deshojo maple your advice please

I acquired this Maple Deshojo from a bonsai nursery.
The tree was once i imagine quite an elegant tree. However to my eye it was pruned heavily and a lot of the tree died back.
so this year it has been well fed and watered and put on lots of growth (pics taken spring).
So i know i have to dig out the scarring from pruning and next year arrange some branches.
the deadwood has nice grain and is cracked. the live vein is healthy and calloused over nicely.
BUT i am in 2 minds whether
1 - to partially carve out the deadwood and make a feature shari with a hollow?
2 carve out all of the deadwood leaving a carcass and a haunting image?
i want to create an image of an ancient old decidious tree eaten away by age and time
the tree is 14 inches tall 3inch base
your thoughts please
Regards
Steve.
https://i.servimg.com/u/f80/14/20/57/76/bonsai47.jpg
https://i.servimg.com/u/f80/14/20/57/76/bonsai48.jpg
https://i.servimg.com/u/f80/14/20/57/76/bonsai49.jpg

That's going to make an unusual maple, whatever you do. Most maple bonsai are so perfect they're almost boring -- if beautiful.

I don't know that I'd do too deep carving. Maple wood is hard, but it is NOT resistant to rot.

Think bunjin.

Have fun.

thanks Jim
i tend to agree that i do not need a mass of foliage
we have some ancient oaks near me at Hatfield house and they are where the idea came from.
Regards
Steve

Hi Steve. Is first pic probable front, Or have you got one you can show us? I think both your suggestions are possible but if you make it completely hollow and the cambium eventually rolls into the interior, might be a bit special. For this to happen i'd keep it in the box to speed things up. Bunjin is an excelent idea.

I do hope that I'm wrong in this case, but the usual cause of a maple looking like this is Verticillium wilt killing off the majority of the tree. Keep a keen eye open for anything dying back from the tips.

Well...



Well, if it were my tree, I'd first carve out the dead wood as much as possible and make a hollow trunk, a "uro-miki" I think it is called by specialists : I agree with Jim Lewis.

Secondly, what I infer from the pictures is that the soil is too dry (at least at that stage of developpement) : I'd get rid of the semi-dry weeds growing in the container as soon as possible : considering the way how dry they look, they must have invading roots that can choke the roots of your maple. If you do want to keep them alive, plant them in a different pot as kusamonos....

will baddeley wrote:Hi Steve. Is first pic probable front, Or have you got one you can show us? I think both your suggestions are possible but if you make it completely hollow and the cambium eventually rolls into the interior, might be a bit special. For this to happen i'd keep it in the box to speed things up. Bunjin is an excelent idea.

Hi Will
I reckon the first pick will be the front only because the othere siide is just the live vein
i had another good look at it this morning and i will have to leave some shari/deadwood to form a bit of a taper but the hollow
idea appeals to me more and more -the tree will be in the box for a while its the best thing for them i agree- need a different pot in the future and ideas will !!
steve

AlainK wrote:Well...



Well, if it were my tree, I'd first carve out the dead wood as much as possible and make a hollow trunk, a "uro-miki" I think it is called by specialists : I agree with Jim Lewis.

Secondly, what I infer from the pictures is that the soil is too dry (at least at that stage of developpement) : I'd get rid of the semi-dry weeds growing in the container as soon as possible : considering the way how dry they look, they must have invading roots that can choke the roots of your maple. If you do want to keep them alive, plant them in a different pot as kusamonos....

Hello Alain
the box the tree is in does have a weed problem which will be sorted when i re-pot unfortunately its the legacy of the original condition of the tree- i pull them out every week. T
he tree is very well fed and watered so no problems there it was probably photographed prior to watering.
thanks
steve

BIGSTEVE,

First your material is outstanding. Very unusual for a desojo. If I were you, I will NOT carve the deadwood. Leave it there, just clean and take care of it. Very hard to find a material like that, that has a very nice deadwood. The deadwood is very natural and the movement is very unusual. You can make a good bonsai from that material.

Ogi uyehara

ogi uyehara wrote:BIGSTEVE,

First your material is outstanding. Very unusual for a desojo. If I were you, I will NOT carve the deadwood. Leave it there, just clean and take care of it. Very hard to find a material like that, that has a very nice deadwood. The deadwood is very natural and the movement is very unusual. You can make a good bonsai from that material.

Ogi uyehara

Thanks Ogi
My wife agrees with you on this one and i may clean up the pruning scars and leave it because like you say its natural where as the carving will not!
regards
Steve

Anychance you could take a couple more pics. Come down a bit more in line with the box and from several angles. The colour of the bark and deadwood has a duffet glazed pot all over it !

bigsteve wrote:
Thanks Ogi
My wife agrees with you on this one and i may clean up the pruning scars and leave it because like you say its natural where as the carving will not!
regards
Steve

Hmmm... You see very few Japanese maples with dead wood in their natural setting. To me, this doesn't look natural at all, but that is the $6 million dollar question again : does a bonsai HAVE to look natural?

AlainK wrote:

bigsteve wrote:
Thanks Ogi
My wife agrees with you on this one and i may clean up the pruning scars and leave it because like you say its natural where as the carving will not!
regards
Steve

Hmmm... You see very few Japanese maples with dead wood in their natural setting. To me, this doesn't look natural at all, but that is the $6 million dollar question again : does a bonsai HAVE to look natural?

I am fortunate to live near some really old decidious woodlands and virtually without exception every one displays a shari or hollow trunk -which is why i bought the tree,i fancied recreating this type of look and not following the trend- the fact that its a maple i think makes it more of a talking point.
strangly enough i have had 3 friends who have asked if i sell the tree on to give them a call!
thats the beauty of it all - its what we want in our trees not what others dictate to us.
thanks
steve

I'd certainly work with what you have, and like I said at the start do as little carving as possible.

But, please . . . take it slowly. Many actions are irreversible.

JimLewis wrote:I'd certainly work with what you have, and like I said at the start do as little carving as possible.

But, please . . . take it slowly. Many actions are irreversible.

thanks Jim
I agree totally - i can not add what i take off and see how things evolve
regards
steve