Korean Maple (is This A Bad Word?)

Psynapse

I've found nothing on korean maples as bonsai and the one post on this forum that asked my same question went completely unanswered.

So is the "K" word some kind of bonsai profanity? What is the story with these trees? No good? Too good? Bad mojo rubs off when placed near other trees?

I've just noticed the bark looks fairly rough on young trees and I'm wondering how they fare as bonsai?

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Carl_Bergstrom

I don't think this is a bad word at all!

I've only got one, and it's in it's early stages, but I've got really high hopes for this species. My understanding is that it is used as a bonsai subject on occasion in Japan.

You get beautiful fall color, and (though I don't need it here) they are more cold-hardy than Japanese maple.

The growth seems a bit more coarse than on most varieties of Acer palmatum, and mine exhibits strong apical dominance to the point that lower shoots wither up if I do not push the tree back hard.

Best regards,
Carl

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Psynapse

Hey Carl,

When you say coarse what do you mean? Overly thick or just angular?

What have you found with leaf size so far? It doesn't sound like the trees in the wild get very large but it looks like the leaves could get pretty big.

The ones I found tonight range from 20-40 bucks canadian... thats about 5-15bucks US isnt it The trunks are 1-1.5inches at the base, nebari still buried, about 6-8feet tall but still new growth at the base. I'm going to take another look tomorrow and may give them a go as guinea pigs. This one looks like it's begging to be chopped...

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korean_maple2.jpg (23.3 KB, 214 views)

Camay123

You are right. Good find.



I was actually recommend this tree by a forum member as an alternative to the palmatum maple but I havent seen one in my region as of now.



Where is that ?

Carl_Bergstrom

The "coarse" claim is mostly a general feel. I mean that my sense of this tree (and I repeat, this is based only on two years' experience with a young specimen) is that it doesn't have quite the potential for super-fine branching that I can get out of many Acer palmatum cultivars and seedlings. In some ways, it feels a bit more like the stubbier cultivar A. P. shishigashira, but with longer internodes. I haven't started really pushing this tree toward refinement yet, so this is just a general impression rather than the result of hard experience.

If I could find Korean maples like those for 20-40 US, I'd be delighted. I recently ordered one in that price range by mail, but (1) you don't get to pick the tree and (2) worse still, it didn't survive shipping.

If you've got any nice structure above the chop point, don't overlook the potential to take a layer there.

Best wishes,
Carl

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TreeBay

For gosh sakes, don't do this, it's about the worst thing you could do!



You'd be throwing away all the movement for a stubby trunk with no transition whatsoever. Better stick with the movement and grace and work out a more graceful transition.

Maybe this, but never that!

Start a thread graft through the trunk Point A and establish it before you make the cut marked at A

Branch B is useless to the design. It grew much to quickly and has no movement to speak of. Cut at B. You can use the resulting shoot to develop a tapering branch there, or use one of the lower buds that it already has.

This technique (slanted cut on a trunk with movement but little taper and thread grafted branches) is exactly how this tree was developed.

You can make the actual cut at A about a half inch lower than shown. It's an oblique cut, not a perpendicular one, so it tapers in three dimensions. A hard thing to show in two.

Regards,

Matt

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TreeBay

Maybe this will show the cut angle a little better? The cut surface is on the back of the tree.

Regards,

Matt

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Psynapse

Hey Camay123,

I'm on the west coast of BC... these were sitting in the back of a nursery with some "hedge maples"?. By the look of the old, $19, price tags they had been there for years. Someone just recently added the new, $40, tag. Maybe two or three years growth added $20...

Psynapse

Carl,

I think I know what you are getting at now. I was just looking out the window at one of our native maples, not sure what they are called... Canadian Maples?, and can picture what you are saying. Our natives are huge towering trees with "coarse" growth.

Matt,

Thanks for the advice... didn't mean to scare you there... It was just the typings of a newb.

I like your tree and adice! I see what you are saying about the chopping. Looking at it now that out of place branch would never even heal to a taper a the least.

Lets say hypothetically I bought the one in question:
How long in advance of chopping would you let the thread graft grow? 2 years or so? I would probably let these grow out anyway for however long it takes to get the girth... maybe a 2inch plus trunk. That is if the nebari don't need to be rebuilt.

I'm going to take another look this morning...

BTW Carl... $20-40 Canadian is $14-30 US... so maybe it's even a better deal for me...