As we have come to expect, here is another excellent video in the series, this one concentrates on the pruning of Japanese Maples.
Tag Archives: maple
Clean Up
As part of my concerns regarding the health of my maples I emptied my maple greenhouse today and disinfected it from top to bottom.
I also renewed my accent and mame grit trays. I spent a little time splitting some of my pot bound accent plants and potting on some cork bark elm cuttings too. A productive afternoon and long over due!!
Very P1$$ed Off!!
My Chuhin Maple and a few other maples have been eaten by something! The buggers have stripped bark on branches causing either very slow budding or branch death! Could it be slugs, never had this before and of all my trees to eat they picked this one.
The damage can be seen clearly on this little maple that died as a result as it was on the trunk.
Fingers crossed I don’t loose too many branches, only time will tell. It’s already been set back quite a bit.
Shohin Japanese Maple
This little maple is about to come into leaf.
I recently read somewhere that if you remove the stipules from the bud as it opens it allows the stalk to dry out faster which causes the inter-nodal length to become shorter. A desirable feature in shohin maples.
Here you see the stipules at the point of my scissors.
This is how it looks with the stipules removed. I will hold judgement on the technique until I see if there is any beneficial results.
Anybody used this technique before?
Yearly Task
This recovering Japanese Maple has a big area of deadwood at the base extending up the trunk. It was extremely rotten when I got it and it requires a lot of attention with wood hardener to keep it as is. I added another coat of hardener a few days ago.
For Jamie
Jamie is our Club’s youngest member at 15 years old. He’s also one of my top comment makers here on the blog.
After the last workshop at which he did a lot of repotting, he left most of the trees with me for protection in my tunnel. I thought I would share them here so he can see how they are doing.
This is a raw piece of juniper material gifted to Jamie by Ben. Very generous! This has absolutely bounced in the few weeks that it’s been in the tunnel with a lot of fresh new growth.
This is his Japanese Maple that had a major clear out last year and was repotted in February. Nice new red leaves appearing.
This is a Berberis Stump that Jamie collected himself from a garden. It was a little bigger when he brought it to the workshop but the remaining stump is going to make a nice little tree with some time and proper technique. Jamie has plenty of time to make a great collection of bonsai.
Missed it!
When I was busy last week I missed this maple opening and now it has extended further than I had wanted! Last year this tree was weak after years of neglect from its previous owner. This year seems to show signs of renewed vigour. It was bought as part of a mercy mission and has a way to go but I think it has enough character to be an interesting tree. Older posts about this tree HERE and HERE.
Chuhin Maple Show Preperation
I’m taking this Maple with me to the BSA Exhibition next Friday in the off chance that it’s up to the mark for the display. I had to do a little work to get it in order. This is it to start with.
Some little dead stubs had to be cut out to keep it tidy.
Next up I gave it a good soaking in a container of water.
I then scraped off the lose mix from the soil surface to make way for the moss.
Moss at the ready I made a start with getting it applied.
I used 3 different types of moss collected from three different sites. By mixing them up as you plant it, you make a more interesting surface.
I like to add a little moss with seed heads to the back of the pot. I think it helps add depth to the overall composition.
Next step was to water in the moss and get rid of any debris from the surface, then give it another press down.
Job Done, hopefully it’ll make the cut.
Starting to Move
I checked most of my trees last Sunday and didn’t see many signs of Spring. Then, 4 days later, I checked again. This was what I found on Thursday!
These are fast swelling flower buds on a Fuji Cherry.
These are Trident Maple buds, 3 different trees.
I even saw a cloud of midges outside our lounge window! February? What’s going on!!
Trident Maple Winter Image
I finally managed to grab a few quick photos of my Trident Maple today. As expected it requires some work on the branch structure after a years growth. It was pruned back during the year but you don’t get to see the structure until now. I will do this in the Spring.
Bonsai Eejit 