I live in Montana and we get very cold winters. Ive been looking at the Ice Dragon Maple because it is cold hardy. The problem is I cant find any info on them for bonsai. What are the thoughts of the group? Would this make a good bonsai?
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The Ice Dragon Maple appears to be a dissectum type with with lacy leaves - a form I do not feel works well for bonsai. Why not use Amur Maple (A. ginnala) which is hardy to one USDA zone more than the Ice Dragon (zone 3 vs. zone 4). It has a nice leaf that is similar to the trident maple and about the same size. It does not heal large wounds very well, but responds well to standard maple processes in bonsai.
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Thank you sir. Can you explain why you feel it is an unfit form for bonsai? I feel it compares to the weeping styles of bonsai.
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Sorry if I implied that the dissectum group are unfit for bonsai. I am sure they can be made into bonsai, particularly in the weeping style as you suggest.
I have 3 as yard/container trees that work very well in the mounding/weeping style. However, I feel the long thin leaves just don’t work well as a bonsai where I prefer a smaller, more compact leaf. I also prefer my maple bonsai to have lots of ramification (still working on that for many of them) and the leaves of the dissectum group tend to make that more difficult.
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I get that. When I see the Ice Dragon I can’t help but see a woman dancing. The soft flowing lines, the slightly longer delicate leaves like a dress, the secondary growth almost like out stretched arms. I’m very drawn to it. So much so, that I bought a beautiful tree yesterday.
I’ll have better pictures tomorrow when it’s delivered.
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That’s cool. Maple struggle here for me, so I keep my dissectum in the ground and just do major prunes on them as if they were bonsai. They all tend to lean towards a weeping habit.
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What part of MT? I’m in Missoula.
Oh, I live in Charleston, SC.
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