April 2, 2021 a friend and I run to The Flower Market in Monroe, Michigan. It's about the only public place in Michigan to purchase real material for bonsai.
Michigans average start for the growing season is April 28th. Spring blooms avg. is Apr. 16th. Michigan has a relative short growing season.
So most of the material was still in winter storage. Purchasing a broadleaf deciduous without its leafs is the best time. You get to see the structure, the bones. One really nice feature conifers have is you can hide flaws. Difficult to hide flaws when your cover drops every year. But truly that is the main reason why I love Japanese Maples! Growing up in MI we get to experience the seasons, falling of the leafs.
My friend and I set out to the Flower Market on that day. I had a mission to find a older JM. All of my material at home was young with smaller trunks. I was looking for a fatter trunk. My friend, was looking for pines. If I remember correctly, Ponderosa. It was a fun drive talking about trees, family, and fishing, Our hobbies. We get there a little after it opened.
I am a big fan of being the first to walk among the trees. Being first allows me to walk with no interruptions. I might feel as these trees are all mine. I notice the remaining of the morning watering. Trees are back in the proper place. A fresh new day ready for anything.
So a lot of the trees are in a hoop house with no heat. Still cold nights keep the trees in a cover area. I spent 45 minutes or so walking up and down the row. Pulling a tree out to get a better view. Putting it back for whatever reason. Pulling multiples out to compare. Acting like I know what I am doing?
When looking for a deciduous tree. These are the things you want to look for.
Roots- surface roots are possible to create but its better to find a tree with good root structure in the early stage. Different techniques for getting good surface root structure is growing in a shallow pot for many years. Approach grafting material to get more roots where you need them. Air layering or tourniquet method. Root pruning. All techniques for getting a good surface root structure, but when buying a tree, its a big factor.
Trunk- nice to have a fatter trunk to give a sense of age. Growing a JM in a pot is the slowest method for getting a big robust trunk. Growing a JM in the field is the fastest way, but it has its drawbacks.
Movement- with a fat trunk you want some movement, some boogie!
Taper- taper is really hard to produce. Requires some good skill while growing a fat trunk.
Branching- branching is the least to consider. It's the easiest to do yourself. Even old JM you lose a branch and have to regrow.
So while comparing trees I try to find one with good roots, good fat trunk but moves and has taper. It's real easy, yeah right.
Take 10 JM, all the same age. The grower applied all of the same techniques. Maybe one is show quality? Maybe 2 are sweet. The rest are for us to find what we like in them and take home to practice the art of bonsai.
These 2 were the ones that caught my eye. I brought them into a room and sat down to check them out. I was craving a twin trunk, still love them. My buddy liked the bigger trunk one. I went back n forth with which one. Both of these were just removed from field growing. Fresh in the plastic training pots. They were in pumice and lava. Both had some flaws. None of them were amazing. I did want a tree to practice all of the techniques i would use to produce good bonsai. I went with the fat trunk one. I still dig the twin trunk one. We leave with trees in hand. Stop for lunch before the highway. Heading to a bonsai store with friends is really a fun time.
Glamour shots the next day. I was happy with it but was wishing I'd bought the other one. Was not digging the 2 giant roots on the sides. That's a drawback to field growing, lose some control over how the tree is doing. But that's ok, by approach graft you can create more roots around. Taper was so so. I knew some branches had to go. Spring is not the best time to do big cuts. Nothing bigger than a pencil during the spring. As the tree was waking up I liked my purchase with knowing I have my work cutout for me.
So much fun to watch trees putting out new growth. As you can see I did some guide wires. These branches were on the thicker side so a guide wire would offer what I wanted. Love the spring leaf color on this one.
This tree was grown in the field around 7-10 years. Still in development and still young. Pretty hardy when young. I told myself to let it grow for the season. Being the first growing season out of the field. I wanted it time to get established with some good roots. The plan was to repot the next season so I could put it in a better soil. JM usually 2 part akadama, 1 part pumice, 1 part lava soil mixture. It can change based on where you live. JM like to be on the wetter side compared to a conifer. Nice draining soil. Shallower pot.
Get yourself some bonsai show books, like the kokofu-ten or the US national show. You learn a lot just thumbing through them. Helps you with ideas on you working with your trees.
By May 31st the trees flush has hardened off. This can be the time for your first trim. This can be the time for big cuts, always use cut paste. When trimming, cut back to the 1st leaf with a bud. The actual first leaf does not have a bud, usually. Cut back or trim to the 2 or 3rd leaf. Leave the branch un trimmed if you want to thicken the branch. Remove unwanted branches on the trunk. At this time you can remove wire or put wire on. Wiring a JM , just need to watch the wire from biting in. Can happen very fast. I generally wire in the fall after the leafs have dropped. Remove the wire when the flush has hardened off. I have found the thickening of branches and trunks happens in the warmer months after the flush hardened off.
I trimmed a lot. Being just removed from the field. Using a higher nitrogen fertilizer. And it had some big cuts done in the spring. It pushed a lot of flush all over. Places I didn't want a branch or to many branches. To many branches in one area can cause swelling and give inverse taper. The tree was healthy and living a good life.
the rest of the season I let grow. When, you do cut a branch. It might trigger the tree to push out more. So if it pushes out more you just need to make sure it hardens off before the cold months. I plan at least 10-15 years more before this tree becomes awesome!
June 10th 2021. No more work was done for that year. I didn't even work on it in the late fall. Things happen.
This tree sat the winter outside on the ground surrounded by all my other trees. Bunny's like to eat my maples in the late winter months.
Stay tuned for 2022 growing season on this tree. I made some major changes.
Thanks for tuning in
Ted
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