Shohin Acer Palmatum Kabudachi style [#18]

[MACH5]

Hello BNuts! Just like my trees, I am slowly coming out of my winter slumber and reengaging by starting to work again on my bonsai. I've been mostly away from this forum and have hardly contributed at all in the past couple of months but it was a nice break.

I thought I'd post this shohin Japanese maple in the kabudachi style. I acquired it a couple of years ago from a member of a club I used to belong to. I fell in love with this little tree even though it was in really bad condition when it was offered to me. Last spring it came out of its winter dormancy in very weak condition and I lost several small branches including the loss of the top third of the main trunk! I am almost certain this tree had contracted the bacterial disease Pseudomonas syringae which looks a lot like the deadly verticillium wilt except if treated in time the tree can be saved. I did a couple of chemical drenches in spring of 2013 with a product called ZeroTol. Slowly through the growing season the tree improved and started to gain real strength and vigor by mid summer. There are still some weak areas but hopefully they will improve this year. I do not plan on touching the roots at all this year.

Shown below is the tree as it appears today. It is roughly 5.5" tall from soil level not counting the long shoots at the top. I did a bit of wiring on it including the two strong shoots coming out of the main trunk. I plan on letting these grow more this year to thicken them up and help increase the overall metabolism of the tree. Contrary to bonsai rules, I decided here to leave the two shoots as future apexes on the main tree since given that this is a clump, I think it can work well within the overall design. After they develop further they will be cut back to form part of the clump's general silhouette.







One of the main problems with the current design is that trunk #4 is partially hidden. The two options to fix this would be to rotate the tree clockwise to allow this trunk to be seen from the front or wire it and bend it towards the right a bit. I'm not favoring the idea of rotating it since I do loose width on the nebari. So probably next year I will tackle this issue by carefully and gradually bending the trunk to the side.







Below are a few more detail pics. As you can see the bark is getting an aged appearance with a nice spreading nebari.











I have to take care that these strong new shoots do not sap the strength from the rest of the tree. I am concerned that even if we perceive them as individual trunks, the tree will treat them as "lower" branches that will eventually weaken as the tree forces itself upwards. This I will have to manage carefully.

 

[dkraft81]

Glad you're back. I love your maple threads, this tree is no exception.

 

[cmeg1]

Cool tree!very nice bark,I have been dreaming of maples lately,even ordered a couple cuttings of trident.I really like your plan for the silouette.

 

[discusmike]

Well on its way to becoming a awesome tree, glad to hear from you.

 

[Nomiyama]

Very nice tree and plan of attack for this tree Sergio. I am sure you will have this corrected in the near future, and in doing so the tree will bring you many years of enjoyment.

Chris

 

[MACH5]

Thanks guys! I appreciate it. It is nice to be back to BNut! So much good stuff here and so much to see and learn from but oh so little time!

 

[Adair M]

If this were mine, I'd only grow one leader. My objection to your plan is I think growing both will lead to a knob developing where they originate.

Second, unless trunk four is very thin, I doubt you will be able to bend it enough to have it show. I think you should consider rotating the tree counter clockwise. You don't show a picture from that angle, but it looks like the nebari would be better balanced that way. There an absence of surface roots on the right with your current front.

Of course, it's much better to evaluate the tree in person rather than by photo.

I would pick a front based upon the arrangement of the trunks. You really can't change that. But you can "fix" nebari problems with root grafts, etc.

Looks like a fun project!

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Welcome back M5! I like your new project, but wondered if the front would be/once was a little more off the front left corner? From there, the 4 trunk may still be obscured. No doubt, it will thrive in your collection.

 

[Dav4]

Talk about a harbinger of spring! Mach5 is back posting great pictures of even nicer maples. Good to see you posting! As far as this one goes...I'm glad it's in your capable hands as this seems to be somewhat complicated material and I would have much difficulty committing to a plan of action. It'll be fun to see it develop, though.

 

[MACH5]

If this were mine, I'd only grow one leader. My objection to your plan is I think growing both will lead to a knob developing where they originate.

Second, unless trunk four is very thin, I doubt you will be able to bend it enough to have it show. I think you should consider rotating the tree counter clockwise. You don't show a picture from that angle, but it looks like the nebari would be better balanced that way. There an absence of surface roots on the right with your current front.

Of course, it's much better to evaluate the tree in person rather than by photo.

I would pick a front based upon the arrangement of the trunks. You really can't change that. But you can "fix" nebari problems with root grafts, etc.

Looks like a fun project!

Thanks Adair for your insights! The plan is not to develop both leaders equally. One will be a true apex while the other with remain as a branch/trunk of sorts and much thinner. I believe this will avoid the swelling that would certainly happen if both were left to grow unchecked and equally well. I will however need to monitor this area. In the event that it does start to develop a swelling I will abort my plan and will go with one leader as you suggest.

On the right of the nebari there are thinner developing roots that because they were wet they blended in with the soil and not very visible in the photo. If tree is rotated counter clockwise one of the trunks starts to poke right at you. If you rotate the opposite way the nebari becomes thinner and not as stable looking. As you had mentioned, seeing trees via photos and make fine design suggestions is a always a great challenge. I will try when I can to post other angles of this tree

The hidden trunk is thin but not skinny. I am confident that with care I can bend this trunk enough to make it visible. It will need to be done gradually but doable for sure. I tested it and bends when pressure is applied with my fingers.

 

[MACH5]

Welcome back M5! I like your new project, but wondered if the front would be/once was a little more off the front left corner? From there, the 4 trunk may still be obscured. No doubt, it will thrive in your collection.

Thanks Brian! Yes if rotated they way you suggest, the #4 trunk would still not be visible and then you have one of the other trunks start poking at you.

 

[MACH5]

Talk about a harbinger of spring! Mach5 is back posting great pictures of even nicer maples. Good to see you posting! As far as this one goes...I'm glad it's in your capable hands as this seems to be somewhat complicated material and I would have much difficulty committing to a plan of action. It'll be fun to see it develop, though.

Thanks Dave! But come on! I have seen your trees and I think you could take on this one LOL!

 

[Dan W.]

I'm also glad to have you back! I'm looking forward to all of your spring work/updates! This tree is no let down on you standard for quality. It will be fun to watch it develop.

 

[JudyB]

Love it! Welcome back.
I have one question, is that trunk really necessary to see low? I'm just thinking that you could cut it lower and retrain the new leader at a better angle to the rest of the trunks if you can't bend it enough. I actually also sort of keep wanting to turn the tree a bit, can you show us a couple other angles?

 

[MACH5]

Love it! Welcome back.
I have one question, is that trunk really necessary to see low? I'm just thinking that you could cut it lower and retrain the new leader at a better angle to the rest of the trunks if you can't bend it enough. I actually also sort of keep wanting to turn the tree a bit, can you show us a couple other angles?

Thanks Judy! No not at least in my opinion. The lower part can still be hidden. My plan was to let the upper third to half of this trunk peak out enough from behind the main one. Yes what you suggest can also be a solution.

I will try and post a 360 view of it as soon as I'm able to. Thanks again!

 

[erb.75]

update?

 

[erb.75]

I'd love to get a little tiny maple off of you one day Sergio!

 

[SilverioSan]

Looks like a really great project I would love to read update on this in the future to see the steps and what/if something has changed... I feel like someone new like me can learn a lot from posts like this - Thank you for sharing.

 

[MACH5]

I'd love to get a little tiny maple off of you one day Sergio!

Unfortunately I don't have any at the moment for sale. I am however, doing air layers to hopefully have shohin maples for sale in a few years' time.

 

[MACH5]

Looks like a really great project I would love to read update on this in the future to see the steps and what/if something has changed... I feel like someone new like me can learn a lot from posts like this - Thank you for sharing.

Sorry Silverio, cannot provide updates on this one anymore as this maple was sold two years ago.