Maple from garden center. Would you buy it?

[maten]

A.p. is easy to start from seed and grow pretty well.

I have read that the main reason of the expensive price of A.p. is their relatively slow growth rate. What do you estimate the age of such a nursery tree?

I was considering growing seeds as well but when I checked some of the online seed retailers in the spring A.p. seeds were out of stock. I assume that is one of the most popular seeds to buy and because the long stratification people buy it early winter.

Ordinarily, airlayering as a means of propagation usually isn't justified,

I saw the advice of many people (here on the forum as well) to start a tree with layering to get better control on the root system and the resulting quality worth the extra 1-2 years. Anyway, with this grafted thee there isn't really any other option.

 

[BobbyLane]

Walter recently posted an example of a tree with three subtrunks from one

Mach's acer has two subtrunks from one

so, cutting back to one trunk line and leaving a massive wound, isnt the only option.

 

[maten]

Space on the balcony in Oslo. What are you planning for over-wintering JM?

...and it is west-facing so direct sun only between 2-8pm. I should have chosen a different hobby...
In this first year I am experimenting with various species to see what likes to grow in these conditions.
I have a small foil greenhouse which I am planning to enforce with some extra layers of bubble-wrap. I am also considering to implement some kind of heating but I am not sure yet.
Oslo is H6 by the way relatively mild with to Norwegian standards.

 

[mapleX]

Answering the question in the title, I would not buy that tree.

I know the feeling, you've been visiting nurseries for a while looking for a good JM but every season you only find very ugly trees with zero potential and just this year you ran into one that is a little less ugly .... in 5 'it became in the ideal

A recommendation would be that you pass by, you will end up regretting within a year.

*It also seems to me a very expensive tree to justify the purchase from the argument of "if then I regret at least I will have done the experience and I will have learned something useful for my next project"

 

[BobbyLane]

the first thing you look for is a nebari. that is one of the main attributes to consider when valuing a tree. this one doesnt have any.

 

[Forsoothe!]

To hell us all speak the same language on growing zones...

 

[Forsoothe!]

the first thing you look for is a nebari. that is one of the main attributes to consider when valuing a tree. this one doesnt have any.

What is the realistic prospect to find such in Oslo? OP can only buy what is, and wish for what isn't there. If he lets this get away, what will he find next year? Should a new person apartment dweller pay a lot more and start with pre-bonsai or even more expensive ~advanced bonsai? I think not. Crawl, then walk, then admire track shoes. No?

 

[leatherback]

To hell us all speak the same language on growing zones...

What are you trying to say here?

is their relatively slow growth rate.

Dunno. My regular green maples put on a metre+ in a year, in a pot.

so, cutting back to one trunk line and leaving a massive wound, isnt the only option.

Point was not the subtrunks. Point was they are in 1 spot and of the same strength.

 

[maten]

The three-way junction would be my stopping point. Removing 2 out of three is needed probably, as they are all the same strength.

Thank you for the input! The three-way junction was one of the main reasons why I asked for advice. First I thought it looks "interesting" now but wasn't sure if it is a flaw or a feature that could be utilized somehow.

cutting back to one trunk line and leaving a massive wound, isnt the only option.

Thanks, this is also a good point and a different perspective. I really like the naturalistic trees, I almost made my mind up and bought it to let it grow for a couple of years.

I went back yesterday and checked it again and tried to imagine a direction for developing the tree further and it wasn't clear. I didn't have the feeling that I have to buy that tre.

1. It was even thinner than what I remembered.
2. There is no movement in the lower trunk at all.
3. Although the three subtrunks are not as similar as it seems on the previous photos they have very long internodes in all of the possible trunk lines.
4. Still no nebari, needs layering.

Here is a photo from different perspective:


So, probably I will skip this for now. Yes, probably this is the case:

you ran into one that is a little less ugly .... in 5 'it became in the ideal

I will keep my eyes open and I will post here if I find another candidate.

 

[mapleX]

What is the realistic prospect to find such in Oslo? OP can only buy what is, and wish for what isn't there. If he lets this get away, what will he find next year? Should a new person apartment dweller pay a lot more and start with pre-bonsai or even more expensive ~advanced bonsai? I think not. Crawl, then walk, then admire track shoes. No?

I humbly believe that it is a mistake to start from a presumption, in this case it would be to affirm that you will never find a better tree for that money in the future.

Where I live, the JMs with true potential (nebari, interesting trunk line, good trunk caliber, etc) are of an almost mythological rarity, it took me 8 years to find a prominent specimen in a nursery (in the middle, a couple of projects where I wasted my money / time and my illusions) ... if I had known how to wait without negotiating with my anxiety at least I would have saved myself bad experiences and good money.

 

[maten]

What is the realistic prospect to find such in Oslo? OP can only buy what is, and wish for what isn't there. If he lets this get away, what will he find next year? Should a new person apartment dweller pay a lot more and start with pre-bonsai or even more expensive ~advanced bonsai? I think not. Crawl, then walk, then admire track shoes. No?

Yes, I try to find a reasonably priced tree that I can practice on and familiarize myself with the species, yet it have potential to grow into an enjoyable tree in ~5 years. This one I feel a is bit too expensive for just a practice tree with no clear potential I already have plenty of trees in that category. I am not in a rush, the autumn sales are starting in other places as well, I will keep my eyes open.

 

[maten]

Finally I bought two (I think) better ones for about the same price as the previous one. These are standard green JMs (not cultivars), still not perfect material but for half the price it is good enough to practice handling them and at least I can try slightly different things on them.

The first one, I am planning to make an informal broom from it by keeping almost all branches only cutting them back for taper. I will probably let grow the low branch to double the thickness and use it for a second trunk. I think I need the second trunk to compensate the straight main trunk and I need to create movement somehow.



The second one I think needs a bit more development, after sorting out the roots I would cut the side branches and develop the trunkline further from the thickest middle trunk. I like the angle of the lower trunk and the gentle band and taper in the transition to the upper one but there are large side branches that needs to be removed in both potential front so I need to make sure the healing of the scar is as seamless as possible. The roots are not as even all around as in the case of the other one but don't seem to be terrible.


Do my plans make any sense?