[Kate]

Hee hee. Well my trip down to Heron's was not only a pleasurable few hours spent looking at some wonderful trees and talking to some very experienced nice people... but yeah, I bought something too!

And not a part of my usual 'Reject Rehoming Scheme'!

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[Kate]

Yeah, his top growth needs a bit of work shaping up - I'm going to see what this spring's growth looks like before making any decisions there - but his trunk is just so full of character.

I've always admired the skill involved in producing a hollow trunk (I don't think I'd ever have the nerve to do it), and loved the resulting trees.

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[marcus]

That's exactly what I mentioned in your other thread.
See the black?
That's lime sulpher with ink added.

[kerry757]

Hi Kate,

I know what you mean by not having the guts....what a beauty though, it has a unique character...sometimes its better if you have a little reshaping to do yourself...it sort of makes it your creation. I bet you can't wait to see it wake up soon...you will have to post some more piccys when it does...how tall is it from base of trunk and what sort of price are we looking at? Its just that when I move to my house with the garden I will be looking to get a load of outdoor stock.

Kerry

[ferny]

It certainly is an interesting trunk, but the hole seems too uniform for me. To manufactured. Still, it is your tree and you like it, what does it mater what I think?

How long does bare wood on deciduous trees last?

[tshirtman]

Cool tree there Kate

There's a lot of potential there .... have fun with it.

[Kate]

He's 15.5" tall (not inc. pot) with a 13-15" spread. Trunk is about 4" dia at base, 2.5" at mid-point.

He was £70, and worth every penny for me. I've never had a Field Maple before (not for lack of wanting one), but I've only ever found Japanese Maple varieties. The leaves are 'thicker' - more your classic Canadian Flag look, going towards yellow rather than red in autumn.

I was warned that the branches can be a bit coarse, but by pruning a bit on the hard side every few years and you can develop a decent, more twiggy structure.

The fact he has work to do appealed to me. It will kinda make him 'my' tree over time rather than a nice peice of art that I've bought that needs 'dusting' every once in a while!

I picked up this little guy too for £25, only 8" tall.
He's due for re-potting so I'm going to sit him a bit deeper in a training pot and see if I can ground layer him a new set of roots from his pot-belly.

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[Harry Harrington]

Hi Kate,

2 very nice purchases! I particularly like the A. palmatum; it might be worth reducing the current height a little as well as planting deeper into the pot.
The Field maple is very impressive but I have to agree with Ferny, you can see where the trunk has been hollowed out with a drill. Try carving out the mouth of the hollow a little to remove the circular shape. The tree won't come to any harm as the hole is surrounded by dead wood anyway.


Harry

[Kate]

Hey, nice to see you back Harry.

After having a go at my Sagarethia I'm restraining myself from going 'Dremel-happy' and attacking everything in site!

I'm gonna see what this summer's growth is like as I'm aware these can be a bit coarse I'd like to see exactly how much of the top is exposed through the leaves...

... then I'll attack it!

[marcus]

As long as I looked it up, here's some pics if your interested.
I think here in the States a field maple means different things to different people.
This one is more commonly referred to as a Hedge Maple.
Click
Fall colors

[Kate]

Nice.
I think he'll look suitably dramatic in between my Japanese Reds come Autumn.

[Harry Harrington]

Hi,

Field Maple is AKA Acer campestre, often seen in the UK as a hedging plant.
The Spring foliage and the autumn foilage is as good as many Acer palmatum IMO. Growth can be coarse Kate but this can be avoided by usual bonsai practices and pinching out the terminal buds of shoots asap after they start to extend, particularly in Spring. It can also be worth holding back feeding the tree until the leaves start to harden of in late Spring.


Harry