Wonderful how you explain the techniques, and add what the difference is between the handling of a mature, more developed bonsai and a young tree in development ! Great job 👏
Yes, if the plant is healthy (and you don't need to grow branching or increase trunk girth) then pinching can be done to slow the spring growth and reduce internode length.
I'm not familiar with Chinese maples - but generally I apply these techniques to all maples. I also work with European field maple (A. campestre) and red maple (A. rubrum)
in the cannabis world that pinch technique is called "Fim" short for F@%k i missed lol. the stoners stole so many things from bonsai for plant training. im not at all shocked that they/we took this one too lol
Very nice tree! Whats the absolute best way to get jm to bud back on the trunk? Alot of my young material has branches in all the wrong places thats the only prob i have with my young material. Thanks
Hi Eric great video on refinement with pinching. Any chance the bud die back might just be poor genetics on the maple? I’ve got some that act similar, and then others right next to it that are just so robust that I’m constantly removing buds where I don’t want them. I do lots of propagating too just wanted another grower opinion. Thanks.
It's a good point. I think that in the general nursery industry they avoid seedlings from cultivars because a good portion are genetically weak. I've been starting seed collected from Arakawa (rough bark) and a few other cultivars and there are always a few that just grow so slowly or die after a while for no good reason. To be fair, most are fine and interesting to grow. As for this one - I think the problem is largely that summer in SF is just too cold for maples. The growth on it has been quite vigorous in some years while others there is dieback. That makes me think that it's the weather or watering habits etc. Last summer it was okay, but I think it got some mildew which weakened the growth further.
If the tree is healthy, yes. But whenever health is in question the best thing is to allow some growth to happen freely. A few nodes on a branch wont make it too coarse. In this case it was repotted a month or so ago, and the growth looks good so I have no qualms.
nice video and very clearly explained. if a tree is still in training...basically between your two examples, I assume I should prune the first time in spring and a second time in summer? or should I prune more then 2 times per season?
I would leave the sacrifice branches to run - removing any foliage that will shade branching you want to keep. For the fine branching - generally pinching, alternating with wiring and short runs of growth can give good results. You need to both build the structure of the branching and maintain it as small and delicate as possible. The first section might be a bit larger, but all the secondary and tertiary branching should be as small as possible.
Timing of pruning is based on the growth of the shoots, not on the time of year. In spring, pinching has to be done multiple times to catch the tips at the right stage of growth. Later in spring and into summer the size of the new growth is what determines the timing.
You always want maples to run freely in the spring to allow the hormones between the new shoots and roots to take place. After they send out long shoots I trim before they harden. Constantly year after year of trimming and not allowing a tree to grow freely will slowly sap its vigor and kill it over time.
There are two sides of bonsai - artistry and horticulture. You need to know your horticulture to know how far you can push a tree. There are signs that maples show when they are weak versus when they are healthy. Allowing things to run increases vigor - but with AP you need to walk the line between vigor and ill health to maintain short nodes and small leaves. If the vigor starts to decline you can add more fertilizer, pot into a larger container or allow shoots to run. If the tree gains too much vigor you'll just have coarse branching. Good luck with your growing.👍
in this context - Acer palmatum - the latin name for Japanese Maples. APL is "Akadama-Pumice-Lava' - a soil mixture. So in another context AP could mean "Akadama-Pumice" but I normally don't use that as shorthand.
as often as it needs it.😜. TBH, totally depends on the growth of the tree. With maples in refinement you don't want to allow long coarse branches - so pinching and thinning are important.
Right on point, Eric. Quick question...would you say that exactly the same techniques (pinching, cutting shoots, partial outer canopy defoliation, letting run and so forth) apply, as indicated in your video, to Pomegranate (opposite leaves) and Zelkova (alternating leaves)? I have those trees on the bench these days.
Pomegranate leaves are not as big normally, but yes. These same principles apply to many if not all deciduous trees. Zelkova can be pinched, or let run and cutback. External defoliation, or other partial defoliating techniques can be used to balance vigor of individual branches. It's not universal but it does apply to many trees.
I do not recall senator. 🙃 One of the problems with propagating thousands of plants is that each little one starts to get a bit fuzzy in my brain. And now that you mention it - I'm not sure this actually was an air layer. But I did do the video on three air layers from one of my trees. And there was a second tree that you did air-layers on, which I removed after you left. I think this is one of those.
No, I don't think so. Hornbeams can be partially defoliated, but you'd want to wait until they grow out a bit. I would recommend you read some of Jonas' blog posts on the species: bonsaitonight.com/?s=Hornbeam
Actually I mis-spoke on a couple occasions - nodes are the junction, internodes are the space between the junction. Buds come from nodes, and you are reducing the internode length to make it easier to get tight branching.
Great video Eric. Seedlings are great for finding a nice vigorous JM with unique leaves. This spring I'll be demonstrating techniques on the middle ground between pinching and free growth. This gets after your good point about wanting vigor and girth without excessively long internodes. 👏🪴🍁
This tree has a beautiful "maple" style Eric!!! A wonderful tree!
Never mind you answered my question just needed to listen more. Thank you for yours great videos
Great advice.
Great video
Thanks Eric 👍👍👍
Top-notch instruction as usual Eric. Thank you for sharing this information.
Nice to hear from you thanks for your video thanks Eric
Wonderful how you explain the techniques, and add what the difference is between the handling of a mature, more developed bonsai and a young tree in development ! Great job 👏
Foist!!
great stuff, as usual. Regarding timing, you do this before things harden off? Do you repeat this with the next growth spurt two months later?
Yes, if the plant is healthy (and you don't need to grow branching or increase trunk girth) then pinching can be done to slow the spring growth and reduce internode length.
Thanks for sharing your wisdom with us. It's the same here in Europe with the common maples.
Eric, would you do the same to Chinese Maples?
Thank you for your awesome videos btw
I'm not familiar with Chinese maples - but generally I apply these techniques to all maples. I also work with European field maple (A. campestre) and red maple (A. rubrum)
That is quite a monolithic specimen, ERIC.
Alternatively, when thinning you can cut the fingers off all the outer leaves, leaving the palm.
Thanks so much for this Lesson,I will do this on my Two Shohin Trees and let a few branches grow to do thread grafting. Thanks. Greg
in the cannabis world that pinch technique is called "Fim" short for F@%k i missed lol. the stoners stole so many things from bonsai for plant training. im not at all shocked that they/we took this one too lol
Great info! I just started a Royal Poinciana seed and has sprouted! Im so excited my first "bonsai"
Very nice! Clarified some basics between pinching and pruning. Thanks!
Very nice tree! Whats the absolute best way to get jm to bud back on the trunk? Alot of my young material has branches in all the wrong places thats the only prob i have with my young material. Thanks
JM should backbud copiously when they are healthy and you do cutback. Mine even backbud on the trunk where I don't want buds, so I rub them off.
I also have “fat fingers”, friend.
Hi Eric great video on refinement with pinching. Any chance the bud die back might just be poor genetics on the maple? I’ve got some that act similar, and then others right next to it that are just so robust that I’m constantly removing buds where I don’t want them. I do lots of propagating too just wanted another grower opinion. Thanks.
It's a good point. I think that in the general nursery industry they avoid seedlings from cultivars because a good portion are genetically weak. I've been starting seed collected from Arakawa (rough bark) and a few other cultivars and there are always a few that just grow so slowly or die after a while for no good reason. To be fair, most are fine and interesting to grow.
As for this one - I think the problem is largely that summer in SF is just too cold for maples. The growth on it has been quite vigorous in some years while others there is dieback. That makes me think that it's the weather or watering habits etc. Last summer it was okay, but I think it got some mildew which weakened the growth further.
Can you do this on fresh repotted maple? The repot is stressful enough
If the tree is healthy, yes. But whenever health is in question the best thing is to allow some growth to happen freely. A few nodes on a branch wont make it too coarse. In this case it was repotted a month or so ago, and the growth looks good so I have no qualms.
nice video and very clearly explained. if a tree is still in training...basically between your two examples, I assume I should prune the first time in spring and a second time in summer? or should I prune more then 2 times per season?
I would leave the sacrifice branches to run - removing any foliage that will shade branching you want to keep. For the fine branching - generally pinching, alternating with wiring and short runs of growth can give good results. You need to both build the structure of the branching and maintain it as small and delicate as possible. The first section might be a bit larger, but all the secondary and tertiary branching should be as small as possible.
@@Bonsaify thanks for the interesting input....what about timing? Do I need to prune more then 2 times a year?
Timing of pruning is based on the growth of the shoots, not on the time of year. In spring, pinching has to be done multiple times to catch the tips at the right stage of growth. Later in spring and into summer the size of the new growth is what determines the timing.
This tree is very similar to bald cypress which I own. Your explanation is wonderful. Thank you.
You always want maples to run freely in the spring to allow the hormones between the new shoots and roots to take place. After they send out long shoots I trim before they harden. Constantly year after year of trimming and not allowing a tree to grow freely will slowly sap its vigor and kill it over time.
There are two sides of bonsai - artistry and horticulture. You need to know your horticulture to know how far you can push a tree. There are signs that maples show when they are weak versus when they are healthy. Allowing things to run increases vigor - but with AP you need to walk the line between vigor and ill health to maintain short nodes and small leaves. If the vigor starts to decline you can add more fertilizer, pot into a larger container or allow shoots to run. If the tree gains too much vigor you'll just have coarse branching. Good luck with your growing.👍
@@Bonsaify"AP"? I don't know what that means, as a novice
in this context - Acer palmatum - the latin name for Japanese Maples. APL is "Akadama-Pumice-Lava' - a soil mixture. So in another context AP could mean "Akadama-Pumice" but I normally don't use that as shorthand.
Pinch pinch!
❤❤❤❤❤
How often should I prune a tree in refinement
as often as it needs it.😜. TBH, totally depends on the growth of the tree. With maples in refinement you don't want to allow long coarse branches - so pinching and thinning are important.
@@Bonsaify Thanks for taking the time to answer. I love your Shohin and Mame trees, so your answer is precious to me. Thanks for teaching
Right on point, Eric. Quick question...would you say that exactly the same techniques (pinching, cutting shoots, partial outer canopy defoliation, letting run and so forth) apply, as indicated in your video, to Pomegranate (opposite leaves) and Zelkova (alternating leaves)? I have those trees on the bench these days.
Pomegranate leaves are not as big normally, but yes. These same principles apply to many if not all deciduous trees. Zelkova can be pinched, or let run and cutback. External defoliation, or other partial defoliating techniques can be used to balance vigor of individual branches. It's not universal but it does apply to many trees.
Where did the small Japanese maple come from? That surely isn't one of the cuttings I took is it?
I do not recall senator. 🙃 One of the problems with propagating thousands of plants is that each little one starts to get a bit fuzzy in my brain. And now that you mention it - I'm not sure this actually was an air layer. But I did do the video on three air layers from one of my trees. And there was a second tree that you did air-layers on, which I removed after you left. I think this is one of those.
Ah yes I forgot the air layers.
Hey Eric, do we do the same thing to hornbeams? Got a japanese import on its way to me. gotta get up to speed on some proper care
No, I don't think so. Hornbeams can be partially defoliated, but you'd want to wait until they grow out a bit. I would recommend you read some of Jonas' blog posts on the species:
bonsaitonight.com/?s=Hornbeam
Thanks
Beautiful tree.
Nodes, internodes. We need a mnemonic to help keep them straight.
Actually I mis-spoke on a couple occasions - nodes are the junction, internodes are the space between the junction. Buds come from nodes, and you are reducing the internode length to make it easier to get tight branching.
Great video Eric. Seedlings are great for finding a nice vigorous JM with unique leaves. This spring I'll be demonstrating techniques on the middle ground between pinching and free growth. This gets after your good point about wanting vigor and girth without excessively long internodes. 👏🪴🍁