coral bark japanese maple

does acre japones corteza de coral make for a good bonsai tree?

I would go with acer palmatum arakawa for a corky bark specimen.I have never heard of the cortez

You don't often see 'benikawa' and 'sangokaku', 2 named varieties of coral bark Japanese maples, used for bonsai but I don't see any reason why you can't. Their foliage is small and the fall color a pretty golden yellow. Are they grafted? That may be a problem. Sometimes you can find them on their own roots.

Looks like you read the Spanish side of the tag!

Russell

Russell Coker wrote:Looks like you read the Spanish side of the tag!

Russell

Exactly!
I have two Sango kaku bonsai...bought and developed from garden center material. This one had been air layered from the top of the parent plant several years ago.

Russell Coker wrote:You don't often see 'benikawa' and 'sangokaku', 2 named varieties of coral bark Japanese maples, used for bonsai but I don't see any reason why you can't. Their foliage is small and the fall color a pretty golden yellow. Are they grafted? That may be a problem. Sometimes you can find them on their own roots.

Looks like you read the Spanish side of the tag!

Russell

it has 2 names on the tag the other is acer palmatum sango kaku.
yes it is a graft but i was thinking of trying my hand at air layering.

thanks John for a picture i googled and couldn't find a picture.
i will try to air layer on this one.

Russell is the graft problem from being ugly or the way the tree will grow from the root stock?

It's about the looks, Ricky. Plants grafted for bonsai are done very thoughtfully, and those for the nursery trade are done very quickly. Sometimes those high grafts show, and sometimes they don't. If it's bad try the air-layering.

Very pretty John!

R

Thanks for posting about your airlayered A p. Sango Kaku (also known as Senkaki) John. I have a 20' tall one in my garden and have often wondered how well it would do on its own roots if parts were airlayered. Next year I will give it a go.

My 50 or so seedlings from this same tree are also doing very well, but it is too soon to tell how well they will colour up in winter. They may be inferior but, with luck, one or two of them might even be better.

I've never seen a sangokaku that wasn't robust and healthy whether on its own roots or grafted, so I don't know why the growers think it has to be grafted. Maybe it's to prove that it is the named clone rather than a seedling (although we're still just taking their word as true), or maybe it's for the $$$.

Jon, is the small tree in the composition you show the air layer from the larger one?

Kev, I can't wait to see how your seedlings turn out. Please keep us posted. Btw, I found a red cutleaf seedling in my garden that I'm watching.

Russell

Russell, this twin trunked tree was an air layer from a garden center tree some years ago. Here is the 'mother' tree from which it was layered. The air layer was quite easy, only requiring a few months here in SC.

I have 2 that were grafted and I potted them in plastic nursery pots then ground layered them.......I will remove roots from original understock but hopefully will get roots on surface from coral bark and understock roots below surface. Dunno if it will work but seems like a good plan. Mine are murasaki kiyohime jap maples. Lovely foliage. I will attemp to air layer them when they get a bit bigger so I can hav more of em!

Hey Bez,

Here's a shot of the murasaki kiyohime at our botanical garden. It's about knee high and about 7 ft across.

R

Do you think that I could get hard wood cuttings from a coral bark maple and try to make a new tree?
Is this time of year suitable for this purpose?
Does any one have previous experience with hard wood cuttings of maples?

I have also asked the same question here Sango Kaku acer palmatum

Thank you in advance!

You may want to get "Japanese Maples" by J.D. Vertrees. Its a well recognized source of great & accurate information regarding propagation & identification of varieties.

I've seen lots of sang kaku on their own roots in nurseries, and not too expensive either. In fact they are one of the less expensive I have seen around. This could be due to ease of propagation from cuttings...but who knows.

John,
Good looking trees!

Neil

Neil is right. The J.D. Vertrees book is a must have for Japanese Maple lovers.

Many thanks to both of you!