New Acer Palmatum, beginner advice

[ConorDash]

Hello,

I just bought an Acer Palmatum, Green Maple a few days ago from Kaizen, Graham Potter.
It's an amazing looking to my eye, and really great tree for its price, quite unbelievable.

I simply wanted some advice from the Maple experts on directions to go with it?

It was only in transport for a little under 2 days, Graham/supplier commented that it will be ok to repot next year, it's been in its current pot for 2 years. It's using their unique mix which they promote (mix No.2), so I don't know what's in it, but I trust them. The soil does seem quite dense and compact though... But, I do trust them.

Directions for styling, care advice for now and winter, all welcome .
Slightly viewable in the 4th picture, it's lead branch to forms the apex has a great movement as it slightly coils up.

 

[ConorDash]

I think it's advice on how to reach the designed style, that I most would like. So I'm not wasting time when I should have already done something to start the process.

The care for it, I'm researching a lot on and winter care too but any tips on that are greatly appreciated, as is all advice.

 

[Cypress187]

a few days ago from Kaizen, Graham Potter.
It's an amazing looking to my eye, and really great tree for its price, quite unbelievable.

Can I ask how much you payed and if you know if they send to the netherlands? Also I think the soil looks quite ok.

 

[petegreg]

They send to all EU countries. But hurry up, before Brexit...The cost of shipping from GP is fair, he always does his best to keep it low.

 

[ConorDash]

Can I ask how much you payed and if you know if they send to the netherlands? Also I think the soil looks quite ok.

They send to all EU countries. But hurry up, before Brexit...The cost of shipping from GP is fair, he always does his best to keep it low.

£135. I thought it was a great price. Maybe I'm wrong about all of this, maybe the tree looks terrible and I over paid.... Just what I think at the moment . Any comments on tree?

 

[sorce]

Not bad for the price!

There are a ton of things you can do to improve it.

None of which I would worry about quite yet.

Peter Teas blog...and the Bonsai Art of Japan series again.

Sorce

 

[ConorDash]

Not bad for the price!

There are a ton of things you can do to improve it.

None of which I would worry about quite yet.

Peter Teas blog...and the Bonsai Art of Japan series again.

Sorce

A ton sounds good! Ok, so you reckon just let it grow basically? Leave it to grow for a while, maybe till next spring or longer, then reassess?

 

[sorce]

A ton sounds good! Ok, so you reckon just let it grow basically? Leave it to grow for a while, maybe till next spring or longer, then reassess?

Seems you can start building a canopy....

Probly a fall cutting...

Unless there is some stuff that gets out of hand before then.

Seems to be a lot going on below/around the chop...as if those buds and branches were not addressed.

I would take stuff off of the inside of that bend.....
Maybe a few more...

And watch it cuz soon, you'll likely have to reduce the branches right at the left of the chop to that heaviest one....to keep it healing well...but to kill a bulge.

But I don't know enough about maple to give you real good advice!

Sorce

 

[Cypress187]

Any comments on tree?

Yeah, it looks very healthy and thick thrunk, perhaps you could graft a root or airlayer the base to get better flare (when it's repotted and used to your situation / location (aka next year).

 

[ConorDash]

Yeah, it looks very healthy and thick thrunk, perhaps you could graft a root or airlayer the base to get better flare (when it's repotted and used to your situation / location (aka next year).

Thanks. I just looked up threadgrafting roots, I had never heard of it. Very interesting concept. Do you think to do that due to a fairly plain unsatisfying looking nebari currently? Thanks for your comments.

Seems you can start building a canopy....

Probly a fall cutting...

Unless there is some stuff that gets out of hand before then.

Seems to be a lot going on below/around the chop...as if those buds and branches were not addressed.

I would take stuff off of the inside of that bend.....
Maybe a few more...

And watch it cuz soon, you'll likely have to reduce the branches right at the left of the chop to that heaviest one....to keep it healing well...but to kill a bulge.

But I don't know enough about maple to give you real good advice!

Sorce

Thanks Sorce, your advice is always welcome. Essentially you are saying I want to keep the entire underside of the curved trunk clear of branches? And anything too near the chop will take energy away from healing the wound left over? That wound from the chop, I've read will heal in time.. But I imagine it'd take a good long time to do so.. And never completely.

 

[mattspinniken]

nice tree, make sure to encourage that lower branch. Maybe guy wire it down a bit and grow it out for a few seasons to get some thickness.

 

[Cypress187]

fairly plain unsatisfying looking nebari

You want a radial root flare with surface roots, atm there are only 2 huge gigantic roots on your radial root plane which are too big to properly chop off. So you will have to solve it sometime, you could graft an extra root, or replace the entire roots with an airlayer. It's more advanced stuff perhaps practise on a cheap tree first.

 

[ConorDash]

nice tree, make sure to encourage that lower branch. Maybe guy wire it down a bit and grow it out for a few seasons to get some thickness.

Thanks. I've never done the guy wiring before. And that is suggested in order to allow it to grow up more and contribute towards the canopy above?
I thought that maybe that branch was too far down and I should get rid of it, so the canopy is more focuses up top, rather than shared with that down the bottom.

You want a radial root flare with surface roots, atm there are only 2 huge gigantic roots on your radial root plane which are too big to properly chop off. So you will have to solve it sometime, you could graft an extra root, or replace the entire roots with an airlayer. It's more advanced stuff perhaps practise on a cheap tree first.

Interesting. The grafting looked fairly easy and straight forward, although I'd have to get myself a sapling of a green maple... Maybe develop a cutting from the maple if I can spare it, help it develop some roots then use it to graft back to its own tree. Some Frankenstein crap going on there...

In all honesty, maybe I'm wrong, or maybe it's all opinion but I kinda like the nebari now. Clean and smooth looking. No crazy looking roots coming out or anything, just very nice and straight forward.

 

[mattspinniken]

I thought that maybe that branch was too far down and I should get rid of it

Conor, personally I think the tree would not look right without any lower branches. If you take that branch off, your branching won't start on the tree until half way up or more. Look at pictures of good Japenese Maples and pay attention to the lower branches. I could be seeing it wrong though, sometimes its hard to tell from pictures.

 

[ConorDash]

Conor, personally I think the tree would not look right without any lower branches. If you take that branch off, your branching won't start on the tree until half way up or more. Look at pictures of good Japenese Maples and pay attention to the lower branches. I could be seeing it wrong though, sometimes its hard to tell from pictures.

No no I understand completely. I have looked at professional ones online but it's not always easy to take info for your own personal tree, from them, given the limitless shapes and varieties.

So by developing that lower branch, you intend for it to contribute more to the entire canopy?

 

[AlainK]

But hurry up, before Brexit...

Naah, it won't change much actually. We already have very good relationship with Norway for instance. An Britain is the only country in Europe where the custom officers are so... I just can't find the word: unfriendly? stubborn? uptight? I don't know, but whatever they do, they('ll never be able to stop the people who want to get in to get in.

"Brexit" will mean more isolation, more dependance on (apatrid) capitalists that don't care a fig about the Brits, more sufferings for the working class.

 

[AlainK]

£135.

Er...

That's a fair price from a tree bought from a website. It has some potential.

I think that you can evaluate a deciduous tree when it's leafless, in the winter. That's when you can see which branches to prune or keep.

So for the moment I would just make sure it keeps healthy.

PS: if you want to get some more trees next autumn, just PM me. I have a good friend who's a part-time bonsai nurseryman, he has cheap very good trees, and shipping from France to the UK is very reasonable - so far!

 

[mattspinniken]

In the way that the lowest branch contributes to the canopy in this jap maple by Harry H. (I think) yes it would contribute to the canopy. The purpose of the guy wire or regular wire would be to lower the branch. I think keeping the branch would ultimately help make a smaller more convincing tree. Although if you take the branch off, you could still have a nice tree, just a taller one.

 

[petegreg]

Naah, it won't change much actually.

We will see, but custom taxes for the goods imported into EU must raise the final prices. Fortunately we have enough good shops and b. nurseries in surrounding countries and in Germany for instance.

@ConorDash , the price you paid is fair. Learn how to keep the tree happy, watch how it grows for the first year. It will need some light protection from the frost and excessive soil humidity in the winter. You don't have to deal with the idea of root grafting till the first repotting. Nobody knows what can be revealed under the substrate...

 

[AlainK]

this jap maple

Another opportunity to make someone hate me:

http://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.c...-jm-please-not-the-three-letter-abbrev.16842/

Hey, don't put the blame on me, I just read the recommandations on that forum, I'm still trying to learn...