名媛直播

Hi there

I inherited a Japanese maple (I think) bonsai from my grandad a couple of years ago. I've done some very very light pruning but other than that I've just let it be for two years. Unfortunately grandad was very unwell for his final 3ish years, so this bonsai has been neglected for quite a while. I have no idea on age or anything, and am just guessing at the species.

Attached are some photos. There are two maple plants in this pot (previously three, but one died) along with some maidenhair fern. As you can see the maples aren't very bonsai-like. I'm located in Australia so we're just getting into spring and I can see some leaf buds just starting to form, so I figured now would be the time to do some thing to improve this bonsai.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to go about cutting this back to start getting it into a more bonsai-like shape? Obviously I'm not expecting a masterpiece, but developing it into something better than the leggy stalks that it currently is would be great.

Thanks!

If the leaves are not fully extended you could consider repotting the two trees into separate pots and letting them grow with some pruning during this next growing season. I would recommend a club, or some of the courses on here to help with repotting, if you are not very experienced with that kind of thing. you could also put them in the ground, and begin cutting the trees back.
I would definitely separate the two trees, whereever you pland them.

Are those leaves on the tree from last year?

Thanks, I think separating and cutting them back is a good idea. I'm very new to bonsai so will do a lot of reading first!

Yes, the leaves in the photo are from last season - most fell off in late Autumn but a few hung around.

If you dont repot ( which you should ) get rid of everything that isnt maple and cut back hard, its way to leggy and long