Acer Palmetum "Bloodgood" Pt II

I wasn't supposed to dig this tree up for another couple of years. I am glad I did. When this tree came home from the nursery in 2007 it was merely slip potted in the ground. It had a decent nebari and I never thought much more of it. The tree responded well and put out allot of new growth.

The tree was pruned in the fall and ready to go for another vegetative season. The following summer it was pretty much left to its own device with the exception of the odd directional prune.

For some reason this spring an uncontrollable urge possessed me to dig it up. I am not referring to and impatient urge but rather a nagging urge (something telling me insistently). So I did, and I am glad I did.

As you know when possible to do so I always bare root my trees, for good reasons, you know what you have to work with. This one as stated was slip potted into the ground, so I didn't really know what lied beneath the soil with the exception of what could readily be seen.

There were 2 problems with this tree: one there appeared to be rodent damage around the buttress last spring, I checked things out and wasn't alarmed so I basically ignored it. 2008 was not a good bonsai year for me; and two, the nebari is in three levels below the soil line with approximately 2 inches in between each level. As this is not conducive to bonsai cultivation let alone ever getting this tree in a pot, something needed to be done about it.

The damaged root was not rodent damage but somehow the root had died and rotted and the base of the tree as well. I was discouraged as this tree has a 2 1/2 base. I got the die grinder out and removed all the pith I could and carefully cleaned out the wound. I then sealed the cavity with cut paste for the time being. More will need to be done here in years to come.

I cut off a good portion of roots from this tree and reduced it to 2 levels. The roots are not around the periphery of the tree as of yet. The tree was planted out in a screen sided container to help develop the fine feeder roots.


It was a little slow out of the gate this spring, but I wasn't too worried as my other acers were slow as well. The tree seems to have responded favourably with the work carried out.

The tree was roughly wired and styled during this process. It will now rest in its new home until the spring of '11, where once again I will re-visit the root mass. Outside of selective pruining development, no other major work will be conducted on this tree.

Acer "Ginnala" Part II

Unfortunately the damage cause by the winter of 06/07 was too severe. As the growth demonstrated here (August) occured late in the season, the tree did not have a chance to harden off before winter and expired the winter (07/08).

Acer Palmetum "Bloodgood" Pt I

This tree was acquired the summer of '07. The top of this tree was broken off somehow during the winter of '07. As it no longer possessed any value for landscape purposes, I was able to convince the owner that the trees future lied with me and albeit the tree served no purpose for landscaping, it would become a good candidate for bonsai culture.

We had a funny winter across the country in '07. Several enthusiasts loss over-wintering trees as well as local nurseries. This tree has a trunk diameter just under 2 inches. The damage was carved out, sealed and the tree planted out in the ground to regain health and development. The above picture was taken during the summer of '08. It has recovered nicely and a decision will be made soon with regards to its continued development. The future for this tree will be in the broom/naturalistic style.

Acer "Ginnala" Pt I

Another tree acquired in May of '05. This trees foliage was reduced by about 75%. Very much in its infancy, it needs to be refined, much much further.


In Sept '05 the tree has responded well to bonsai culture, as it has filled out nicely. A nice basal flare with good nebari is noticeable.


This photo was taken in Jun '06. The tree was pruned back after it's first flush. The trunk and nebari are really coming along.


The '06/07 winter was not favourable to me, nor to many Canadians, Many lost several trees, for unknown reasons. This maple was one of 5 trees that suffered during the winter. (BTW all trees did recover their ordeal, but with severe damage.)

Nothing was happening with this maple, so I decided to chop it, in the hope of awakening dormant buds. I had nothing to loose. For the longest while nothing was happening. I kept my watering to a minimum and low and behold one day a bud appeared, this was late in the season. This photo was taken in Sep. With the relatively mild fall we had the tree was never placed into the cold frame until well into November. Hopefully the tree had time to harden off. The trunk continued to show signs of maturity and the nebari is coming along quite nicely. Maybe there is a silver lining here as this tree will undoubtedly be developed as a mame/shohin. I just hope this winter is morev favourable to her.