Japanese Maple pre-bonsai - Wiring Help?

[Nera]

Hi all,

Could anyone give me ideas for wiring my little maple? Not sure which direction to take with it. Thank you!

 

[Nera]

Also wanting to ask - do you think it would look good to get an s-bend into the right main branch, and then maybe clip away the left one?

 

[leatherback]

At this stage it is not too important. You need to decide what you are after; Most likely an informal upright. Then decide on development horizon: How long do you want to take to get to something in a bonsai pot. Then decide, do I grow out in a pot, in a grow container of in full ground. (Invisible cuts, medium scars, large scars vss slow growth, medium growth, extensive growth).

If growing out in the ground, wiring does not make sense.
If growing out in a pot,wire and give an exxagerated undulating shape.

You can plan a lot, but at this stage the main aim is avoiding a straight-as-stick lower trunk.

 

[leatherback]

Also wanting to ask - do you think it would look good to get an s-bend into the right main branch, and then maybe clip away the left one?

If anything, the reverse is what you are after. But this is not for now.

Something for long cold summer evenings, to get some direction and thinking going. This stuff is not overly easy to do well, which is why well-formed scarless bonsai trunks are valuable.

 

[Nera]

At this stage it is not too important. You need to decide what you are after; Most likely an informal upright. Then decide on development horizon: How long do you want to take to get to something in a bonsai pot. Then decide, do I grow out in a pot, in a grow container of in full ground. (Invisible cuts, medium scars, large scars vss slow growth, medium growth, extensive growth).

If growing out in the ground, wiring does not make sense.
If growing out in a pot,wire and give an exxagerated undulating shape.

You can plan a lot, but at this stage the main aim is avoiding a straight-as-stick lower trunk.

Thank you!

Yes, I am growing out in a pot. I like the "exagerated undulating shape" idea.

 

[Nera]

@leatherback thank you for the videos. It's the start of the last month of Autumn here for me (South Africa) so wiring is fine to do, just not any pruning at this stage.

 

[Nera]

As for time, I'm planning on 2-3 years of growing in a pot before getting it into a bonsai pot.

 

[SeanS]

@Nera you are welcome to come visit my garden and chat about bonsai. I’m in Broadacres (just past Fourways). Send me a DM if you’d like to organise a visit.

I have been working with maples from seed/seedling/cutting/nursery stock (JM and tridents) for a few years now so could offer some in-person advise and guidance on how to get started.

Thread 'Sean’s Trident Projects'

Aug 11, 2021

Starting a thread to document some of my trident projects. Over the last 12 months I’ve managed to amass around 60 tridents ranging from 1 year old seedlings grown from seed myself to a really chunky stump that I chopped down from a 3m tall nursery tree. I’ll document them all here.

I currently live in a small townhouse (condo) with a really small garden. We have 2 pet bunnies so everything has to be off the ground or caged off. I have a few raised benches and some raised “herb planters” that serve as my grow beds. This past weekend I set up an additional fenced in grow bed for the...

• SeanS
• Replies: 246
• Forum: Maples

• 

Thread 'Sean’s Japanese Maples'

Aug 21, 2021

Thread to document some of my Japanese maple projects.

is an air layer off one of my bigger JMs that I separated last November. It’s a tall slender twin trunk. It was little more than 2 long twigs last August. Now it’s at least thickened up to be 2 small sticks in a pot



When I separated the layer November 2020



I did the initial styling in our fall in June. Today I repotted.

Start of the repot




Nice little nebari is starting to form. Any heavy, crossing or misdirected roots were cut off. Bottom of the football was cut flat under...

• SeanS
• Replies: 155
• Forum: Maples

• 

 

[Nera]

@SeanS I really appreciate that, thank you so much! I'd like that and will get in touch soon. I'm going to check your thread now as well.

 

[dbonsaiw]

you are welcome to come visit my garden and chat about bonsai.

Super cool. Nera, take him up on that offer.

 

[leatherback]

@SeanS I really appreciate that, thank you so much! I'd like that and will get in touch soon. I'm going to check your thread now as well.

so sad that it is too far to just drop in and party crash!

 

[SeanS]

so sad that it is too far to just drop in and party crash!

@leatherback pull in!

 

[leatherback]

@leatherback pull in!

I was hoping to get back to my old research grounds in KNP this year. But.. Flying into SA from mypart of the world has gotten complex with KLM striking direct flights to johburg!