Pruning THE MOST stunning Katsura Maple Bonsai!

[@ronnorton6590]

That split view is a big help. Gives me a good example of the limits I can go to when working on my plants.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I think it is the first time I have done that on a video. Thanks for the support :)

[@acer_p_bonsai]

Beautiful little maple collection Xav! Keep up the great work!! 🤩 🪴 🍁

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Now I just need to wait another 10 years for them to mature...like me :)

[@raymondplodzien7459]

Great group plantings. I am currently working on my maples. Your information couldn’t come at a better time.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I hope your trees work out for you and you end up producing works of beauty :)

[@BeckyBledsoe-qj1rn]

I have been watching your channel for some time and I really enjoy it. Just have a few plants a couple of orchids which I haven't killed yet and some succulents. Airlayerings heel cuttings, try, fail, do over redo,go back and watch u tube again. Oh and here's the best part a big box store nearby has Japanese Maples marked down from $70 to$35 what a bargin. So excited my husband said I can actually go buy 2. These were very nice tall trees that I can hopefully chop down while leaving in the pot and begin to work with. I also have 2 Japanese Maple saplings that are in pond baskets. We're having a heat wave here in the Ozarks USA . My Pastor sharpened my tools for me that's a blessing so I don't have to buy anything else. I don't have a greenhouse my trees are outside and I have plenty of windows for my plants. Please forgive me as this is a bit lengthy but your videos are really hilarious.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

This is the sort of comment I love to get Becky. We are all just one big community trying to make sense of this ridiculous hobby called Bonsai. I look forward tos eeing pictures of the chops :)

[@BeckyBledsoe-qj1rn]

@XaviersBonsaiRetreat now the pressure is on, so happy my tools are sharp. 95 degrees here. I will try to send a picture if I can. Thanks for responding 😀

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

@@BeckyBledsoe-qj1rn send to [e-mail] :)

[@TheBonsaiGarden]

What you have is a lot of “mountain maples” or “Yama-Momiji” indeterminate/unknown maple varieties. Though I also have you on my list for a Shishigashira when the air layers take and develop root. Love those two pale blue pots - the colours and finish on the glaze are great 👍

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I actually cut out a joke about the 'mountain maple' because I suggested that is what 'posh' people call their ordinary 'no name' maple. I wish I had kept it in now :)

[@jeffhurst4744]

Good advise and observations on thinning and partial defoliation of maples. Early on I was hesitant to do it, especially groupings. Had people tell me I was killing or ruining the grouping. But in short order, they came back to see it made a better design, and healthy trees. Thanks for these easy to follow and understand videos. Keep them coming…I’m always learning something new or different from them. 😊

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I appreciate the support - I think we all struggle with getting the baalance right for defoliation and pruning sometimes. I know I do :)

[@MeadowViewBonsai]

Another quality production and very informative, top stuff mate🌳👍🏻

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Too kind to me Darren - thanks :)

[@oachkatzlsmum]

Yeah, absolutely know what you are talking about by mentioning those parallel shoots 😅 Thanks for continuous advice and support in handling this lovely trees. Maples are awesome. Meanwhile I’m already awaiting the new growth after partial defoliation and pruning. 😄🙏 Absolutely enjoyed, Xavier. thanks. 👍😘 Cheers 🙋‍♀️ Martina

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thanks Martina - being in my 3rd year of viddeos I sometimes think people will start to get tired of seeing me do the same stuff? Mind - there are only so many ways you can video working on bonsai :)

[@backbudbonsai]

Katsura maples are amazing! They are definitely in my top 5 maples for bonsai. The early spring flush on a Katsura maple is stunning and IMO just as good, maybe even better than the early flush on a Deshojo maple. Great video, friend! I always appreciate watching pruning videos that are accompanied with the "reasoning or decision process" that goes into what gets pruned and what doesn't. Well done! My top five maples for bonsai, in no particular order: Katsura, Shishigashira, Arakawa, Deshojo and Sharp's Pygmy. Honorable mention and highly underrated is the standard green Acer Palmatum.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm not a fan of the Shishigashira but certainly want to get a few arakawa in the garden :)

[@rtregear]

Thanks Xavier. I've got a bunch of maples. Many are still in the bonsai waiting room, but a few air-layers are starting to look serious. I'm binge watching your maples playlist.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

No worries Roger I am still binge eating your cherry ripes :)

[@DavesBonsai]

Great video my friend. Nice little forest there in the canoe pot. 😜

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Cheers Dave - it has a lot of growing to do but I hopefully will be able to look back one day...and smile :)

[@KennetDeBondt]

Nice trees Xav. Keep up the good work.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thank you Kennet :)

[@nerinat8371]

Finally sat down to finish after 3 tries 😢 love the JM.. thx Xavier

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Was it that hard to watch my video Nerina - my kids often tell me it is torture listening to me for too long :)

[@nerinat8371]

@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat haha absolutely not, l just had visitors in and out today ... l love your videos

[@AlexBraunton]

Brilliant video Xavier. Very timely and informative 👍🌳

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thanks Alex - I look forward to a visit soon perhaps???

[@joegarland4885]

Hi Xav good advice for maples, some lovely maples my friend but I think it is a shame to lose all that gorgeous foliage which the trees spent all winter getting ready to push out, I know it’s the right thing to do but I can’t bring myself to take away so much foliage, as long as the branches are pruned to a position whereby there is light able to get to to all the leaves. I love that pot you have the first tree in, I need to bite the bullet and get on and prune all my maples which are looking a bit overgrown. Good luck with all those maples my friend.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

You are spot on with what you say Joe. Some years I am not as hard on the trees. I also tend to rotate the degree of defoliation each year. The problem with doing a channel is it is often easy to forget to tell people that some of my trees get rested from the pruning cycle :)

[@MarksJapaneseGarden5]

Another great video interesting to see how far back you cut to the node and real nice selection of maples , again nice to see the limit of what each person see's fit . Shared

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

We all apply different variations to the same technique i think :)

[@briansmith9646]

Great advice xav the best ever on maples thanks.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thanks you for saying that - nothing too new but I thought I would show my approach :)

[@Bonsaicrazy]

Great lesson xav 👊👊👊👊

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Thanks Andy

[@malsrfun2956]

Y favorite bonsai topic. Great video! ❤❤❤❤

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I could live amongst those maples :)

[@sueb1317]

So pretty! The leaf colour and pot combos are really looking their best. Hard to believe the trees can thrive on so few leaves, but your results are great. What kind of spraying regimen do you use to keep your leaves so healthy?

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I try to spray every 3-4 weeks with my bug spray. They all seem to respond well to this amount of defoliation :)

[@bennyhana3556]

This years shoots can be cut down to the core you dont need to leave 1-2cm stubb... that is only when it has become hardwood.

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I know - just a habit I have had and I clean up all the stubs later in the year. Thanks for raising this as a point :)

[@markjagger7139]

Thank you Xav I’ll have a go at mine next week, dose this all Maple verities?

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

I can only truly comment on the Katsura and general palmatum varities I have BUT in principle this seems to apply to other green leaf varieties. I do this on my atropurpureum but never get a full second flush from it.

[@markjagger7139]

@@XaviersBonsaiRetreat thank you for the advice, I’ll see what happens

[@shaneallen3502]

Excellent video Xavier. Cannot keep maples, every time I prune them (clean pruners), they seem to go black, loose leaves and die. Any ideas - ?? fungal infection?

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

That sounds strange and nothing that I have heard of before. Do you purchase your maples from the same place or have difficult conditions?

[@ScottTheExperimentalist]

I’m getting started in bonsai and I’m using pond baskets, but is there actual evidence that they work for speeding up trunk thickness and growth?

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

They area lot better for root ramification and circulation in general. I am in the process of completing my 2 year experiment so it is still too early to say for certain. I have a video coming out on this on Tuesday :)

[@soberhippie]

More prunning tips on prunning tips, eh?

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

And to finah I always go for a little tip...ple :)

[@brucedeacon28]

Z👍👌🙂

[@XaviersBonsaiRetreat]

Did I get a 'z' today - Cheers Bruce