Advice on collecting a Japanese maple from garden

[Potawatomi13]

" " IMO cutting the foliage will be like removing your finger from the top of a straw full of liquid.

It will bleed out the roots.

Best to keep it as intact as possible""

"I'm afraid I don't agree at all with you my friend"

As usual effeminate socialist frenchman wrong!

 

[Storm87]

it could be all right, but I wouldn't have removed so much soil.

I know. Had to remove it. Because I had to lift it in to the back of the car on my own.

 

[Storm87]

(First frost this week for me. For you too? )

Not yet. Temperatures wont go below 2 C (during the night) the coming two weeks.

If that does not take, consider lopping the top of completely.

What I read thus far is that getting roots is not the main problem, but that the root system is most often to weak to sustain the tree. Any thought on that?

Or use it for the landscape?

Unfortunately there is no room left in my backyard.. (a relatively small back yard, 80m2, is one of the reasons in got into bonsai).

I do not think the roots are a big problem, to be honest.

Peter Chan doesn't think also (Bonsai From Field Grown Material). The way he works the roots of a large maple!

 

[leatherback]

The way he works the roots of a large maple!

lol.. subtle is not in his vocabulary!

But in your case, I think the roots do not need that sort of work, from what I can tell.

No idea whether the grafted part will do well o[n own roots.

 

[BobbyLane]

Not yet. Temperatures wont go below 2 C (during the night) the coming two weeks.


What I read thus far is that getting roots is not the main problem, but that the root system is most often to weak to sustain the tree. Any thought on that?

Unfortunately there is no room left in my backyard.. (a relatively small back yard, 80m2, is one of the reasons in got into bonsai).

Peter Chan doesn't think also (Bonsai From Field Grown Material). The way he works the roots of a large maple!

i was thinking when i saw the roots, why do you want to bother layering off the base after youve just dug it up, doesnt make sense to me, if thats the case then why even bother digging it up in the first place. just pass on it.
i think the base is fine, there is some flare and balance there, thats all you need. not every tree has to have a perfectly manicured finely tuned, radial nebari.
and yes look at the one Peter chan just worked on for reference, that maple will be worth a fair bit of coin once its refined.

you got a large amount of root, the tree should be fine, if you have a container that will accommodate all that root then great.

are dissectum a good variety for bonsai though, seen any good examples? whenever i see them at the nurseries or garden centres i tend to pass them up. same with bloodgood or variegated maples, just not the ones i tend to mess with.

 

[Woocash]

Yea man, keep it alive first then think about your options. Personally, I love the flare on those roots. Get rid of that and you get rid of it’s best feature IMO. Good luck!

 

[Storm87]

Some hours further of hard labor:

 

[Storm87]

Any advice on how to water properly the coming period?
Should I cover the surface with a wet blanket to keep the surface roots moist?

 

[Hack Yeah!]

No blanky, just sing to it at bedtime.

 

[Storm87]

A small update about the maple I dug up one week ago.

If the leaves sink down like stale vegetables, you'd better cut them off right now.

The leaves didn't seem to have deteriorated in the last week. So I guess that good.

These often are not so great for bonsai as they have an ugly grafting site.

I took a better picture of the grafting scare. It there, but could be worse.

 

[AlainK]

Congrats, it looks very healthy.

 

[PABonsai]

Damn that's a big tree. Good job. Good luck keeping it through winter!

 

[JPfagus]

How is the big maple doing?

 

[Storm87]

How is the big maple doing?

Thx for asking!
Until now we had a really soft winter, so I guess thats somewhat beneficial for the tree. I was wet though ... but its in good a drainage container and soil.
Buds are starting to swell at the moment. We'll see how it develops this spring!

 

[Storm87]

The tree is in full leaf. I think it's doing allright. We had 5 pretty warm and sunny weeks and the tree is in full sun for about 8 hours a day. No leaf burn or what so ever.

Still no idea what I'm going to with it however ...

 

[sorce]

The tree is in full leaf. I think it's doing allright. We had 5 pretty warm and sunny weeks and the tree is in full sun for about 8 hours a day. No leaf burn or what so ever.

Still no idea what I'm going to with it however ...

Yard tree plus layers!

Look at those bends!

Sorce

 

[MrWunderful]

The tree is in full leaf. I think it's doing allright. We had 5 pretty warm and sunny weeks and the tree is in full sun for about 8 hours a day. No leaf burn or what so ever.

Still no idea what I'm going to with it however ...

If you get a huge flush this year, give it a light clean up mid summer then let it run. In fall give it another light fall prune for any minor flaws, then you can really work the structure next summer.

But be careful, dissectums are more difficult than a trident/mountain maple. I have an “ao jutan” that I have been working on for a few years and the apex and node length really need to be managed.