Hello,
A friend had this acer bloodgood on his balcony and he was very kind to give it to me. It is not the best material, but it is a great opportunity for me to try some technics and gain experience.
My first concern is the graft of the tree and the ugly trunk. I intend to air-layer just below the graft and start creating a nebari at this point.
My main concern is: Will the newly formed roots be able to feed and support the small tree, or do I have to prune it before proceeding with the air layer?
Thanks a lot,
George

If you air layer below the graft you will lose the variety on top! It is not good material, the graft will never look right. Two tone trees look rather odd. Grow it as it is a garden tree and find something more suitable for bonsai preferably not grafted.

Good idea to get rid of the grafting site.

You should not trim the canopy, as it will need the foliage to create the roots. This is the strangest idea floating around; That the foliage takes away fro the roots. Where the opposite it true. Foliage stimulates root growth. More foliage results in faster root development.

Just note that bloodgold is often considered to rough for bonsai (De branches grow with long internodes, and long leaf stalks)

m5eaygeoff,
Iam aiming to keep the top part of the graft. If the bottom part spruts new shoots, I will keep it as well.

Leatherback,
Thank you very much for the info. I will not trim anything.
I have noticed the long internodes but I did not know it was due to the species.
Even Bloodgoods are not prefered for bonsai, this one will provide me valuable experience for the future.

Thanks again,
George

Yes, I got it the wrong way round, but the graft will always be ugly especially the two tones.