Hi, New to the forum...Thought that I would reach out for some help...

Wow, this was perfect! Thank you!

Now I have go back and look at the pictures again... how did you learn all of this?

Oh I see. So what is the determining factor to leave it and not cut? length?

How long will it need to be staked like this?


Yeah, these trees came from Oregon, long ways from me...

This has been such great info... Thank you!!!

Definitely took away some of the scary...

 

Also... how old is this tree?

 

Firstly the Yezo nishiki from memory is at 5/6 years bought as a 5ltr plant then just brought on normally,this is it's second larger pot now. The stake will only remain for this season and will be removed early next spring,dependent on how it stays put.

If you go on to 'wikihow.com' and type 'How to prune maple trees' you will get everything you need to know in a step by step clearly defined diagram,this will give you the insight in how to go about pruning maples for yourself.

Finally a few more pics of why we sometimes have to stake out various cultivars and the results which will be gained.

All three pictures are of two different Pendulum Julians which are very notorious for having quite twisty branches which if not staked out when at a younger age will tend to create lots of cross over branches,which in turn will make the tree have a very uneven and irregular shape,which in time could also mean you have to cut out a few branches out to avoid certain areas of the tree been starved of sunlight as the years progress.

First picture of P/J last year 30/04/14 the two branches to the left and right were touching and the centre branch was leaning to the left, so you can see how i have pulled them apart staked them down then anchored the front branch down with a metal spike. Second pic is of the same tree today with all stakes and spike removed, and now giving me a more rounded looking tree which i can now leave and let it grow evenly under it's own pace with no branch crossing.

Finally the other P/J which was badly crossed, this i staked out in November of last year, this took me over 40 minutes just to untangle the branches then using six seperate stakes to re set for this years growth, will probably un stake in November and see how the branches stay when released,if a few move slightly back i will leave till the following year,all this staking out of branches can be done on any J/M until you are happy with the shape you are looking for.

Again hoped this has helped

 

I will definitely check that out!

Ahhhh, i see! Excellent descriptions!!!

Thank you!

 

Okay...

Here are some more pictures...

Spider Web

 

Lima Gold

 

Kasagiyama

 

tsumagaki

 

Aureum

 

matsukaze

 

Osakazuki

 

utsu semi

 

orange dream

 

Murasaki kiohime

 

Emperor I

 

just a few seedlings of Kasagiyama

 

Grandma ghost

 

Nice! What you want to do now, since this one obviously is showing an inclination to grow laterally instead of up, is do some staking. From the pictures you've provided, this is what I would do if it were my tree:

In the first picture, see my attachment. The branch I've circled, I would keep an eye on it and if it starts to flop over or droop, stake it. This will be your new leader. You don't want it going straight up, though. As it grows, you want to angle it (softly) back over top of and past the main trunk; this will begin to give you that lovely curvy trunk that is so desired in the dissectums. Once this branch grows past the trunk roughly the same distance as where it started from, you want to start curving it back/up the other way. OR, if it has produced a branch in roughly the right spot, you can then start training that one as the new leader going back over the trunk to the other side and so on. You're ultimately creating a soft 'S' shape in the trunk. You'll have to do some pruning to (what are now) the side branches along the way as a lot of energy is going to them; you want to channel that energy upwards so you get a tree, not a mat. :)

 

Looking at the picture again, if you wanted, you could even go with the branch just to the left of the circled one that's also growing upwards slightly, but I wouldn't go further out than that.

 

With this one, how flexible is the trunk, above the graft, but below where you've got the 'tether' holding it to the stake? Can you - safely - bend it more towards the stake to get it more upright?

 

This one, the long branch you want to stake upright if possible, and the smaller branch to the right, you want to pull it to the right and outwards, it doesn't have to be far but it does have to end up to the right of the trunk, to balance out the left. It's very windswept right now - which would be an awesome start for a very unique bonsai - so as this is an upright cultivar, you need to start balancing out the growth habit now.

For all of these small plants, do a search for mature examples of the cultivars to get an idea what the overall growth habit/pattern is for them. This will help guide you in what you need to do now already to help them get there. :)

 

Thank you! I will keep my eye on it! so excited...

okay, I will watch them both and decide

it was pretty stiff. I thought that I would keep working at it a little at a time to get it more upright. I checked it this morning. There is a little more play in it now. So I should be able to bring it in a little more.

got it!

You guys are great! Thank you again for all of your help...

 

Quick question about the seedlings...

How long will they be able to stay in these 4" containers?

 

Okay, for what ever reason... I failed to stake some of my jp's. So I spent a little time doing that yesterday.

Hopefully, I am doing this right...

Spider Web

Did I do it as you so kindly explained to me?

 

Emperor I now...