Burning Bush Finally Collected

GrimLore · Apr 28, 2014

Finally pulled this Burning Bush, 4 inches at the base. No idea what or even if I will do anything with it, just needed to be removed like the entire back yard prior to the new fence installation.

Grimmy

Poink88 · Apr 28, 2014

Nice. Looks like you got a mass of good roots! I am sure this will do just fine.

GrimLore · Apr 28, 2014

Poink88 said:
Nice. Looks like you got a mass of good roots! I am sure this will do just fine.

There was a LOT more root! That picture was after I sawed 6 more inches off

Tossed them back in the hole for backfill

Grimmy

Ryan820 · Apr 28, 2014

Grimmy-- I just got one of these bushes last week-- base looks very similar to yours but may 3 inches wide instead... what do you plan on doing with yours? Mine has a nice shape but it looks like it'll just be broom style. I need to do a post and get input from the forum... they grow these a lot here in colorado due to their hardiness and willingness to not just be brown all the time like the rest of the forsaken flora in this State.

sbarnhardt · Apr 28, 2014

I'm interested in seeing how this turns out. I've got two rather large ones of these in our side yard. I wouldn't begin to dig them up, but have thought about trying to root some cuttings off them. Don't know if it can be done and likewise don't know if it can't. Has anyone tried rooting them?

GrimLore · Apr 28, 2014

Ryan820 said:
Grimmy-- I just got one of these bushes last week-- base looks very similar to yours but may 3 inches wide instead... what do you plan on doing with yours? Mine has a nice shape but it looks like it'll just be broom style. I need to do a post and get input from the forum... they grow these a lot here in colorado due to their hardiness and willingness to not just be brown all the time like the rest of the forsaken flora in this State.

Well honest I am in the process of removing everything that was left to grow wild here with no care for years prior to me buying the house. I cut this one back a few weeks ago and sealed the cuts with elmers wood glue and waited to see if it was healthy enough to back bud and it is so I collected it rather then toss it. I am just going to let it do its own thing until next year at this point. I did however tell my Wife that it could be a Frankentree next year after some more chopping back and perhaps some crazy grafts to it like Cherry, Pear, Crabapple or maybe even Oriental Maples

Really though I have NO IDEA what I will end up doing. As is they are a wonderful fall display as you mentioned so for now I will just be content to let it live.

Grimmy

edprocoat · Apr 28, 2014

Grimmy, these are neat plants with great colors too. The main problem is the new growth gets a fin ? or maybe call it a ridge or flute along the length of the growth. Its best to keep the foliage thick to camoflauge the branches as it looks so odd. The areas take 3-5 years to grow away, mostly. You have a great base for maybe a massive, impressive broom style.

ed

GrimLore · Apr 28, 2014

edprocoat said:
Grimmy, these are neat plants with great colors too. The main problem is the new growth gets a fin ? or maybe call it a ridge or flute along the length of the growth. Its best to keep the foliage thick to camoflauge the branches as it looks so odd. The areas take 3-5 years to grow away, mostly. You have a great base for maybe a massive, impressive broom style.

ed

I agree 100 percent, the new growth tends to have a very strange "fin" as you stated. I was happy it was healthy enough to back bud and that it was not full of borers or otherwise unhealthy, even if I do nothing for awhile it is to me better then tossing it

Getting a nice house was nice but geesh the landscape was bad so I will try to save what I can as I improve it.

Grimmy

jkd2572 · Apr 28, 2014

I'm amazed at the root pad you were able to get. This thing was waiting to be bonsai. Can't believe it has so many fine roots so close to the base. I would keep this one in my grow area every year until the awesome color comes on. I would just hedge it until I got a tree shape. This guy will never be cool as a winter image and that's not what it's for. It's the foliage color that is its name sake.

GrimLore · Apr 29, 2014

sbarnhardt said:
I'm interested in seeing how this turns out. I've got two rather large ones of these in our side yard. I wouldn't begin to dig them up, but have thought about trying to root some cuttings off them. Don't know if it can be done and likewise don't know if it can't. Has anyone tried rooting them?

I have never worked with them prior to this dig but I did notice there are many tiny ones it the area I dug up telling me they propagate from sucker roots. Seeing I am just letting the large one grow for now I won't be able to tell you if cuttings work. In hindsight I should have tried cuttings during the initial "chop".

Grimmy

Brian Van Fleet · Apr 29, 2014

We had a light post in our front yard, that had a brick planter built around it. Years before, a euonymus was planted there and was happily growing. By the time we bought the house. the light post had rusted away, and the euonymus had grown to a good 10" base, 25" tall, with a fibrous root system just like yours at the soil level...then another separate root system below it.

You can still tell where the light post was. I kind of wish I hadn't sold this one, but if I recall, it simply refused to close wounds. I dug it in 2001, and these photos were taken in 2003-2004.

Have fun with yours!

GrimLore · Apr 29, 2014

Brian Van Fleet said:
We had a light post in our front yard, that had a brick planter built around it. Years before, a euonymus was planted there and was happily growing. By the time we bought the house. the light post had rusted away, and the euonymus had grown to a good 10" base, 25" tall, with a fibrous root system just like yours at the soil level...then another separate root system below it.

You can still tell where the light post was. I kind of wish I hadn't sold this one, but if I recall, it simply refused to close wounds. I dug it in 2001, and these photos were taken in 2003-2004.

Have fun with yours!

Thanks for the info and pictures

The one I pictured has a similar wider root base as well, just not that large a base. It also had what seemed to be separate layers of root system which looked rather odd. In the picture of the root mass I had just finished sawing off the lower 6 to 8 inches and is why that "severed" anchor is a good 3 inches wide. Again appreciate the input as this one was just not going to work where it was in the new yard and I really was happy to see it seems healthy enough to keep.

Grimmy

GrimLore · May 22, 2014

Back Budding

A few people asked if these things back bud. Here is an update 25 days after collection.

GrimLore · Jun 26, 2014

For the record I cut 6 inches off every piece of new growth last week and it is also back budding on the new growth today 58 days since collection. Also I moved it into a shady area 2 weeks ago and the leaves have changed from a weak yellowish green to a very deep green.

Grimmy

Cadillactaste · Jun 26, 2014

GrimLore said:
For the record I cut 6 inches off every piece of new growth last week and it is also back budding on the new growth today 58 days since collection. Also I moved it into a shady area 2 weeks ago and the leaves have changed from a weak yellowish green to a very deep green.

Grimmy

Definitely looks to be happy where you located it to. It's amazing to see what 2 weeks can do to a plant/tree.

Tieball · Jul 9, 2014

Trunk

Question: even though this is a burning "bush" do you still treat it like tree? Single main trunk? Branching off that trunk?......just like a deciduous tree and not like a bush which sprouts shoots rapidly from the ground base.

Paradox · Jul 9, 2014

Tieball said:
Question: even though this is a burning "bush" do you still treat it like tree? Single main trunk? Branching off that trunk?......just like a deciduous tree and not like a bush which sprouts shoots rapidly from the ground base.

Yes

In development: Purchased and repotted this year. Reduced the number of trunks.
Will work on further pruning next year.

GrimLore · Jul 10, 2014

Tieball said:
Question: even though this is a burning "bush" do you still treat it like tree? Single main trunk? Branching off that trunk?......just like a deciduous tree and not like a bush which sprouts shoots rapidly from the ground base.

Yes, mine will remain in that basket and in Spring the main branches will be reduced from 23 to 13 inches. From what I see there is two clusters of 3 branches that will be reduced to 2. It will grow out for another season and the following year go into a shallow training pot and at that time I will expose the base and the roots. From there it will be a pinch and clip making what the "naturalistic" Bonsai people will view as an Informal Broom. During that entire time and as long as I keep it any lower new growth will be rubbed of when it buds keeping the trunks smooth and unscarred. I mainly pulled it to save it but the Fall Foliage is great and it will manage well in a pot.

Grimmy

Burning Bush Finally Collected

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