I'm wondering if I were to plant a maple such as this in my yard, would I need to trim it at the right time of year to make the trunk fat and keep the tree apex low? That's if I wanted to train it to be a Bonsai.

simplysaid wrote:

I'm wondering if I were to plant a maple such as this in my yard, would I need to trim it at the right time of year to make the trunk fat and keep the tree apex low? That's if I wanted to train it to be a Bonsai.

it'll depend a bit on the size you want it to become, but yeah, you could do that. This plant imho is far too young though and first needs to get on some 'weight'.

I am (or actually: will be) doing the same. I have a couple of maples in my garden, just growing until they're fat enough. One of them is a Kyo Hime. I'm 'hedge-pruning' it, to get more branches to choose from in the future. The others I have left alone since i planted them, 2, 3 years ago I think. One of them hasn't grown much in height, but the trunk is fattening up nicely. I may chop it next year. I'll wait for winter though, to see it without foliage before I decide. Probably I'm going to let it grow another year.

Auk-
In your opinion, is a tree of this age too young to begin wiring of the main trunk to create early Moyogi style? Will wiring this early in its life hinder trunk thickness development?

Why just Auk?

Yes, you can do basic wiring and shaping and no it will not hinder growth noticeably.

rtmitchell15 wrote:

Auk-
In your opinion, is a tree of this age too young to begin wiring of the main trunk to create early Moyogi style? Will wiring this early in its life hinder trunk thickness development?

I think you are too inexperienced and you'll damage the tree. Also, it may grow pretty fast, making the wire grow in quickly.
I'd prefer a cut-and-grow technique. if you want to wire a tree, I'd try a different species like a juniper - or just cut a branch from a tree for practicing.

Are there any particular brands of pesticides that anyone might recommend for this type of tree?

rtmitchell15 wrote:

Are there any particular brands of pesticides that anyone might recommend for this type of tree?

Why, does it have any kind of bugs (and wouldn't it make more sense to ask for a type of pesticide for a type of bug, rather than for a type of tree)?

rtmitchell15 wrote:

Because the tree is at a height I am happy with, you are saying to let the main trunk leader grow out, then prune back to desired height, rinse and repeat until trunk thickness is where I want it to be?

If you keep pruning the tree at the height it is now, it will hardly thicken up. So you grow your tree wild until the base gets as thick as you want it. This may require the tree to get 15-20+ feet tall. Then prune it back to ~1/3 desired height. Grow wild some more until the next section is as thick as you want. Prune back ~1/3 remaining height. Grow more. Prune more. By the time you reach your happy height again, your trunk should have a nice thick base & good taper, just like a more mature tree will have.
Now you can start creating branches.