this point. I don't feel comfortable to start a project with this tree, from a child I loved plants and I don't like killing them. For my curiosity and knowledge which are the next steps you would take to this tree.

I'm attaching you 2 pics, one is not clear as it's taken from the internet from the same local nursery with the today tree and one is from bonsai-shop.com.

The tall one from the nursery is $70 and the second one, a bonsai as they named it, is 43 euro, so around $51.

The bonsai looks great but my concern is that I will miss a lot of techniques if I'm going directly for this bonsai or prebonsai and not for a tree from the nursery and making all the necessary steps. Which will be the steps for each of these 2 trees? Another thing is that this website is selling prebonsai and bonsai, many look the same. This is a bonsai and this is a prebonsai. I need your detailed answers, your help is highly appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[Oliver Muscio]

I'm not especially experienced in Japanese maples, but most commercial named cultivars (Bloodgood) are propagated by grafting, which can create problems down the road. Also, the price does seem rather high. On the other hand, it may have been propagated from a cutting, which might account for some of the higher price. And, on the third hand (!) some growers call any red-leafed seedling "Bloodgood". For starters, you should check the trunk carefully for signs of a graft junction. If that is absent, then it is probably either a cutting or a seedling.

 

[RobertB]

I would suggest starting from seed. Don't worry about the cultivar now. Learn about them, get to know them and their quirks and how they respond to you in your garden then look for something more developed to purchase.

Of course once you do purchase a cultivar, they have their own little quirks that have to be worked out.

 

[Victorim]

The truth is that I don't know what to look for at this point to find a good tree. I have ordered 5 books after a good research, that I think that will greatly help me. I'm also looking to buy Bonsai Techniques from John Naka but I have some issues here. Where I have found great prices (like $250 for both books), they don't deliver to my location.

For example regarding this tree, if I'm buying it (it' $370), I don't know what to do next with him. The price is not small for a newbie that is not knowing what he is doing. What will you guys do with this tree? Which are the next steps? Will it remain in this big bucket? Should it be pruned and wired? Should reduce the height of the tree, right?

I want to buy some outdoor trees and start the journey. My yard is very small, only 50 sqm from which I can use only a terrible small part.

Your answers are highly appreciated. I have many questions and your help and patience are very important for me, so I can get started.

I saw this earlier thinking yeah that's nice, workable.. $350 made me spit beer all over my phone.

Don't spend that on learning material. You can get decent pre bonsai for that, and I say find for feet on some cheaper specimens.

 

[discusmike]

More then likely grafted,long nodes,large leaf i would pass and way over priced!

 

[my nellie]

Hello Vladimir! Wellcome to B-Nut!
May I add my comments aiming to help you decide and perhaps give some direction to you.
Regarding your first steps into "selecting good starter material" may I present these three videos by Ryan Neil which deal with the subject and I believe you will find them helpful.
https://live.bonsaimirai.com/archive/video/nursery-stock-series-pt.-1
https://live.bonsaimirai.com/archive/video/nursery-stock-series-pt.-2
https://live.bonsaimirai.com/archive/video/nursery-stock-series-pt.-3
Is it only Japanese maple that interest you?
The cultivar you have selected might not be ideal for bonsai because of the size of the leaves.
I looked at the internet and the leaves of the tree seem to me very large...

Furthermore, red maples are less vigorous.
Where are you going to buy this tree may I ask?
You can find good starter material (grown for bonsai purpose) at Danny Use webpage, he is in Belgium.

 

[SuperMarioZZZ]

I would suggest starting from seed. Don't worry about the cultivar now. Learn about them, get to know them and their quirks and how they respond to you in your garden then look for something more developed to purchase.

Of course once you do purchase a cultivar, they have their own little quirks that have to be worked out.

@rnlabarnes I have seeds from other species (Chinese Elm and Tamarind), the issue is that I don't have enough space in my yard to plant them directly in the ground so I can speed up the process. Maybe I will figure out a solution.

Hello Vladimir! Wellcome to B-Nut!
May I add my comments aiming to help you decide and perhaps give some direction to you.
Regarding your first steps into "selecting good starter material" may I present these three videos by Ryan Neil which deal with the subject and I believe you will find them helpful.
https://live.bonsaimirai.com/archive/video/nursery-stock-series-pt.-1
https://live.bonsaimirai.com/archive/video/nursery-stock-series-pt.-2
https://live.bonsaimirai.com/archive/video/nursery-stock-series-pt.-3
Is it only Japanese maple that interest you?
The cultivar you have selected might not be ideal for bonsai because of the size of the leaves.
I looked at the internet and the leaves of the tree seem to me very large...

Furthermore, red maples are less vigorous.
Where are you going to buy this tree may I ask?
You can find good starter material (grown for bonsai purpose) at Danny Use webpage, he is in Belgium.

@my nellie - Thank you for your message! I'm also into Tamarind, Chinese Elm, Ficus, Chinese Juniper, and Pines. At the local nursery, I've found some cheap and quite small Chinese Juniper Stricta that I can play with. I will check Ryan Neil's videos. On the internet, there are Acer Palmatum Bloodgood Bonsai. Check the attached pic.

I live in Bucharest, Romania. Danny Use has wonderful trees, I have sent him an email. Unfortunately, the website is a bit difficult to use. What do you think about Bonsai-shop.com? Some of the prebonsai that they are selling are looking exactly as a bonsai. Which are the next steps that need to be taken regarding a prebonsai? If it's already in a small pot, the trunk won't thick and it will slowly grow.