I purchased this Acer Buergeranum from Lone Pine Gardens in Sebastapol, CA in December of 2006. It was on consignment from a previous owner who had already done some of the styling. It has a lot of 'issues' which have provided good opportunity to practice and learn bonsai techniques.
(click image for larger view)
Current root system needs work.
Trunk curves under adding a challenge to root grafting.
I purchased a few seedlings like this one for a thread graft / approach graft project. I'll wait until they're dormant before I proceed.
Seedlings are thread grafted through major roots to add some character.
I used a dremel to grind out a notch for the larger seedlings.
I drilled pilot holes for the nails to prevent splitting.
I cut a notch to make a sharp bend in this seedling so that it would fit in the desired location.
Wire was used to hold the seedling in position.
It would have been better to prepare the seedling the previous season.
Top view of dremel'd notch.
Nailed in place.
Sealed the joints.
Cleaned out the grow box for repotting in a new soil mix.
Combed out and washed the roots.
Trimmed off the excess and circling roots.
Repotted in a well-draining soil mix suitable for my watering regime.
Early spring growth.
All of the grafted seedlings are thriving so far.
Growth has not been as vigorous as the Arakawa.
Lots of new growth. Grafts appear to be doing well although they look like a different cultivar than the main tree - someone suggested that they might be 'Armur' - the leaves are serrated. Good thing they're just root grafts - hopefully the bark color will be similar enough.
Seeing lots of growth after fertilizing. The long shoots are coming from the root grafts which are encouraged to grow freely to promote grafting.
Close-up of two of the root grafts - they appear to be progressing nicely. The grey stuff is wound sealant that I peeled away to reveal the joints.
Root graft from the side w/ some of the wound sealant removed to see the joint.
Grafting completed.
Graft tops removed and carved out to allow for healing-over w/ minimal knob. I sealed w/ a wasabi sealant first, then covered with plasticene cut paste (not shown).
Healing progress on big trunk scar - the plasticene seems to speed it up as others have reported.
Comparison of scar from 5/15/07.
Annual prune and styling.
New spring growth. Re-potting next year.
Cut off the last root graft. Reduced the apex.
Starting to show fall colors. Looking pretty sad this year after all the heavy pruning.
Winter silhoutte - ready for styling.
Spent the time to wire individual branches this year. Much better results. Putting interesting bends into young shoots really works well.