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Hi guys…

Recently I got a new house and in backyard I found japanese maple. For a few months Im thinking about starting with bonsai so I am absolute beginner. Even I can see that this tree wasnt handled properly…wrong cuts on wrong places, bad soil etc. I know that almost everything can be turned?into bonsai, but my questions are…

Is there any alarming signs that shows that there is very little chance to turn?this in decent bonsai? I dont want?kill it just for beginners fun.

I'm aware that this tree needs some major cuts (I marked photo on 2 spots where I can see some sense…), but I understand that repotting in decent soil is also mandatory. What to do first? Repotting and then major reshaping next year or vice versa? In the same time maybe?

Is there opportunity to take seedlings from little branches from top before major cuts or this is going to overcomplicate everything and put even more stress on tree?

I am in Croatia, so here is early winter…thanks in advance.

Why do you say neglected? I see a very healthy tree, at least on the one photo where it is possible to see the buds.

I would not rush away on this one. It needs to grow and thickening the trunk. That can be done in that pit as is. No pruning, no repotting at this stage. Grow it for a few years in this pot and you will gave a nice starter for bonsai.

Oh, yea.....I would actually remove the thin trunk by cut flush to the soil come spring.

Tropfrog wrote:

…I would not rush away on this one. It needs to grow and thickening the trunk. That can be done in that pit as is. No pruning, no repotting at this stage. Grow it for a few years in this pot and you will gave a nice starter for bonsai…

I agree that trunk needs to spread and be thicker…but dont you think that in a those few years first bifurcation is going to be too high for nice bonsai then? Photos are maybe not adequate…but this tree is already aprox 1m high…

I do agree that branch structure needs to be built closer to the trunk. But that is a task that comes after you are happy with the trunk size and tapering.

If you are happy with the trunk the lowest green mark is where you should cut. However, I always tell people to grow a healthy tree for one full growing season before doing any work at all. So that trunk shop is for summer 2024 at earliest in my opinion.

In the end it all depends on what you want to achieve. Do not look at what you can create with the tree as it looks today. Look at what you want to create in the long run and start to make up a long term plan. Maples can be cut to bare wood and will backbud like crazy if well taken care off and healthy.

Looking on the photos again, maybe I would consider growing it for a few seasons. Then cut close to the first branch and use it as the new trunk. That would create a nice taper and movement. But I tend to go for a great tree in the long run, not an average tree in the short run.

But as always, it is your tree and you are the artist. Do whatever you think suits your long term vision best. I guess what I want to say is that you can do whatever you want with it, but it is not about deciding what cut to do now, it is about what actions to take the next 10 years. You have a blank canvas and anything is possible. When you put it into a shallow pot and gritty substrate it is still possible to develop, it is just so much slower.

I just want to advice you to look at Marcos zelkova progress. Not the same species. But maples can be handled the same way. This is what I mean when I say your tree is a blank canvas and that it can be anything given time:

www.bonsaiempire.com/forum/progressions/...a-serrata-broomstyle