What do I do with this Crimson Queen?

[Cajunrider]

I picked up this JM on a lark this afternoon. It's 6 ft tall and 1 inch trunk at the base. What's next?

I was thinking about putting it a grow box and chop it next year if it is too late to chop this year. Either that or air layer it.

 

[plant_dr]

Did you check for nebari?

 

[Dav4]

Crimson queen is a red weeping variety and always grafted... not sure you have one there.

 

[Cajunrider]

On a more careful look, like all nursery JM, there is a graft pretty high up. So it appears I will have to air layer to get the Crimson Queen above. There is no telling what the root base is. After getting the top I will put the base on a board and develop the nebari.

 

[Cajunrider]

Crimson queen is a red weeping variety and always grafted... not sure you have one there.

I'm told it is and will turn red soon.

 

[CasAH]

That is not a Crimson Queen. Crimson Queen is a weeping red dissectum variety.

 

[Cajunrider]

That is not a Crimson Queen. Crimson Queen is a weeping red dissectum variety.

I just looked that up. It appears someone was lying to me.

 

[cbroad]

You are much better off with what you have, but it sucks you were lied to; maybe they were misinformed?

 

[Cajunrider]

You are much better off with what you have, but it sucks you were lied to; maybe they were misinformed?

Perhaps they were misinformed. Normally I would look things up before I buy but this was an impulse one. Oh well. It's not much money and I have another thing to play with.

 

[0soyoung]

I just looked that up. It appears someone was lying to me.

Not to worry. You got lucky!
Is it dissectum or palmate?
Maybe you just got a mis-marked root stock - now that would be great!

 

[Smoke]

I now know your an old guy, like me. I also know that you are more recent to the bonsai game.

I also know you don't take kindly being talked to with any kind of authority, so I will word this as delicately as this old guy can.

Lately, no for most of my time on forums, (22years) I see these threads come up with people going out and buying material which I can only speculate is going to be for bonsai ( or why post it here), and then ask the forum to figure out what to do with it.

Do you purchase homes like this?
Did you choose your mate like this?
Do you purchase cars like this?

Why not lay down the cheddar for something already heading in the bonsai direction? This yard tree is not the way to start. There are any number of good reputable bonsai sellers that have really good stuff to really head you down a better path.

Just wondering what goes thru the head of some people.

 

[Cajunrider]

Not to worry. You got lucky!
Is it dissectum or palmate?
Maybe you just got a mis-marked root stock - now that would be great!

It is palmate to me. There aren't the deep cuts of the dissectum.

 

[Cajunrider]

I now know your an old guy, like me. I also know that you are more recent to the bonsai game.

I also know you don't take kindly being talked to with any kind of authority, so I will word this as delicately as this old guy can.

Lately, no for most of my time on forums, (22years) I see these threads come up with people going out and buying material which I can only speculate is going to be for bonsai ( or why post it here), and then ask the forum to figure out what to do with it.

Do you purchase homes like this?
Did you choose your mate like this?
Do you purchase cars like this?

Why not lay down the cheddar for something already heading in the bonsai direction? This yard tree is not the way to start. There are any number of good reputable bonsai sellers that have really good stuff to really head you down a better path.

Just wondering what goes thru the head of some people.

I'm ok with being spoken to with authority. I dish that out daily so I learn to take it as well.

I approach life with a serious side where everything is researched and analyzed. The majority of my making a living is on being the analyst and the innovator in my field.

Then there is a part of my life where I allow myself to let off some steam, to go wherever things may. I plan to have a few serious bonsai soon. Until those arrive, trees like this are just for me to toy with plant material to see how far I can push things. Tinker toys they are to me.

Same things go with cars and houses. I've got serious cars that are well cared for and a beater truck that I want to see how far I can push it. I've got a home and then a camp to tinker.

I've read many of your posts and have seen some innovative approach to bonsai development. You are pushing the envelope but then tell others to stay conventional in the learning approach. Why? My goal in bonsai is not to reach bonsai master status or to have great bonsai. It is to put a smile on my face when I see my trees. Laughing at my self is also good.

 

[Forsoothe!]

There are as many kinds of bonsai as there are kinds of people. In America, anyway. People who are newer to the sport see the price tags of pre-bonsai but fail to see the correlation between the number of years someone, ~a skilled someone, has had to trim and re-trim stock to keep it small and compact through field and bench growing to arrive at a better candidate size. When you're young and anxious to get to work and in the frame of mind to, "do it my way", and are short on cash, the landscaper's stock looks pretty good. Collecting large stock, as differentiated from yamadori, where it will take forever to hide scars of stubs 2" in diameter is part and parcel of that kind of thinking. When you're older and have less time left and more money, paying someone else to do the preliminaries so you can get down to business with a really good candidate is the order of the day. But not always. When you get really old, you want something you can pick up without your grandchildren carrying it around for you. Then you can buy young landscaper's stock in good conscience because you're making small trees. Mame if you're tethered to home, or just small if you have a life and occasionally go away for a long weekend.

 

[0soyoung]

My goal in bonsai is not to reach bonsai master status or to have great bonsai. It is to put a smile on my face when I see my trees. Laughing at my self is also good.

Bravo!
There may be a reason to like you after all.

It is clear that you're most interested in the adventure.
???

It is palmate to me. There aren't the deep cuts of the dissectum.

Excellent stuff for adventuring. Grows vigorously, air layers easily. Maybe the very best acer palmatum for bonsai-ish purposes if your climate is right for it. Mine happens to be. @Gustavo Martins grows them in zone 11, so maybe ...

 

[Potawatomi13]

Literati!

 

[Smoke]

My goal in bonsai is not to reach bonsai master status or to have great bonsai. It is to put a smile on my face when I see my trees. Laughing at my self is also good.

To put it another way, when you take your pistol out to shoot, your happy with hitting the target once and a while rather than becoming a marksman? Would that be a fair statement?

If that is your goal why do you come to a BONSAI forum and share your trees? If the goal is you alone why share stuff that has little future in your life and expect the forum to design it for you?

 

[BackyardBonsai]

I just looked that up. It appears someone was lying to me.

Give me a chuckle. It is not a crimson queen anywhere on this tree. I like your attitude though.

 

[Colorado]

To put it another way, when you take your pistol out to shoot, your happy with hitting the target once and a while rather than becoming a marksman? Would that be a fair statement?

If that is your goal why do you come to a BONSAI forum and share your trees? If the goal is you alone why share stuff that has little future in your life and expect the forum to design it for you?

I’m just impressed that you can reach the keyboard, from way up there on your high horse.

??

 

[Adair M]

To put it another way, when you take your pistol out to shoot, your happy with hitting the target once and a while rather than becoming a marksman? Would that be a fair statement?

If that is your goal why do you come to a BONSAI forum and share your trees? If the goal is you alone why share stuff that has little future in your life and expect the forum to design it for you?

Smoke, you and I disagree on some things, but we both agree that starting with good stock is one of the keys to success in bonsai. Unfortunately, for those new to the hobby, developing an eye for good material requires experience. So, it’s a Catch-22, isn’t it?

I agree with your advice to pay for stock that has been started with bonsai as the ultimate goal, rather than landscape material.