bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - juniper and bloodgood maple

Bloodgood aren't the best cultivar for bonsai. They are cheap and readily available though. They tend towards long shoots with long internodes. They can also burn in summer sun and some have significant root issues.

This doesn't mean they can't be worked into decent bonsai. Just takes a little extra effort. I sold mine off a while ago. Too much trouble trying to ramify it. I got twice as much return for the same effort with other acer palmatum cultivars.

My initial Bloodgood starting material were two, $12, 1.5" diameter plants from K-Mart. Both had very nice nebari--once you hacked off the "arial" roots growing all up and down th e first third of the trunks. Those roots came from improper potting by K-Mart's growers.

I eventually sold them off for $30 each. Not a bad return for five years work.

5-Jan-2006	#9
rockm bonsaiTALK ArchMaster Join Date: Oct-2003 Location: Fairfax, Va Country: USA USDA Zone: 7 AHS Heat Zone: ? Posts: 4,561	Bloodgood aren't the best cultivar for bonsai. They are cheap and readily available though. They tend towards long shoots with long internodes. They can also burn in summer sun and some have significant root issues. This doesn't mean they can't be worked into decent bonsai. Just takes a little extra effort. I sold mine off a while ago. Too much trouble trying to ramify it. I got twice as much return for the same effort with other acer palmatum cultivars. My initial Bloodgood starting material were two, $12, 1.5" diameter plants from K-Mart. Both had very nice nebari--once you hacked off the "arial" roots growing all up and down th e first third of the trunks. Those roots came from improper potting by K-Mart's growers. I eventually sold them off for $30 each. Not a bad return for five years work.