I have been working on my red maple bonsai. First, a few
observations.
I collected it in 1991. Up until this year it spent most of the
time in the
ground, not looking very promising. I pruned it occasionally.
This year I
suddenly discovered that i has an interesting trunk, crooked
and tapering, so I
potted it up. Although one of the articles I read, I think by
Jim Lewis,
recommends against cutting off branches, I cut off all the
branches because
they were too thick. The tree did oblige me by growing a new
set.
I notice that if you make a major pruning cut on this species,
you need to
gouge it out as deep as possible with your knob cutter. A flat
cut will produce
a big ugly bump.

I don't recall saying not to cut branches, but that article was
written some time ago and I have learned a little . . . . (?)
Anyway, you will get a scar, whatever you do. I have started to
(believe it or not ;-) use cut paste on major A. rubrum cuts and
then use it as a kind of glue to hold a piece of foil -- cut to
exactly fit the wound -- over the cut. I leave it on as long as
possible. So far, this _seems_ to reduce the swelling callous
that you usually get at the site of a cut on a swamp maple,
supposedly because it blocks light on the wound. I dunno whether
this is wishful thinking, or not, but it two occasions the
swelling seems to be less. Other folks here swear this technique
works on A. palmatum and trident maples.

I would worry that a knob cutter would kill the part of the tree
above the incision.


Some of the articles recommend against wiring. Jim Lewis says
that the species
in Florida has upright branches. However, in Central New York,
red maples tend
to grow in a more classic style, with the lower branches
horizontal & the upper
ones more upward. The lower branches have a sort of S curve.
This may be due to
snow or other climatic effects.

Probably snow weighing them down. Although, trees growing in the
wide open spaces will be more rounded and the weight of the older
branches will tend to pull them down as the tree ages. All open
speces in Florida have been bulldozed for houses, however so
there ARE no old A. rubrum grwing anywhere but in the woods and
swamps where developers can't get to -- yet.

I decided to wire it this way. I wired the
branches green, because once they lignify they are as rigid as
steel. So far it
has very few branches. It doesn't sprout exploding shoots like
a Japanese
maple.

Ramification is difficult. I think I might have suggested that,
rather than cutting branches of flush with the trunk (or incised
into the trunk) you leave a small stub. Often, A. rubrum will
sprout new branches around the stub. THEN you can cut it off --
and the dead branch stub is less likely to leave a big swelling.

Once your tree is well established in this pot, you can try to
defoliate regularly. This helps bring down leaf size, but also
promotes end buds and buds farther back on the new branches to
sprout and helps with ramification.

How large is this tree? I have a six-inch A. rubrum that I've
grown from seed and over the course of 6-7 years have developed
fair ramification. It's still in a 3-inch training pot, but
maybe I can take a picture. (It also shows a large swelling
where I topped it a few years ago. It slowly is going away as
the tree grows, but . . .

My biggest question right now is where can I find pictures of
good red maple
bonsai. Do any exist? I would also like to know how successful
people have been
in reducing the leaf size.

My little tree has 1/2 inch leaves, but it started from the
small-leafed variety that grows in N.W. Fla. and S. Ga. (2
inches). Your growing season may be too short, but I defoliate
healthy trees 2 or 3 times in a summer.

The August 1999 Florida Bonsai has some fair pics of A. rubrum
bonsai. Jerry Stowell, in his "Beginner's Guide . . ." says he
had had one for 10 years or so at that time. I dunno about now.
No pics in the book, through. He's somewhere "near" you, isn't
he? Check with Bill V.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - This economy
is a wholly owned subsidiary of the environment. - Gaylord
Nelson, 1995

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