mikawa yatsubusa .... first Japanese maple

[Joe Dupre']

Some friends and I went up to the Underhill C'est Bonsai show in Folsum yesterday. About a dozen vendors and demonstrations and workshops by Mike Lane and Guy Guidry made for a fantastic day. I came home with a mikawa hatsubusa maple. This is my first Japanese maple and am looking for a little advice on how to handle it. I plan on taking a couple of air layers of the upper branches. Next spring, I'll reduce the tree down to a little less than half of its present height. Anyone have experience with this variety? I did a bit of reading and one hint I found was reducing the under-leaves in the really dense foliage pads. Is that "a thing"?

 

[Doogliebop]

Man I wanted to go to c'est bonsai but couldn't get off of work.

 

[roberthu]

This is a big Mikawa....

 

[Joe Dupre']

This is a big Mikawa....

Yes it is, from what I've seen. Big price too! Turning 70 in a few days. My friends and I have come to the conclusion that we don't have time to mess about with cuttings and sticks in pots.

 

[roberthu]

Yes it is, from what I've seen. Big price too! Turning 70 in a few days. My friends and I have come to the conclusion that we don't have time to mess about with cuttings and sticks in pots.

Yeah Mikawa grows super slowly. I have had one in nursery for about 5 years and the trunk is not even an inch...

 

[Joe Dupre']

I've read they grow slowly, but what about leafing back out after a big chop??

 

[Dav4]

Yes it is, from what I've seen. Big price too! Turning 70 in a few days. My friends and I have come to the conclusion that we don't have time to mess about with cuttings and sticks in pots.

Happy birthday !
Nice gift you got there, too

 

[19Mateo83]

They are know to be one of the easier ones to air layer and with the amount of internodes I’m pretty sure back budding won’t be an issue