First hedge maple stump

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Greetings nuts,
Just picked up this little guy yesterday, it was field grown and harvested this year. Originally for sale as bareroot stock but I wasn't able to get to it until now, so they shoehorned it into a 16 inch square Anderson flat with some very organic looking soil only 2-3 days ago. Instinct tells me to get it into a larger container with some more open medium, however not having dealt with one of these before not sure. Also do the leaves look normal for this species, they seem kind of wilted?
The eventual plan(after recovery and establishment) is to create the appearance of an old growth big leaf maple. For those of you outside of the great PNW think multi trunk oak tree form but more upright and with deadwood.
So any thoughts, advice are warmly welcomed
Mike
 

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mcpesq817

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Nice tree. I'm not sure I'd repot right now given that it has pretty much leafed out. You might be able to get away with it, but I usually err on the side of caution. Also, if it was recently dug and repotted, and you're planning to repot again, you might be stressing the tree with two repots. If you happen to just move it to a bigger pot without any rootwork, that might be ok.

In terms of whether the leaves look wilted or not, I haven't worked with this species before, but lots of my japanese and trident maples have leaves that come out looking a bit wilted before they harden off.

Do you mind me asking where you purchased this tree? It's very nice.
 
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JasonG

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Hey Mike,

This is one of my favorite species of maples. They are very under used in American bonsai. They are awesome for bonsai! The leaves look great, they are just opening so this look is normal for right now. They will pop up soon enough. The soil will be ok, set the flat on the ground on barkdust, gravel, etc.. and watch how fast it will "root" in and grow crazy. I have several of these in training and they make for nice trees. I have a few I just took back out of pots and into flats to further develop brancing.

This one has a nice base......they develop fast, make sure you get wire on the branches you want wired and let the wire bite in pretty good. That is key for getting the branches to set on maples, you want a good deep bite. The scars will heal in a few years and the branch will be set. You know that though.

This one come from Diane?

See Ya, Jason
 
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Thanks for the responses mcpesq817, and Jason.
Figured you would recognize it Jason, yes it came from Wee Tree ,but originated from the fields of Oregon Bonsai. If any one is interested she had one more a little smaller with a single trunkline and awesome taper.
Mike
 

xghostx

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Thanks for the responses mcpesq817, and Jason.
Figured you would recognize it Jason, yes it came from Wee Tree ,but originated from the fields of Oregon Bonsai. If any one is interested she had one more a little smaller with a single trunkline and awesome taper.
Mike

Yes and yes. Is there a link to the one still available?
 

mcpesq817

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I'm interested too :D
 
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They don't have pictures online but they are quite helpful.
Just call their 1-800 number and talk to Diane, I'm sure she would send pix.
They also had a monster one still in ground, 8" base, 24" tall trunk.
www.weetree.com
Mike
 
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It's coming along, slowly. Ended up leaving it in the Anderson flat for 2 years(it was super vigorous)

Been repotted twice since, working on primary branching mostly, need to do some root grafts as the base is very 2 sided, tried sprouting seeds from this tree several times without success, just ordered some from Sheffields but they probably won't be big enough this year to do the grafts.

If it ever stops @$#@@%^$#%%$ raining( you know what I'm talkin bout) I'll post pix.
 

Tieball

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The leaf wilting look.....that’s exactly how my Field Maple tree leaves look every Spring into the early days if the beginning of my summer. My tree is healthy....it looks like this every year since I started it growing. Probably going on 10-12 years now. No photos right now...it’s buried under snow and without leaves until April or May.

I have wondered though....about layering and cutting rooting as the trees are difficult to find. My tree has a tall trunk-thickening branch I've let grow over the years. The base of the trunk is about 5” diameter. Growth is slow in my climate...slow but healthy.

1. Do Acer Campestre Field Maple cuttings take root? ...3/4” to 1” cuttings? Any specific time of the season best?

2. Air layering. Probably? Best time of the year?
 
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AlainK

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I don't have any experience on branch cuttings, no need, we can find plenty that can be collected here, but root cuttings work very well.

Air-layering works well to, here mid-May to end of June (when the tree has leafed out), but others do it earlier, just before budbreak, when they have an unheated greenhouse.
 

Tieball

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I don't have any experience on branch cuttings, no need, we can find plenty that can be collected here, but root cuttings work very well.

Air-layering works well to, here mid-May to end of June (when the tree has leafed out), but others do it earlier, just before budbreak, when they have an unheated greenhouse.
@AlainK Clarification for me. By root cuttings....Do you mean that when you prune roots you plant the pruned off roots with a slight amount uncovered above ground? Then those grow out to trees? When I dig up the tree I know that I will be root pruning....and those roots may be a good path for propagation in my climate.

@Mike Westervelt ...I did not mean to hijack your posting. The questions I had related to the tree species family you’re posting about. A short burst of questions related to the trees landed in my head. I figured the people commenting here would have some targeted answers and experience. My apology for the breakaway thoughts.
 
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AlainK

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when you prune roots you plant the pruned off roots with a slight amount uncovered above ground?

Yes, exactly. It works very well with Acer campestre, but unfortunately, it doesn't with Acer palmatum or Acer buergerianum.

This is about the right time here for several prunus and apple species which are also quite easy to propagate as root cuttings.
 
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Maloghurst, here are pix, better late than never! still lots of problems to resolve.

1. chosen front, hides big chops, best branch placement and trunk extension, narrow base.
2. right side, potential front? widest base but apex slants left and back
3. back, looks like octopus, worst roots
4. left, great root base, same as right, apex juts off too weirdly
5. top

Looking at these pix, wonder if I should bite the bullet and remove current trunk extension, grow a new one using left side as front????

Any thoughts or opinions greatly appreciated
front.JPGright.JPGback.JPGleft.JPGtop.JPGfront.JPGright.JPGback.JPGleft.JPGtop.JPG
 
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Maloghurst

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Thanks for the update! That’s a massive trunk!
I agree with your assessment that pic 4 could work as a new front. I think with pic 1 or 4 maybe this highest branch should be cut back?
I don’t know maybe not.
66F5FA46-6B82-49A3-87B7-5DD74791A57F.jpeg
 
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