Sugar Maple

[AceR]

Hello, I'm posting a photo of my little collected sugar maple (I got permission, and laughed at...). I "collected" it last July, I just bare rooted it from underneath a human planted mother tree at a trail head. The parent has a beautiful pinkish orange color in the fall, I'm hoping if it's a cultivar that my seedling will have some of that great DNA. It looked like something had either been killing it back or eating it back each year. It had a bunch of kinks in trunk from new leaders forming. It's only 1/4" thick, probably because it was growing in total shade. The first summer I collected it the foliage looked terrible and the leaves never really had decent color in the fall, the tree only had 3 pairs of leaves that year and never grew anymore. I removed the two biggest when I collected it so that the root system wouldn't be too taxed, especially because it was insanely hot last year. I put it in a mix that was mostly pumice and when it leafed out this spring the foliage looked very chlorotic. I could tell the ph or moisture was probably off so I slip potted the whole thing into the ground in a fairly shaded area. it only grew three pairs of leaves originally this spring (2023) but after a few weeks in the ground the leaves darkened up to a deep green and now it has grown a big leader that has almost tripled the trees total height and it's still growing! it even has one branch! I read that maples love arbuscular mycorrhizae so I had been using supplements since I collected it. I'm very tempted to chop the leader off since the tiny sapling makes a nice triangular silhouette that is ruined by the top growth, the internodes are getting longer with each new leaf but I'm going to let it keep running to bulk the trunk up. I think I'm going to wrap the trunk up in vet wrap this winter because squirrels in my area are very destructive and I'm guessing they can tell instinctually that the sap is sweet. If it survives this fall and winter with out getting eaten I will try repotting it in spring, this time with a more organic and acidic mix.



Currently slowly cutting back the big tree behind it to let some more light in. So far no bugs are eating it and no fungus is attacking the leaves.

 

[rockm]

Resist the temptation to do anything to this for a long time, like five years. Let it grow, develop the trunk, then you can begin thinking about chops and reducing leaf size, etc. Don't think about repotting it next year. Let it alone, let the roots run, protect it from squirrels and let it grow. Put it in a container and you will double, or triple, the design timeline.

The details you've mentioned, long internode length, huge leaves are characteristic of this species. As such, a bonsai that can handle those kinds of thing has to be relatively large. Large leaves and gangly growth habits aren't as noticeable on a larger tree. They will be VERY noticeable on a thin, whippy trunk like you have now.

 

[Ininaatigoons]

You can apply minor movement using nylon rope and stakes watching very carefully. If you wire a tree that is vigorously growing, cutting in happens in a couple weeks, so wiring is not recommended.

 

[Michael P]

Vet wrap will not stop squirrels! Put a wire cage around it. Then get a dog, a trap, and a pellet gun.

 

[AceR]

@rockm I figured that comment was coming but my concern is this... If I leave this tree in the ground where it is growing vigorously, won't the internodes continue to grow? I know the Japanese don't encourage fast growth on young material because they want the small internodes there when they drastically prune in the future. I would love to let this tree rocket up to 15' tall but I'd rather have more options when I chop it later. I figured if I cut it back this spring to the smaller nodes and keep doing that I will end up with 30" of sugar maple with back bud potential and then later I can put it in the ground to add some size.

 

[Ininaatigoons]

With a large tree you only need a few buds down low. When the tree explodes from a major trunk chop you'll still have your choice of optional leaders. Make sure to set the roots in the right direction in spring then let it grow hog wild until it's nearly the caliper you desire. The other option is cut in a year or two and let all the branches go keeping in mind the lowest branch will be future leader. I don't know which is faster, but good luck and keep us updated.

 

[rockm]

@rockm I figured that comment was coming but my concern is this... If I leave this tree in the ground where it is growing vigorously, won't the internodes continue to grow? I know the Japanese don't encourage fast growth on young material because they want the small internodes there when they drastically prune in the future. I would love to let this tree rocket up to 15' tall but I'd rather have more options when I chop it later. I figured if I cut it back this spring to the smaller nodes and keep doing that I will end up with 30" of sugar maple with back bud potential and then later I can put it in the ground to add some size.

Sure, why not...