Double the Ramification on Japanese Maple Bonsai!

Discover expert techniques for bonsai defoliation and leaf cutting specifically tailored for Japanese Maples (Acer Palmatum). Dive deep into the traditional Japanese terms and various Japanese maple leaf forms.
Whether you're a bonsai enthusiast or a horticulture artist, this guide will enhance your bonsai skills and appreciation for Japanese gardening.
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‘Kiyohime’ Japanese Maple Bud Selection
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#bonsai #japanesemaple #acerpalmatum #bonsaiart #bonsaitechniques #momiji #bonsaitree #japanesegarden #plants #asmr #紅葉 #treework #artist #horticulture
0:00 Intro
1:47 Partial Defoliation
3:20 Leaf Anatomy
4:14 Hasukashi
5:09 Hagiri
5:46 JM Leaf Forms
6:16 Why Defoliate?
6:39 Defoliation Time Lapse
7:32 Sepal vs True Leaf
9:42 Hagiri (other methods)
10:55 Kiyohime Backbudding Issues?
11:49 Hasukashi & Shoot Cutting
12:15 Pinching vs. Growth Management Pruning
13:13 Wound/Callus Checkups
15:20 Trimming Shoots to 1️⃣ Node
16:25 Wiring Younger Branches
17:42 Keeping Structural Flaws?
19:55 Dealing With Slingshot Branches
22:46 Growing a Replacement Branch
25:44 Wire Saving Tip
26:36 Major Midsummer Chops
27:41 Edge Cleanup with Razor Blade

[@highplainsdrifter6577]

Great visual on the Susa bud!!! Good stuff👍👍

[@acer_p_bonsai]

Thank you! 🙏🏽 I remember it tripping me up back when I first started. Appreciate the comment! 🙏🏽 🪴 🍁

[@ramdisk00]

love the video, can't wait to see how it leafs out

[@acer_p_bonsai]

Me too! The petioles are nearly all off as of yesterday, so it should start popping soon! Thank you for the kind comment! 🙏🏽 🪴 🍁

[@thebonsaiarea]

With good bonsai technique this beautiful tree will be great

[@acer_p_bonsai]

I’m hoping to get this tree to show sometime in the next 10 years, but we’ll see. Lots of root work to do under the hood! 😯

[@thebonsaiarea]

That's right: 10 years, you should calculate approximately for a prebonsai

[@Warriori2i]

nice info an great camera close-ups ,,,tks !!!

[@acer_p_bonsai]

Glad you liked it! 🤩 Thank you for the support! 🙏🏽 🪴 🍁

[@BeesBonsai]

Love the content man, great info and explanations. I actually just got the maple book from Andrea you recommended and it seems amazingly thorough. Excited to learn from it. Appreciate it !

[@acer_p_bonsai]

Heck yeah bro, it’s the best book I’ve found for JM Bonsai. Enjoy the read…I think I need to read it again! 😂 🤯 😮

[@Steviejapanesegarden]

Thanks great video I learned a lot

[@acer_p_bonsai]

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for tuning in! 🙏🏽 🪴 🍁

[@OldIronShops]

i noticed i have the same sheers and knob cutter that you are using and i think that pot as well . where do you git the silicone wrapped wire it would be very handy . i try to use as little wire as i can on the thin barked deciduous trees . that stuff would help a lot.

[@acer_p_bonsai]

I guess we’re shopping in the same pIaces! 😂 I make my own silicone wrapped aluminum. The instructions are in my other video on thread grafts on a Deshojo. It’s a little bit of a pain to make them, but once you make a big batch, you can keep reusing them! 🙏🏽 🪴 🍁

[@OldIronShops]

@@acer_p_bonsai I suppose we are lol have you yoused paper towels to wrap the wire .it's a easy do. Jus take a couple shears still connected fold it up and cut into strips then wrap it around the wire. It's not nearly as bulky. Good for them fine branches . Give it a try and share with everyone what you think.

[@acer_p_bonsai]

Yeah, I’ve tried it in the past. Saw it on the Mirai subscription videos and a few other Japanese channels. I’ve found that it can get a bit messy, and I didn’t like the rain water keeping the branches wet, personally. This was one of the driving reasons for me thinking up this method. Some people really like the paper towel method; that’s all good with me if it works for them. (I kind of shit talked the paper towel method in my other video 😬 🙊) I tend to lean towards trying to keep a very short wiring period on Japanese maples if I can, because they scar so easily. So having the long lasting padded wires is useful for wiring, unwiring, and rewiring multiple times in a season. I definitely agree with your point about the thickness of the silicone being difficult on small branches and spaces…probably its biggest downside. 🙏🏽 🪴 🍁

[@OldIronShops]

@@acer_p_bonsai I do think a short wiring period is a good idea . Better keep a Hawkeye on them lol . Do you get summer rains there it's bone dry here tell oct or Nov. In general I try not to get my leaves wet when I water. Don't want to encourage molds or build up water spots on my leaves.

[@acer_p_bonsai]

@OldIronShops it hasn’t been bad this year; last year (my first summer in VA) was horribly wet. Lots of powdery mildew, and a few of my rooter-ball air layers stayed too wet so had to cover them up in plastic wrap.

[@gayefanner731]

Congratulations Pat on your first 1K 👏👏👏🎉🥇🥂 God bless your endeavours 🙏✝️. ✌️🇷🇺☮️🇺🇦✌️. 🙋‍♀️🤍🇮🇱✌️

[@acer_p_bonsai]

Thanks so much! I’m really excited about growing the community!! 🙏🏽 🪴 🍁

[@gayefanner731]

You’re certainly excelling in that area and in such a short space of time too !!👌

[@ldalcantara]

Thanks for the video Pat, it’s awesome to know the Japanese terms of the techniques for our Japanese Maples. I would love to ask you a couple of questions, this defoliation technique applies as well for trident maples? And I would love to know where do you get the silicone wrapped aluminum?because is really useful for bonsai maples

[@acer_p_bonsai]

Thank you for watching my video! 🙏🏽 Feel free to ask me questions in the comments any time! Yes, this technique can be used on trident maples, in fact, you will probably never reach refinement without it! Trident maples are one of the most vigorous opposite leaf pattern trees used for bonsai; you can defoliate them several times per year. Just remember, when you are trying to grow thicker branches you may need to let shoots run longer for faster development. I have yet to add a large Trident to my collection, but I do have several very small/young Tridents. I just collected a large yamadori Red maple (Acer rubrum) this past early spring and will follow Trident maple methods for developing it. Regarding the silicone wrapped aluminum, I make it myself. I need to go look at my other videos to remember which one I describe it in…I’ll comment in a bit, I give a full lesson on making it.

[@acer_p_bonsai]

Video: ‘Deshojo’ Japanese Maple Thread Grafting Time stamp👇🏼 22:21 Silicone Wrapped Bonsai Wire

[@ldalcantara]

@@acer_p_bonsai thanks for all your comments and advise will be helpful for my 2 young tridents

[@alfredomarotta6604]

Just came across your channel, ĺiked👍 and subscribed. Great explanations...surprised ÿòu don't have more suɓs. Keep òn preaching brother ✌️🤙

[@acer_p_bonsai]

Thanks for stopping by cuz! 🙏🏽 🪴 🍁 I’m just starting out on KZbin; this is month 4 for my channel, so trying to grow it. Feel free to drop questions or suggestions in the comments. For more detailed discussion or questions on your trees I’m on IG too @acer_p_bonsai, I try to check my DMs every day or two. 📺🪴✂️🍁

[@alfredomarotta6604]

@@acer_p_bonsai for only doing KZbin for months it's quite an accomplishment. But I meant it is a compliment, you're very professional and a world of knowledge about plants. My very best on your voyage on been a successful KZbinr.🙏🍻🍁🌴

[@acer_p_bonsai]

Cheers! 🍻

[@backbudbonsai]

Hey Pat! In ur opinion, is there an age of a maple that is “too young” to pinch or defoliate? I have a maple “kabudachi” (clump style) consisting of 13 maples. It is already fully fused at the base, it’s 6yrs old. It’s the product of sowing 20ish seeds in a pile. I didn’t and haven’t pinched it at all, thinking it might not respond well being such a young composition. I have been doing a “partial outer canopy” defoliation the last 3 springs. The clump is VIGOROUS, 2-4 inch internodes which is not suitable for my design. My strategy has been to let it grow then prune and then keep the second smallerish flush, which is still “too vigorous” IMO sometimes. I understand the pinching concept, I do it to a few of my much older and nicer maples that are in the ramification stage. Is it safe to pinch and or fully defoliate young maples?

[@acer_p_bonsai]

It sounds like you’re talking about wild type green seedlings, so these are generally much more vigorous and can handle fairly brutal treatment. (Unless you’ve got those dwarf seedlings from Bill Valavanis or others; probably not based on your description.) The only “age” that is too young, is really just a too-small size. If you’re happy with the girth of the primary trunks, you can start pinching and defoliating the tree. For reference, on healthy and young green JMs I’ve had solid success with 2 defoliations per growing season (for 3 years worth of ramification!) I did a field test on one of my green maples and defoliated it 3 times in a growing season…tried to extend the NY summer by a month and a half in the basement under grow lights…it did not go well 😂 😭 ~70%-80% of the branches pushed very weak new growth to one node, 10-20% of the branches didn’t leaf out…but only 1-2 tertiary branches died over winter. That taught me that 3 is definitely too many defoliations, but in a young strong tree, you can probably get away with 2 (probably every other year). If your current techniques (which sound like the standard “correct” guidance from most U.S. Bonsai professionals) are not giving you the reduction you are looking for, then you will need to pinch and defoliate to slow the tree down. But let’s also confirm that you are already doing a few more things. 1) have the tree in a small enough pot. For non-dwarf maples, root restriction is super important for reducing the leaf/shoot size. 2) no fertilizer in spring until first flush hardens. Again, with the dwarfs you can push them hard with fertilizer and get away with it during mid development, like in this video. 3) reduced watering. We know our maples love water, but you will be surprised how much reduction you will achieve just by controlling water. Same concept as we use for pines just a little less extreme. 4) full sun in spring. If the climate is not too hot, full sun helps reduce leaf size and shoot length. After leaves harden you can put them in nearly full shade and they will love it. You may need to experiment with your tree to find the right combo of pinching and defoliation. 1) less extreme: pinch to two nodes instead of one, then defoliate and cut back to 1 in late May/early June. 2) slightly more extreme: pinch to one node and defoliate after they harden in late May early June. 3) even more extreme: #2 above and defoliate a second time in mid/late August. For all of the above, cut back to zero nodes for any shoots that are too long. If they are too long now, they will always be too long. Also, you should also pinch/control growth on the subsequent flushes of growth. It’s possible to refine and reduce wild type momiji, but it’s much harder due to their vigor, which is why they are great for medium and large size trees. Hope that helps! I’d love to see photos, feel free to hit me in the IG DMs. 🙏🏽 🪴 🍁