Hi there all,
In this article I will try to give you information on what is called the Hedge Maple Or Field Maple.
This variety of maple is used in many landscape designs and works well in most all public areas like around malls parks center dividers on public streets and the like it is more native to Europe and Asia and many other areas around the globe. In North America thou this maple is known as or called by a more common name Hedge Maple or even Field Maple. Although it is used more commonly in Europe it can still be found here however in nursery's and as I said they are more commonly used in landscape design than for bonsai.
But as usual I personally will try most any kind of tree or shrub for bonsai simply for not only a learning curve but also to increase my own personal collection. So I was lucky to have picked up some of these little guys at a local nursery and created a grove of them in a bonsai style forest planting or Penjing style if you will.
Now for all of you that do not know what Penjing is well that is another day or another article but in the mean time if you wish to really know what Penjing is then Google it...But to make it quick and simple its what is considered multiple plantings or in this case a planting that is more than one tree in the same pot and is often a style of bonsai used more by the Chinese than any other.
The Hedge Maple has a nice small leaf structure making it a very good choice for a group planting as there always tend to be several trees in any group planting and thus being planted very close together and all growing in the same pot which of course means that we will need room for the top growth and yet do not want it to look overly crowded. So more often than not I personally will choose a shrub or tree that has smaller leaves and a bit of a slower growth habit if used for a forest panting.
For this planting I choose an oval non glazed pot 12" inches long by 6" inches wide and 2" inches total depth and there are a total of 14 trees in this planting and so far this season all are doing fine.The bark on hedge maple tends to lean towards a gray almost cork fissured look with age and like I said although grown more for an ornamental look it can also of course be bonsai-ed as I have shown here.
The Hedge Maple is also a hard wood used a lot in the making of furniture and musical instruments.It is very shade tolerant in its early infancy but will tend to need and want more direct light and sun as it grows larger and it does tend to like full sun but be careful and watch what is happening very closely if you keep it in full sun.Full sun is more for a tree in the ground than in a small bonsai pot that will tend to dry out quickly.
This variety of maple is used in many landscape designs and works well in most all public areas like around malls parks center dividers on public streets and the like it is more native to Europe and Asia and many other areas around the globe. In North America thou this maple is known as or called by a more common name Hedge Maple or even Field Maple. Although it is used more commonly in Europe it can still be found here however in nursery's and as I said they are more commonly used in landscape design than for bonsai.
But as usual I personally will try most any kind of tree or shrub for bonsai simply for not only a learning curve but also to increase my own personal collection. So I was lucky to have picked up some of these little guys at a local nursery and created a grove of them in a bonsai style forest planting or Penjing style if you will.
Now for all of you that do not know what Penjing is well that is another day or another article but in the mean time if you wish to really know what Penjing is then Google it...But to make it quick and simple its what is considered multiple plantings or in this case a planting that is more than one tree in the same pot and is often a style of bonsai used more by the Chinese than any other.
The Hedge Maple has a nice small leaf structure making it a very good choice for a group planting as there always tend to be several trees in any group planting and thus being planted very close together and all growing in the same pot which of course means that we will need room for the top growth and yet do not want it to look overly crowded. So more often than not I personally will choose a shrub or tree that has smaller leaves and a bit of a slower growth habit if used for a forest panting.
For this planting I choose an oval non glazed pot 12" inches long by 6" inches wide and 2" inches total depth and there are a total of 14 trees in this planting and so far this season all are doing fine.The bark on hedge maple tends to lean towards a gray almost cork fissured look with age and like I said although grown more for an ornamental look it can also of course be bonsai-ed as I have shown here.
The Hedge Maple is also a hard wood used a lot in the making of furniture and musical instruments.It is very shade tolerant in its early infancy but will tend to need and want more direct light and sun as it grows larger and it does tend to like full sun but be careful and watch what is happening very closely if you keep it in full sun.Full sun is more for a tree in the ground than in a small bonsai pot that will tend to dry out quickly.
The Hedge Maple if left in the ground and not in a pot can grow to heights of over 25 feet and will make a lovely shade tree and can also be used in nearly any landscape as a hedge if planted close together in rows along fences or driveways or as dividers on property lines, simply use your own imagination if using the trees this way... But they will cluster together nicely making eventually a very nice tight hedge thus of course where the name was derived Hedge Maple.
But for this article I chose to make a group planting and add several of these small trees to one small pot and then grow them on as a forest planting... The Chinese create most of there bonsai in this style called Penjing. They also of course go a little further than I tend too and add other items to there planting so as to make a scene and this is also nice and makes a very nice looking planting if you have the time and patients to do so..
Watering for this plant is normal pretty much every day as in this pactiular instance being planted in a very shallow pot it will tend to dry out much faster necessitating a more rigid watering regime. In the hotter weather as spring evolves into summer and things warm up then you will want to be more vigilante and keep your plant well watered and some what shaded from the direct sun as maple tends to burn rather easy and it would not take more than one good hot afternoon to cook your plant and ruin it for sure.
For soil I use a nice medium mix I personally use for most all of my bonsai three parts plain regular garden soil simply gathered from my own property and one part sand and one part perlite you could of course purchase all of these products from any garden center. Mix all three parts well and then add to your pot as needed during your planting. If your pot provides extra holes in the bottom of it for wiring then you should of course take advantage of this and wire the trees or tree into the pot so as to prevent it from toppling in the winter and spring wind storms.
Living in the Northwest we of course tend to get a lot of rain and a lot of these small storms in early spring and of course all winter long and since I do not remove my plants from their garden locations unless the temperatures get into the teens they winter out doors all season and come wind rain or snow they still manage to survive. But some plants can and will be just by the way you plant them rather top heavy so you should alwasys take this into consideration when planting and wire them into the pot if possible.
But then again as an avid grower of bonsai I tend to be right on top of things during all seasons watching my plants and tending them nearly every day.
Pests to maple are few so not to much worry there but never the less keep a sharp eye as always its better safe than sorry. Maple happens to be one of my favorites in the garden and happens to be one of the easier plants to grow and to manage. I grow all of my maples from seed unless I'm picking up a really very good bargain from the local nursery which I might add is not often. Most maples I have or have had around for any time seem to start producing there own seed after they are about eight to ten years old and I gather the seeds in the fall and stratify them and then sow the seeds in the early spring of course to indeed have more maples either for my self or for resale..
Well not much more I can tell you at this time about Hedge Maple but as always if I pick up on any other good hints or tips about this little plant then I will add them to this post. So have fun with this one and look for some in your local nursery and make your very own Penjing or forest planting.
Thanks for reading.
By: Harold Yearout ©Copyright 2013 Harold Yearout All Rights Reserved for more information feel free to contact me:
But for this article I chose to make a group planting and add several of these small trees to one small pot and then grow them on as a forest planting... The Chinese create most of there bonsai in this style called Penjing. They also of course go a little further than I tend too and add other items to there planting so as to make a scene and this is also nice and makes a very nice looking planting if you have the time and patients to do so..
Watering for this plant is normal pretty much every day as in this pactiular instance being planted in a very shallow pot it will tend to dry out much faster necessitating a more rigid watering regime. In the hotter weather as spring evolves into summer and things warm up then you will want to be more vigilante and keep your plant well watered and some what shaded from the direct sun as maple tends to burn rather easy and it would not take more than one good hot afternoon to cook your plant and ruin it for sure.
For soil I use a nice medium mix I personally use for most all of my bonsai three parts plain regular garden soil simply gathered from my own property and one part sand and one part perlite you could of course purchase all of these products from any garden center. Mix all three parts well and then add to your pot as needed during your planting. If your pot provides extra holes in the bottom of it for wiring then you should of course take advantage of this and wire the trees or tree into the pot so as to prevent it from toppling in the winter and spring wind storms.
Living in the Northwest we of course tend to get a lot of rain and a lot of these small storms in early spring and of course all winter long and since I do not remove my plants from their garden locations unless the temperatures get into the teens they winter out doors all season and come wind rain or snow they still manage to survive. But some plants can and will be just by the way you plant them rather top heavy so you should alwasys take this into consideration when planting and wire them into the pot if possible.
But then again as an avid grower of bonsai I tend to be right on top of things during all seasons watching my plants and tending them nearly every day.
Pests to maple are few so not to much worry there but never the less keep a sharp eye as always its better safe than sorry. Maple happens to be one of my favorites in the garden and happens to be one of the easier plants to grow and to manage. I grow all of my maples from seed unless I'm picking up a really very good bargain from the local nursery which I might add is not often. Most maples I have or have had around for any time seem to start producing there own seed after they are about eight to ten years old and I gather the seeds in the fall and stratify them and then sow the seeds in the early spring of course to indeed have more maples either for my self or for resale..
Well not much more I can tell you at this time about Hedge Maple but as always if I pick up on any other good hints or tips about this little plant then I will add them to this post. So have fun with this one and look for some in your local nursery and make your very own Penjing or forest planting.
Thanks for reading.
By: Harold Yearout ©Copyright 2013 Harold Yearout All Rights Reserved for more information feel free to contact me:
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