Amur Maple Trunk Chop

[Colorado]

This is an Amur Maple that I purchased last year as nursery stock. If memory serves, it was approximately $40 and in a 2 or 3 gallon container. Here’s a photo from Summer 2019:


I did a “late summer repot”, which I wouldn’t really advise for more extensive work. Here, I just reduced the bottom 1/3 of the root ball and reduced down a bit from the top. I put it in a plastic training pot I had laying around.



It had a nice nebari starting to form. I covered that back up with akadama top dressed with spagnum. Nice fall color:


I had originally planned to let the tree just grow this year and accumulate energy. But the tree exploded with growth this spring and I decided to go ahead and do some work on it this year. I’d say I chopped low enough, no?


I plan to update this thread as a progression periodically.

 

[BrightsideB]

I like the form in that tree! Looks great! Hope the clone takes well. I have been eager to clone my trident.

 

[leatherback]

Good to see you take it conservative with a die-back prone species like amur

 

[Maloghurst]

Oui oui, she’ll be alright.

 

[rollwithak]

This is an Amur Maple that I purchased last year as nursery stock. If memory serves, it was approximately $40 and in a 2 or 3 gallon container. Here’s a photo from Summer 2019:
View attachment 302384

I did a “late summer repot”, which I wouldn’t really advise for more extensive work. Here, I just reduced the bottom 1/3 of the root ball and reduced down a bit from the top. I put it in a plastic training pot I had laying around.

View attachment 302390View attachment 302391

It had a nice nebari starting to form. I covered that back up with akadama top dressed with spagnum. Nice fall color:
View attachment 302392

I had originally planned to let the tree just grow this year and accumulate energy. But the tree exploded with growth this spring and I decided to go ahead and do some work on it this year. I’d say I chopped low enough, no?
View attachment 302393View attachment 302394

I plan to update this thread as a progression periodically.

You had some good movement towards the bottom of the tree, no?

 

[j evans]

Wow, just wow what a move!

 

[Colorado]

You had some good movement towards the bottom of the tree, no?

Yes, but the tree had a structural flaw - reverse taper - near the first bend. It was never going to be a very good tree with this issue.

It may have mitigated itself with time and lots of growth, but I doubt it. And I’m aiming for a shohin-sized tree/clump anyway.

 

[Arizona bonsai]

This thread gives me an idea for a ficus I air layered that needs help on style.

 

[misfit11]

Wow! Bold move. It's hard to tell from the picture but it looks like it's in pretty organic looking soil. Is this correct? Not ideal for sure if this is the case. I'd get it into a deeper pot next spring with inorganic, free-draining soil. In the meantime, only water when it begins to dry out.
The other issue here is the relatively shallow pot it's in. That chop will take two days from forever to grow out and heal in that pot. Like I said put it in a deeper pot next spring if you insist on keeping it in a pot. Personally, I would put this in the ground (you could safely do this right now actually). With ground growing your grow rates are going to be exponentially faster than in a pot (especially one of this size). The only caveat to ground growing is that you do need to dig it up every couple years to do root work. The roots will quickly grow out of proportion otherwise. This will help develop a good nebari. Since you're basically starting over on this tree anyway, making the base your first item of business should be the priority anyway.
Hope that helps. Good luck!

 

[Colorado]

Wow! Bold move. It's hard to tell from the picture but it looks like it's in pretty organic looking soil. Is this correct? Not ideal for sure if this is the case. I'd get it into a deeper pot next spring with inorganic, free-draining soil. In the meantime, only water when it begins to dry out.
The other issue here is the relatively shallow pot it's in. That chop will take two days from forever to grow out and heal in that pot. Like I said put it in a deeper pot next spring if you insist on keeping it in a pot. Personally, I would put this in the ground (you could safely do this right now actually). With ground growing your grow rates are going to be exponentially faster than in a pot (especially one of this size). The only caveat to ground growing is that you do need to dig it up every couple years to do root work. The roots will quickly grow out of proportion otherwise. This will help develop a good nebari. Since you're basically starting over on this tree anyway, making the base your first item of business should be the priority anyway.
Hope that helps. Good luck!

The soil mix is akadama, pumice, lava, and some fir or pink bark, can’t remember which. To be honest, it was the last of a few bags I had laying around. The akadama was the crappy soft kind that I wasn’t going to use for anything else, anyway. Since I knew it would only be in this pot for about 18 months, I didn’t mind doing that. The organic-looking stuff on top is mostly old/new Biogold.

It will be going into my grow bed, or into a wooden grow box, next spring.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Amur are tough trees, though drastic, it will explode with a lot of growths, though many will be suckers from the roots. Get rid of the suckers as fast as they form, to force the trunk to do the back budding.

 

[Colorado]

The plan is to develop into a clump, but I’m keeping a close eye on it and will be selective about which new shoots I keep.

 

[Colorado]

Here’s a fall update. As expected, the tree responded very well with multiple 3-4 foot extensions. The only photo I can find is with the tree in the background, my Shepard mix Mr. Avery was the star of this photo:

I did some carving on the remaining stump, wired the new shoots once earlier this season, pruned as the leaves began changing color, and wired again yesterday. Ready for winter:



The plastic container is absolutely hard packed with roots. I am going to make nice, shallow wooden box for this over the winter and repot in spring in akadama.

 

[leatherback]

I take my hat of sir. You played ball, and won!

Well done!

 

[Colorado]

I wintered this tree outside over the winter and it did very well - did not get any die back from the fall pruning sites.

I repotted a few weeks ago. The container was absolutely packed with healthy, fine roots:


Repotted into a 14” box and now the buds are opening all up and down both trunks:
My soil mix this time is mostly pumice, with a little bark/organics mixed in and a healthy layer of sphagnum moss top dressing - the mix I am currently using for deciduous trees still in the very raw development stages in boxes.

I will let this tree grow wild this spring and keep a close eye on the wire.

 

[misfit11]

Looks like you're doing all the right things with this guy. Nice choice moving him to a grow box. That added space to let it stretch out will help with bulking up the trunks faster. The wiring for shape when they are young and pliable is critical. Nice work!

 

[Hartinez]

I wintered this tree outside over the winter and it did very well - did not get any die back from the fall pruning sites.

I repotted a few weeks ago. The container was absolutely packed with healthy, fine roots:
View attachment 369072
View attachment 369073
Repotted into a 14” box and now the buds are opening all up and down both trunks:View attachment 369074View attachment 369075
My soil mix this time is mostly pumice, with a little bark/organics mixed in and a healthy layer of sphagnum moss top dressing - the mix I am currently using for deciduous trees still in the very raw development stages in boxes.

I will let this tree grow wild this spring and keep a close eye on the wire.

Dam Tj! Bold chop for sure! Glad it rewarded you with healthy growth!

 

[Gaea's listener]

I wintered this tree outside over the winter and it did very well - did not get any die back from the fall pruning sites.

I repotted a few weeks ago. The container was absolutely packed with healthy, fine roots:
View attachment 369072
View attachment 369073
Repotted into a 14” box and now the buds are opening all up and down both trunks:View attachment 369074View attachment 369075
My soil mix this time is mostly pumice, with a little bark/organics mixed in and a healthy layer of sphagnum moss top dressing - the mix I am currently using for deciduous trees still in the very raw development stages in boxes.

I will let this tree grow wild this spring and keep a close eye on the wire.

that looks amazing, I'm looking forward to an update on it

 

[QuantumSparky]

Glad to see it's turning out nicely! I couldn't help but laugh when I got to the photo of the chop location xD Something about watching people's hard-fought progression with a tree and then seeing them chop the entire thing off never ceases to amuse me

 

[Colorado]

that looks amazing, I'm looking forward to an update on it

Thanks for following the thread! I will post an update of the structure this fall. This tree has been growing like mad all year. Now it is putting out a late summer flush of beautiful, dark red new growth.