Tree overview
About this tree
I got this tree from my friend Roddy. Roddy is a contractor and has a habit of running into interesting trees that are getting dug up from old yards all over the Philadelphia region. This one was found while redoing a driveway. He dug the tree up roughly ten years ago, and according to the previous homeowners, the maple had been in the yard since at least the 1980s.
Over time, I’ve been calling him the “Whispering Old Soul.” It just felt fitting for an old yard maple with decades of history, a quiet presence, and soft refined growth that reveals more detail the longer you spend looking at it.
Development history
The story of this tree
- 2023Fall 2023
Fall 2023 - 2024Spring 2024
By the time the tree came into my possession it had already budded out for the season, so I decided not to push my luck and left it alone. It clearly needed a repot, but I didn’t want to stress the tree unnecessarily.
Spring 2024 - 2025A workshop with Peter Chan
Peter Chan and I after his workshop in 2025 
Peter Chan makes some quick decisions on things to remove 
Peter studies the tree carefully and fast 
Peter says “No Refunds” and proceeds to prune 
More pruning by Peter - 2026Repotted
Spring 2026 
Spring 2026 
Spring 2026 
Spring 2026 
Spring 2026
Species and care notes
About the species
A note on the name
One interesting thing about this cultivar is the name itself. You’ll often see it written as both “Kitohime” and “Kiyohime” depending on the nursery, seller, or bonsai artist. From what I’ve been able to find, many people seem to use the names interchangeably, though I haven’t been able to find any concrete evidence that definitively proves whether they are actually the exact same cultivar or slightly different selections.
A lot of the characteristics described for both are nearly identical, compact growth, tiny leaves, short internodes, and dense ramification, which probably adds to the confusion. If there is a difference, it seems subtle enough that even many experienced bonsai people treat them as the same tree in conversation.