My new best friend . . .

Shin Deshojo

I have one of these and it is one of my favorites!

What a cute little maple, would love to see some closeups of the leaves!

Laura

Lovely little tree. You might want to stake this tree if it's flexible enough. Or not depending on your mood. :-)

Thanks Doss for posting that every time I looked at that pic i wanted to post "stake that tree!!" but I think I am getting a busy body reputation here at Dave's so I DIDN'T and am SO glad you did ( you are NOT a busy body BTW)!!!! ;>) David

Thanks David, do my best not to be a busybody - while giving everyone my opinion at the same time. Pretty tricky, huh?

Gardnerme - all it takes is a little stick and some soft tie and you can make this little tree stand up. It should have a central leader (main upright trunk) because it's a tree with a fairly upright nature, intending to be about 10 feet tall X 6 feet wide. Of course it probably won't get that big in a pot and you can keep it smaller, but if you don't stake it early the wood hardens and you can't get it the way you want it.

I have one too, e-bay.
She is a real beauty. Only issues I've had so far, is sunburn and aphids.
Which one is the central leader?
freebird

This message was edited Jul 10, 2006 11:19 AM

Doss & myersphcf: Thanks for catching me on that! Don't worry about being a busybody, as long as you are nice about it. I did not know that my JM wood would stiffen up this early, so I will check all of my babies, which will probably remain in pots their entire life because I only have a small patio. Thanks again! Pic of sharp's pygmy below.

Freebird, if it's flexible enough you can stake the longest branch to be the central leader which will be the upright 'trunk' of the tree. If not, then I would pinch the long one and choose an upright branch for the leader. It will take some time. If this is the case, eventually you will remove the current long branch.

I would ask David or someone else before I did this though.

gardenerme - your Sharp's is very nice indeed!

I just picked the longest branch on my tree in the other "largosmom" thread. Mine was bent at about 90 degrees, and is just starting to straighten out.

You have to use your imagination a bit. Just look a lot at your tree, rotate it around and see which sides the branches are on and try and imagine what it will look like with those branches longer/thicker and heading in the directions they are growing now. If you want a tree that has a multibranching trunk, then let the lower branches stay as the tree grows and thickens. If, in your "mind's eye, the tree looks lopsided, or you think you might prefer the lowest branches higher up on the tree, then let it grow and remove the lower/offending branches as it gets bigger. I also pinch off any little leaflets/suckers that grow on the trunk to keep it cleaner looking as it grows. Some trees do this more than others.

It takes patience, and a bit of willingness to take a risk in order to get a shape that looks nice, but that is fun too! I have a little maple that I got several years ago that was about $30. It was little more than a twig, and boy, it needed work. I forget what it originally looked like now, but I know that it was my first attempt at shaping a tree to my desire. It was a bit of an experiment and I trimmed off the lower branch or two for the first 3 years, trying to get an even spread around the trunk so that as it grew the crown would be somewhat balanced. It took about 5 years until I got it to a reasonably even shape. The trunk is a bit wavy but it doesn't look to bad. That one is my coral bark that I have shown in other pics.

It is fun with these baby maples, isn't it!

Laura

i agree with doss although it's hard to see anything but the longest branch which seems to be the only possible leader to me ...it looks really flexable u would gently pull it upright and tie it to a stake ...it should remain upright if left that way for a bit just make sure to keep it tight enough to keep it straight but not so tight as to injure it ..I use just garden bread type ties but redo them often to make sure they don't damage tie tree ...one other uses womans hose ...a little to girly for me ...you can also buy more pro stuff on line that is stretchy... I love the tiemup system ...it aint cheap but if ya gots lots of plants it looks like a winner to me ...just google it up oops you may get S&M stuff... so here's a link this company BTW is TOPS real fast survice and good pricing ..may be pricey to ship to west coast though ???

http://raysbaginc.com/page12.html

I am the one that uses a band or tie cut from panty hose...maybe a bit girlie, but they do come in black which might not be so obvious! If you have a wife or significant other that is throwing theirs out, you can try cutting a bit off. My grandmother used them in her garden and I like the stretchiness and it doesn't seem to damage the bark or stems of plants.

Laura

I use 3/4" wide plastic stretchy tape. It's an horrible color green but works just fine. I get it at any garden supply store. My dahlias like it too.

thats similar to the tmup system except you can tie the tape or staple it yourself .. ..it is probably the safest... but as I said I use just these plastic ties like you get on bread they come in long rolls ( 500ft??) with a cutter ...but you have to be careful to check on your stuff if you use it...since I am out peering at my stuff on a daily basis I don't worry too much ... I also use varias sizes of bamboo poles...I even found some 7 ft'rs at kmart that I can cut to whatever size I need these are about 3/4 "thick NOT FOR POTS BTW...they were Martha Stewart :>0 saved me having to buy larger quantities on line ...you can get 2-4' 1/4-3/8" green ones in bags of 25 for around 1-3 bucks at almost any garden store ...those are the ones I'd recommend for pots and smaller stuff and branch training of small dissectums ...David

I am a big fan of bamboo stakes too. I bought some steel ones a few years back and reuse them over and over. I have also used the green stretchy tape from the garden center and rolls of the plastic ties as well for veggies. I just have an overflow of the hose at the moment and why not use them?

Laura

I think that they are great and a perfect material! Wish that I had more. But I don't wear hose too much anymore. :-)

I don't much either, but I have an excess of material just waiting to be used, LOL!

Laura

I have found pentyhose cheap in "dollar" stores. My favorite tie is valcro, comes in 2 inch wide, easily tares or cuts to appropriate size. I reuse them over and over, and they don't hurt young branches, because of the fuzzy soft inner layer. I sure do love learning about little JMs. Thay are amazing little plants.
freebird

Freebird and Gardnerme - I'd love to see photos of your trees after you stake them.

Shin Deshojo Staked for Central Leader.
I choose to stake the existing long shoot since this is my first month with the plant, and would like to see what happens with it this way. I could always trim the shoot later if it seems better to choose a different leader.

Oh, I am so relieved! You might need a slightly taller stake in the future. See how it does. But it's great to see it standing tall.

Mine has 2 equal shoots and one of them has a strong shoot off of it and I could not choose which one so I loosely staked them all upright. Now what should I do?

That's an interesting question. I have one tree which has a quite a number of secondary branches. Perhaps this may help you think of structure. It's such a young tree though that you may want to sacrifice one of the main trunks for the sake of the eventual shape of the tree. Or you may want it to have several trunks. Sit with it for awhile, study the two branches, look to see if you can remove one with it in good shape or if you think that it would be better with the two. Don't do anything until it's dormant as it's just been moved and will be under a little stress. Think about what you want the tree to look like later and what size. Get some more opinions.

You may like this or you may not but it will give you an idea of where you may be going.

firstly i agree with Doss ...you need a longer stake Free you will probably start to see what happened before do so again a bit higher up ;>)... and secondly GME I think that is EXACTLY what I would do ....not that that means anything ;>) but you really have no choice IMHO both branches seem a bit too nice to cut and there is NOTHING wrong with the Doss look I like it ...there is NO one way a JM should look or should be made to look except when it endangers the tree....as in the case of severe listing, humpbackness, or v -shaped at a severe angle that could cause spliting and thats what we have been addressing RIGHT!! ....v David

They are both looking great! Gardenerme, I think it looks very nice as a multi-branch tree, but I can spend hours thinking about how the tree *might* look as it ages before I decide to trim a tiny branch off, lol! I turn it around and around and try photos to look at too.

Laura

myersphcf: I agree I will need a longer stake, however, I put in a very short regular wooden stake so that I can replace it later with a taller one without damaging the roots. I really hate to see a tall stake in a small tree. What do you think?

doss, largosmom: I love that multitrunked loo you sent doss. It's beautiful. Right now I am tending in that direction. For now I will let it alone and ponder its future. Hard to imagine it will someday be really big!

GME you stake looks fine!!!! it was free's that seemed too short...both trees I bet will look even better next summer since you've got them in training and in the right direction (UP) IMHO. david

I'm just so glad that they are standing up straight. You are Japanese Maple rescuers!