coral bark maple , Sango Kaku

[rawhide]

hi all ,just thoughy i would share this project tree after my lovely wife allowed me to dig it out of the garden 2 years ago.it was always wind burnt and always getting die back.since moving it into a pot and putting it under shade it does not get burnt and has no die back yet ,touch wood.I think this species is prone to this problem .if anyone has experience in preventing this I would appreciate some advice
cheers

[alpineart]

Hi Rawhide , nice looking specimen .I don't have a coral bark maple , experience tells me most maples don't like wind or direct heat . Mine thrive under 30-50 % shadecloth out of the wind . Even the garden trees i have here suffer from those two elemants .Try a sheltered position with dappled light/shade .Cheers Alpineart

[kcpoole]

nice tree and nice of the wife to let you dig it out

Cannot see the structure of the tree thru the foliage at the moment

Post again in a few weeks when nekkid so we can see the structure of the tree, In the mentime, just enjoy the display

ps. the lower trunk and nebari look nice
Ken

[rawhide]

here is a couple of nekkid pictures for you Ken
still need further work on branch positions and stucture but it is on the way
i realy like the colour of the branches on this species of maple so am keen to get some good ramification happening just need to develop some heavier branches
also going to thread graft a branch out to the right to even it up a bit

the second pic is another one i have on the go just done a thread graft to try and eliminate the bar branching in the middle of the tree
will move this one to a bonsai pot next year i hope any suggestions for a colour for a pot

[Damian Bee]

All I can say in relation to the Coral Bark is to keep the roots cool and moist and keep the leaves out of the hot wind in Summer and out of the full sun in mid day early arvo

[rawhide]

thanks Damien
since digging them up they live under shade all year ,they dont the leaf burn any more
will keep them in over sized pots to try and keep the roots cool and moist rather than risk losing them in a shallow pot

[Damian Bee]

I reckon you only need shade them during the hottest months of the year, mostly after Christmas.
Where in Tas are you?

[rawhide]

hey damian
i am about 10 minutes out of Launceston similar climate to you probably, our winters are in between what you get and what Canberra get
mind you our summers are not as hot .I keep all my japanese maples under shade all year just to stop wind burn in spring and to stop sun burn in summer ,speaking to Lynne Farrel at the tas bonsai center she was saying that japanese maples suffer not from the soil drying out but evaporation through the leaves and the tree not being able to keep up the hydration to the leaves ...... makes sense i guess

cheers Jason

[Damian Bee]

Hmmm,
I remember getting really burnt there one summer and it was not even a hot day
If you don't already have one, I would recommend a irrigation controller that you can set to automatically run some misting sprays over your trees at 1 minute bursts for 5 or so times a day during the hot part of the day. It would cost you about $350 to set up but that way, while you are at work or whatever, you don't have to fret over your trees getting burnt through leaf transpiration

[rawhide]

yeah I plan on putting an irrigation system in just want to make sure it is fail safe

[Damian Bee]

My advice is to use sprays not drippers. I used drippers once. Bonsai soil is often too open for them and not all of the root ball will receive water.
Hunter make good controllers at good prices, just don't cut corners, make sure you clamp your connectors, that you install a good filter, that you buy good quality solenoid valves, that you wire everything up properly and make sure that if you are hooking up to a mains water outlet to install a backflow valve so that water from the system can't run back into your pipes and contaminate your drinking water (vomiting smiley)

Last of all, to get your gear go to a irrigation shop that know what they are doing, not BORINGS WHERE-IS-IT-HOUSE.

[kcpoole]

Nice in the flesh
Love the colour of the newish branches and the trunk has real nice taper too

With Auto watering systems I use only sprays. Drippers will not disperse water thru the pot sufficiently for my liking

Ken

[rawhide]

any ideas for a pot coluor that would complement the pink branches
cheers guys have a great day its bucketing down here and freezing cold