Picked up this Japanese maple today for $50. Is that a decent deal? Seemed like it to me. Looks to have a decent thick trunk, some lower branches, etc.
I plan to bonsai pot it come March, but should I do any trimming this fall or just wait until after it’s acclimated to the bonsai pot?
by chuckyblack09
7 Comments
$50 seems like a great deal. In all honesty though, this is going to be too tall and the root ball likely too large to put into a bonsai pot straight away next spring. I would leave in the current nursery tub, or slip pot into a larger one in the spring and air layer the top off next spring and get two trees for the price of one!
Air layer it.
Nice
Good find. I agree not to put in bonsai pot yet, but it has a decent trunk already, so maybe plan a big trunk chop next spring, then let it grow other than addressing primary structural issues the rest of the year. Another big chop and hard root prune and into a bonsai pot the following spring. That’s what I would do.
Lovely find! That structure is already SCREAMING “bonsai me”
I see two thicker stems, i recommend air layering those two branches, then big chop beneath it. That will leave you with 3 decently tapered plants for the price of one.
Don’t rush, look at the roots first, they will help inform your decision