Père David’s maple is one of the snake bark maples that our local arboretum grows and, purely coincidentally and certainly not due to seed thievery, it has found its way into my tonsai shelves as seedlings. I believe brother Tim was the first in our to grow this species from seed, as he grew one at his previous home in Shoreline.

My seedlings are probably at least seven years old. I planted them together in a large-ish pot with the idea of planting them as a forest grove someday when I get serious about my tonsai. The trees feature interesting bark and beautiful autumn foliage.

Before spring arrives, I plan to repot this grouping, prune their roots and add new, fertile soil. I’ll take the time to do some branch pruning, as well, to start shaping these plants in a better forest formation.