Picked up this JM yesterday at a discount, but it wasn’t marked. I was hoping someone here could help me zoom in on the exact type so I can research more advanced care. I didn’t see any weekly threads so apologies if I’ve posted in the wrong fashion, I wasn’t sure what else to do.
I was considering a big trunk chop in the spring right above the lowest set of red leaves and focus on concentrating new growth below those until then. But I do like the way it looks now as well. Any tips or advice for a newbie JM owner?
by savant-bio
1 Comment
Mature leaves look a tiny bit like Peve Starfish, but not as pronounced. I’m not exactly an expert on JM varieties tho. As for trunk chop, consider if you want the finished bonsai foliage to be that of the grafted stock or that of the rootstock (a standard green JM). This will determine where you should make the chop and, if you want the finished tree to be the cultivar foliage, whether you should try to airlayer a part of the upper portion. Most agree that the standard green JM rootstock is more amenable to bonsai culture, but there are certainly many adherents who like to build bonsai from the named cultivars. Personally, I mostly like smaller cultivars like Kiyohime, Sharps Pygmy, Seiun Kaku, and Mikawas for bonsai – but the vast majority of mine are standard green or red JMs.