Miracle happened…should I collect now??

leatherback said:

This should be fine.

I would not have made these short cuts that short to be honest. You know there is a big risk of lots of drying in at cut sites, and now you have not left anything to dry in. Always when collecting leave more than you need.
The roots are fine.

The sweating is great when collecting in cold miserable winter. I feel it is not great in summer. THe tree is fully active and knows it needs more roots. With warm weather it will do that on itself. I would probably just remove any leftover foliage (if that) and just plant it and put it in a sheltered spot. If it is dry hot and windy you might put the bag over but open just to raise humidity. But I would seriously avoid the whole keep as hot as possible which Tony advocated with the sweating bag setup. That really is meant for early spring later winter collects, afaik.

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I wouldn’t bag this either. Overkill. It’s also a very good way to set your tree up with fungal issues. Heat build up is also an issue. Plenty of both without the bag in summer

Too much humidity is a bad thing. Simply put the tree in an area that is shaded in the afternoon and out of the sun.

Shibui said:

Did you read as far as point 4?
'Clean cut the major roots as close to the trunk without spoiling the nebari'
IMHO that's exactly what @ChrisKussun has done. It is also something that I find effective when collecting most deciduous. By all means save any thinner roots with feeders but the thicker ones that have no feeder roots can safely be cut back close to the trunk. The cut ends is where we have exposed cambium. I've seen, year after year, that exposed cambium is where the vast majority of new roots emerge so it does not matter if the cut ends are closer to the trunk or further away.
If you check the transplant photos you'll also see that there's still a number of smaller roots left so I'm assuming the Op has kept as many smaller feeder roots as possible and shortened the thicker roots as per the article.

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Cutting back very large roots is one thing. Reducing the entire root ball 90% leaving very little left is another, particularly with a tree still in leaf during the heat of summer.

We will see how well it survives this treatment. I hope it doesn't as it is an interesting trunk.

I see many concerns about the rootball…following pic is of the roots I chopped



circled one was a downwards taproot and others were just too long and had the fine roots too far from the rootball to go in the available pot


I have taken the bag down and am leaving it to air thus having to seal it and I only have this


KateM also talked about wood glue but if the putty above doesn’t “cut it” haha…will any wood glue from home depot or other hardware store work?

ChrisKussun said:

I see many concerns about the rootball…following pic is of the roots I chopped

View attachment 605133

circled one was a downwards taproot and others were just too long and had the fine roots too far from the rootball to go in the available pot


I have taken the bag down and am leaving it to air thus having to seal it and I only have this
View attachment 605136View attachment 605137View attachment 605138

KateM also talked about wood glue but if the putty above doesn’t “cut it” haha…will any wood glue from home depot or other hardware store work?

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I just picked some of this up for cheap. Had read that it compares to the bonsai specific cut putty. I’ve never used the bonsai stuff myself

Duct seal putty will work.
Tightbond wood glue will work.
Plastilina will work.
Sticky aluminum foil used for ducts will work.
That goop you have needs to be used combined with tape, says do not apply directly to bark...

Paradox said:

Cutting back very large roots is one thing. Reducing the entire root ball 90% leaving very little left is another, particularly with a tree still in leaf during the heat of summer.

We will see how well it survives this treatment. I hope it doesn't as it is an interesting trunk.

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Damn phone spell check...

I hope it DOES well and survives

Paradox said:

Damn phone spell check...

I hope it DOES well and survives

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Lol honestly I read it as “hope it doesn’t die” so all is good I didnt think bad of it!


And yes I will be getting something from the hardware store tomorrow!

Removed the bag yesterday and bought some putty that I applied while enjoying a funny cigar

leatherback said:

I would probably just remove any leftover foliage (if that)

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How will doing so impact the tree?

I absolutely do not doubt @leatherback ’s experience but since he is the only one who brought this up if anyone else vouches for it I will proceed to the act as I have been thinking about it since collecting it!

And does that mean cutting everything back to the trunk? And do I keep the top branch to start a new trunkline?

ChrisKussun said:

Removed the bag yesterday and bought some putty that I applied while enjoying a funny cigar

View attachment 605231



How will doing so impact the tree?

I absolutely do not doubt @leatherback ’s experience but since he is the only one who brought this up if anyone else vouches for it I will proceed to the act as I have been thinking about it since collecting it!

And does that mean cutting everything back to the trunk? And do I keep the top branch to start a new trunkline?

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I think if you took the bag off, keep the foliage.

ChrisKussun said:

I absolutely do not doubt @leatherback ’s experience but since he is the only one who brought this up if anyone else vouches for it I will proceed to the act as I have been thinking about it since collecting it!

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I'm in 2 minds about this. I only have limited experience with Summer transplant for deciduous trees.
I have seem a couple of Japanese bonsai growers transplant and root prune in the growing season and they defoliated - I assume to reduce transpiration until the roots recover a little.
The trident maples I transplanted in fill leaf almost all dropped the leaves within a few days - and looked dead. 3-4 weeks later new buds emerged and they recovered. My guess is the trees found they could not supply enough water to the leaves so voluntarily dropped them as a way to stay hydrated until the roots recovered.

Yes, leaves will provide the food required to regenerate new roots, but if the tree dehydrates because of too many leaves it cannot grow new roots. Both retain foliage and defoliate seem to work.
Probably depends on how many roots are still available, how much water available in the new soil mix, how many leaves on the branches, humidity, temps, etc.
I'm inclined to let the tree decide what it wants. If it can maintain the foliage that's a good thing. If it cannot the tree can make the required adjustments. Just don't be devastated if the leaves all turn brown and fall off. There's still a good chance of recovery.

Summer defoliation and than repotting an old trident maple:

ChrisKussun said:

since he is the only one who

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Note the "if that". I usually do not remove foliage, and let the tree decide, as mentioned by @Shibui. Removing foliage reduces water loss, and it fells less stressfull for people when there is no leaves to wilt, crumbe and fall.

Defoliated today cause all the leaves were turning brown as many of you said so I wanted to “accelerate the process” if that’s a thing

Removed the baby branches too as many were from the same spot or they only had one bud really far from the trunk

ChrisKussun said:

Defoliated today cause all the leaves were turning brown as many of you said so I wanted to “accelerate the process” if that’s a thingView attachment 605535

Removed the baby branches too as many were from the same spot or they only had one bud really far from the trunk

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The putty doesn't look completely sealed. The secret to getting bonsai, or plumber putty to work best is to lick your finger. It will keep it from sticking to your finger and pulling away from the tree while you push it around.. As it begins to heal over it will crack the putty, just lick your finger and smush it back down occasionally. Works best for me.

The Barber said:

The putty doesn't look completely sealed. The secret to getting bonsai, or plumber putty to work best is to lick your finger. It will keep it from sticking to your finger and pulling away from the tree while you push it around.. As it begins to heal over it will crack the putty, just lick your finger and smush it back down occasionally. Works best for me.

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seal the putty as perfect as you can... cover it up and leave it alone... the tree (if survives) will thank you...