I did not expect to log in to this! Thanks so much for bringing this up as I'm certain Auk identified it correctly. I don't know how I've managed to misclassify it this entire time, I was so sure it was trident.
As for the comment on the trunk chop: why not? I have only been doing bonsai for a year and a half so I dont fully know the why nots of things... my reasoning was that I didnt want the tree to grow any taller that what it began as.
I did not expect to log in to this! Thanks so much for bringing this up as I'm certain Auk identified it correctly. I don't know how I've managed to misclassify it this entire time, I was so sure it was trident.
Well... we're not even sure so how could you?
As for the comment on the trunk chop: why not? I have only been doing bonsai for a year and a half so I dont fully know the why nots of things... my reasoning was that I didnt want the tree to grow any taller that what it began as.
It's too soon. You want it to grow fatter first and cutting it back now will mean it will now take much longer. You do want it to grow taller after a trunk-chop, as you want to create a new leader and close the wound.
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And it seems to me that despite the variety in length of some leaves, red maple closer matches the description than trident. Though, I am curious: is it plausible that this tree is some sort of cross breed of the two (or more) types, which is why its leaves appear so ambiguous?
Thanks for the tip. I didn't think it would cause it to grow slower. I will keep that in mind for future trees!
Reminds me of how I cut off a branch seen in the first pic close to the bottom. I didn't know about sacrifice branches back then. I'm always learning something new... after I've done irreparable pruning! x)
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This topic turned into a very interesting one since there are so many Maple cultivars.
In a very quick jump into my benches this morning I sort of observed the differences among some of them.
Pictures (cellphone, sorry...) below:
"Regular" Acer Palmatum.
Acer Deshojo.
Kotohime Momiji.
Trident Maple (Acer Buergerianum).
Trident Maple leaf from the sacrifice branch (1,5m tall) ATTENTION: This one below is from *the same tree* as the leaf above, but they are quite different in size and shape.
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The following user(s) said Thank You: BofhSkull, Intrigued_Voyager