Kiyohime maple

zube

Here's a picture of a Kiyohime maple I have. I guess it's probably an imported tree. There's no graft. The branching is pretty rough, but it looks decent covered with leaves.
zube

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kiyohime0010a.jpg (57.9 KB, 163 views)

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Neild

Zube,
Nice tree, how tall is this one? The trunk looks very nice. Any tips on training? I have one which has a similar trunk, it's in a 6gal and is a landscape tree. I will cut it back this November and start to work her into something like you have here.

Not sure if I would worry terribly about the inner branches. I have never seen a kyo hime shown without foliage, I believe the primary atraction is the emerging foliage and the dence canopy.

Neil

Jay

PLEASE..... be aware, Kiyohime DO NOT like to be apically pruned.Check with others, but if you cut the top you are in for a major problem.

Been there....done that.... the tree (my avatar) is no longer

Jay

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node

Kiyohime is a type 6a, which is a green leafed dwarf. Could that acount for this behavior? Just wondering why this cultivar would behave this way...

@Zube: Good looking tree you've got going there.
Mine has had a rather wet night to endure...

Stefan

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Kiyohime_01sm.jpg (45.9 KB, 40 views)

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zube

I've always heard that Kiyohime are sensitive to top pruning. They also very often tend to grow wider than taller. It's just how they are. It doesn't have anything to do with being a dwarf, I wouldn't think. There are dozens of dwarf Japanese maples that do not exhibit any of this behavior. Mine can't take much sun, even here on the coast. I keep it in my shadiest spot, probably only gets 2-3 hours of direct sun in the morning. Another trait, at least for my tree and a few others that I know of, is leafing out early. This tree had tiny leaves poking out of the buds before New Year's.
Neil, the tree is 16" tall and 18" wide (not counting the pot). The trunk is 3½" wide at the base flair, probably more like 1½" above that. I've only had it 2 years. The first year I fried the leaves in the sun, and I repotted it last year, so I haven't done too much serious pruning on it.
Take care,
zube

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wabashene

Zube,

I've PM'd you with details of a long-running thread re my Kiyohime on another forum which may be of interest.

This looks like a good example of a standard import tree very similar to those we see in the UK.

I have been working on mine for about 5 years in an attempt to bring the branching in closer to the trunk, tighten up the image and ramify. Bit of a long process but it is working.

A few tips.

You can trim back but carefully. I do this in January in Zone 8/9 when you can see the buds. Usual acer caution in that you trim back to a point where you have a branchlet going the way you want but leaving a good bit for die-back which you can snap off down the line.

I always leave 3 or 4 growing points below your pruning point. i.e. I've never trimmed back to the last bud.

If you look at the before and after pics below over 3 years, I must have brought the branching in about 3 inches and am now getting a few interior branches to sprout.

Also absolute swines to wire. I can't count the number of branches that have snapped without warning.

My advice is to use way oversize wire and bend carefully. You won't get anywhere using a standard wire: branch ratio wire and trying to force it.

Here's what they look like naturallywhich isn't far off bonsai size.

mchutchison.com/images/vends/schm/Schm_TitleACer552.JPG

To be fair it looks a fine tree but hope this info helps.

TimR

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kiyo for BT 1.5.06.jpg (49.2 KB, 75 views)

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Neild

Tim..Nice tree, great progress. I like the way it is opened up, and showing off the trunk & foliage.

I have not tried to wire mine yet...however, just moving it around the garden I have snapped numerous brittle little branches.

I have attaced some pics of a Danny Use's kyo hime's. A club member and friend visits there and returned with these.

Great advice everyone. I will take note, as I will be pruning back hard this fall, and repotting in the spring.

Hope you enjoy the pics.

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zube

Neil, you probably have talked with people that know more than me, but I don't do any serious maple pruning anymore except late spring and summer. For a few years I pruned some trees early in the spring, when it was still cool and wet. I lost a lot of them to fungal crud. Especially the red maples. I try to do this now only when it is drier and warmer, and the trees have a better opportunity to heal. (But it rains here more than most places.)
Take care,
zube

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rlominski

Hi Zube,

It is hard to tell, but the branching does not seem that bad. They are very tough to wire. I have had good luck with using guy wires. Just be sure that you use a piece of rubber or plastic tubing where it goes over the branch. I only use this for larger branches. The small ones, I just use clip and grow. It would take forever to wire the whole thing. The hardest part about these trees is thinning them out! Also keeping them from burning in the summer. The apexes are weak, but if you cut back slowly you can work them. It is very good advice to leave plenty of room on the branch when cutting back for die back (my teacher calls it "dry back"). Plus as you see from the other photos the crowns tend to be very rounded on these trees.

Rob