AusBonsai

went down to the local nursery today for a wonder around and found a palmatum maple sitting in the back. i asked how much the lady said $45 its about a meter and a bit tall. there isnt much going on for it but i really want to get it just because its there, and i have the money to spend. id stick it in the ground to where the brown line is so new roots grow higher up the trunk. the thick trunk is about thumb thickness would i have trouble bending it? think its worth getting or should i wait till i find something else as this will be my first maple.

Personally I don't think the price justifies it. Don't buy something for the sake of "having one", wait until the right one jumps out at you.

$45?? youch. I would rather visit a bonsai nursery and spend $45 on a maple from there. You may not get it quite as thick in the trunk, but it will be in a lot better shape than this one, and it probably wont have such bad visible scaring after what I would presume you are going to do to this if you were to purchase it. Only seeing your pic of the trunk is hard for anyone to really give you a judgement, seeing as how you haven't shown the tree, and how you intend to style the tree.

Hi bazron,
With what I can see from the photos, I agree with Isitangus that it doesn't appear to be worth $45. BUT!! if you are really keen and buy it I would like to share a couple of ideas with you.
Don't repot it yet, and certainly don't bury it as deep as you are suggesting. If you do this it may start to produce roots up higher, but they will be fairly random. I would suggest that you do a ground layer as this will guarantee where the new roots will grow. Have a look at a post I did recently to show you how to go about this viewtopic.php?f=104&t=14664 If you choose to do this leave it until the start of Spring and you will get new roots fairly quickly.

Regards Ray

I agree - go to a bonsai grower or bonsai nursery. You may have to spend a bit more but it will have had root work done and should have had some trunk chops. Sometimes cheap is . . . . . . . . well cheap

ok so based on that ill wait haha. i just needed someone to tell me no its hard being new to this and seeing all these wonderful trees everyone has and being eager to give everything ago. the closest bonsai shop i know of is in Reservoir about an 1 30 away so i might pop up for look this weekend or the next.

Baz, This one appears to be Japanese maple. Japanese maple is NOT a beginner's tree. Trimming these requires some knowledge. They are prone to getting thickened ends on the branches if you just keep trimming new shoots and look really bab after a few years. Do yourself a favour and get a trident maple to start with. they grow faster, ramify and thicken faster and are much more forgiving of mistakes and poor techniques.

I also think you will find better value elsewhere. It is unlikely you would successfully bend this trunk. Japanese maple bark marks very easily.

so i should get a trident maple first.. i think that might be a good idea. thankyou for your reply...

bazron wrote:so i should get a trident maple first.. i think that might be a good idea. thankyou for your reply...

Yeah, i'd go with the trident. I've been told the exact same thing about japanese maples, definately a good plant for bonsai... but not so much for beginners

You could buy a very decent trident starter from shibui. I notice he didn't push his own barrow so I will do it for him. I got one from him last year that I am very happy with

Bougy Fan wrote:You could buy a very decent trident starter from shibui. I notice he didn't push his own barrow so I will do it for him. I got one from him last year that I am very happy with

how would i go about getting it to Vic tho im about a hour north of melbourne.

i have seen places that sell stock online but ive been unsure of what condition it would arrive in.

bazron wrote:

Bougy Fan wrote:You could buy a very decent trident starter from shibui. I notice he didn't push his own barrow so I will do it for him. I got one from him last year that I am very happy with

how would i go about getting it to Vic tho im about a hour north of melbourne.

i have seen places that sell stock online but ive been unsure of what condition it would arrive in.

Shibui is at Yackandandah, it is about 2 hrs nth east of you. Bit of a drive but from people on here say about his stock it would the drive.

Josh

How about building up some stock by air layering trees that are accessible to you .

2nd Buy one from Shibui

And get it posted to you.

Even if it got smashed in shipping it would still look 100 % better then tones of tree's u can buy out there.

I have a few Shibui tree's ROR and starters all A+ stock IMO.

Shibui knows Maples.

Ps
Nice guy as well.

well i got two trident maples today!! Ian (alpineart) was on his way down and brought a few maples for me to have a look at. so grabbed two of them. thank you Ian.
now lets see if i can keep them alive.. the fun begins