Excellent! New Bonsai Empire content! Time for red maple bonsai attempt #3! Who knows, maybe this time I'll finally succeed? My objective is to learn the art of bonsai before I've killed more trees than condo developments have.
Can you make a video about inducing lower branches to grow off of the main trunk? I’ve got a crimson queen Japanese maple that wasn’t grown to be a bonsai, it was grafted, and the lowest branching is at least 18 inches above the soil level. I’d like to shorten it to make it a bonsai that isn’t so tall. Any info on that would be great.
Your best bet would probably be something like a thread graft or an approach graft, but also keep in mind that landscape nursery stock Japanese maple cultivars like that normally have really ugly grafts that aren’t worth working with IMO If you want to work with that kinda stock, I’d recommend air layering the Crimson Queen off of the rootstock and redeveloping a new root system
You'll have to graft indeed. Bjorn covers this topic in depth (several lectures) in this course, should you want to spend a bit on bonsai education: www.bonsaiempire.com/courses/advanced-course Otherwise, perhaps there are some lectures on youtube that will get you started as well!
Thanks so much for the advise. I have a question. When you cut back the sacrificial apex or branch, do you cut all the way back to the main truck or you do you leave a stub in case there is die back? I have heard about die back but I never know when you have to worry about it and when you don't. Thanks!
Yeah its a little species specific and it depends on the size of the branch you're removing. But to be on the safe side: yes always leave a stub and prune that back a few months later.
In the video he says about 1-2 years. You can let it grow even longer but the tradeoff is the thicker the sacrifice branch, the larger the wound you’ll have to heal, so it’s a compromise you have to strike
Thanks Nick, fully agree. I prefer to have a new sacrificial apex instead after about 2 years, unless I can hide a potentially larger scar well somehow.
Excellent! New Bonsai Empire content! Time for red maple bonsai attempt #3! Who knows, maybe this time I'll finally succeed?
My objective is to learn the art of bonsai before I've killed more trees than condo developments have.
Haha you will succeed! :)
Thank you very much for sharing this very interesting and useful video!🙏
Glad it was helpful!
Can you make a video about inducing lower branches to grow off of the main trunk? I’ve got a crimson queen Japanese maple that wasn’t grown to be a bonsai, it was grafted, and the lowest branching is at least 18 inches above the soil level. I’d like to shorten it to make it a bonsai that isn’t so tall. Any info on that would be great.
Your best bet would probably be something like a thread graft or an approach graft, but also keep in mind that landscape nursery stock Japanese maple cultivars like that normally have really ugly grafts that aren’t worth working with IMO
If you want to work with that kinda stock, I’d recommend air layering the Crimson Queen off of the rootstock and redeveloping a new root system
You'll have to graft indeed. Bjorn covers this topic in depth (several lectures) in this course, should you want to spend a bit on bonsai education: www.bonsaiempire.com/courses/advanced-course
Otherwise, perhaps there are some lectures on youtube that will get you started as well!
Thanks so much for the advise. I have a question. When you cut back the sacrificial apex or branch, do you cut all the way back to the main truck or you do you leave a stub in case there is die back? I have heard about die back but I never know when you have to worry about it and when you don't.
Thanks!
Yeah its a little species specific and it depends on the size of the branch you're removing. But to be on the safe side: yes always leave a stub and prune that back a few months later.
@@bonsaiempire Thanks so much!!
Hi! thanks for video! For how long do you let it grow ? (Sacrificial branch) thanks!!
In the video he says about 1-2 years. You can let it grow even longer but the tradeoff is the thicker the sacrifice branch, the larger the wound you’ll have to heal, so it’s a compromise you have to strike
@nickaleshin7149 ok thanks 🙏🍃
Thanks Nick, fully agree. I prefer to have a new sacrificial apex instead after about 2 years, unless I can hide a potentially larger scar well somehow.