Five Year Native Tree Challenge: Gabler's American Sycamore

[Gabler]

@Gabler it seems that all of your tree are species which are unbonsai. Are you doing this on a bet, or is God speaking to you, or is there some personal agenda that you are following? All big leaves, long internodes, uneconomical in all aspects. Why are you doing this?

I also have a bunch of Carpinus, Acer, and Pinus sp. which are classic bonsai material. I just have fun playing around with weird/unusual species that I find as volunteers, growing where I don't necessarily want a tree to grow. I know it won't win any shows, but that's not my goal. I figure a native species contest is a good excuse to play around with weird stuff for fun.

 

[Gabler]

As expected, the tree is still healthy. I know the wiring is crappy. That six millimeter wire is tricky to work with.

 

[Gabler]

The apex is about nine feet from ground level.

 

[Gabler]

 

[Gabler]

 

[Gabler]

The roots were dense and fibrous and had completely filled the growing bag. I cut off probably twenty pounds of fine, densely packed feeder roots, leaving a large volume of feeders still close to the trunk. I cut off maybe three quarters of the leader to keep the tree from reaching twenty feet tall this year.

 

[Gabler]

I always forget how late these guys are to leaf out.

 

[Gabler]

A quick update. Growing like mad in spite of this spring’s hard pruning and repot. It’s already once again taller than I am. It’s grown a good four feet since May.

 

[MMJNICE]

Looks like a bunch of hornbeam seedlings in the pot with your Sycamore tree.. BTW I'm growing a bunch of Sycamore seedlings right know and I noticed the large variation of leaf sizes.. some as small as an inch and a half ,,,and to me that means that the possibility of a reduced leaf size is definitely probable.. unless you have tried to reduce a Sycamore with pot restriction, leaf Defoliation, and pinching for increased ramification I would only half believe what anybody says on any forums smh..

 

[Gabler]

Looks like a bunch of hornbeam seedlings in the pot with your Sycamore tree.. BTW I'm growing a bunch of Sycamore seedlings right know and I noticed the large variation of leaf sizes.. some as small as an inch and a half ,,,and to me that means that the possibility of a reduced leaf size is definitely probable.. unless you have tried to reduce a Sycamore with pot restriction, leaf Defoliation, and pinching for increased ramification I would only half believe what anybody says on any forums smh..

There’s a lot of experience on these forums, and I generally trust the advice of members with good trees to prove the value of their input. Also, I like to see for myself why certain practices aren’t recommended—hence, my experimentation with sycamore.

 

[Cmd5235]

There’s a lot of experience on these forums, and I generally trust the advice of members with good trees to prove the value of their input. Also, I like to see for myself why certain practices aren’t recommended—hence, my experimentation with sycamore.

I'm following this thread because I'm interested in your experience with this tree...and because you're just to the south of me!

 

[leatherback]

I would only half believe what anybody says on any forums smh..

so why are you here?
wtf

 

[Gabler]

so why are you here?
wtf

To be fair, you can still benefit from advice even if you insist on testing it first. Nonetheless, I agree with you that MMJNICE is probably taking skepticism too far. It’s an easy mistake to make and one that I’ve made myself, so I can’t be too critical.

Radical skepticism is useful in the natural sciences, where everything needs to be tested, but many of us who are taught to value hard science are tempted to extend that skepticism beyond scientific hypotheses to test credible practical advice.

This entire thread is a test of credible practical advice, albeit done for fun, not because I doubt the advice is sound.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

I have an American sycamore that overhangs my Japanese maple area, and I swear I am nervous that when the leaves fall they will land on one of my maples and break a branch

 

[Gabler]

I have an American sycamore that overhangs my Japanese maple area, and I swear I am nervous that when the leaves fall they will land on one of my maples and break a branch

They’re messy trees, and they drop more than leaves. They drop lots of dead twigs and branches, some of them quite large, not to mention their meatball-looking seed pods.

That’s actually another potential reason to avoid them for bonsai. They abort large branches.

In fact, this one has aborted several of the branches I wired, in favor of top growth on the leader I’ve allowed to extend. It’s clear to me now that it’s a result of the fact that they were not getting enough light.

 

[Carol 83]

They’re messy trees, and they drop more than leaves. They drop lots of dead twigs and branc, not to mention all of hes, some of them quite large, not to mention their meatball-looking seed pods.

Our neighbor's overhangs my back patio where I keep the azaleas and cuttings. When it storms it frequently drops twigs and branches, not to mention all of the gigantic leaves it drops.

 

[leatherback]

Radical skepticism is useful in the natural sciences, where everything needs to be tested, but many of us who are taught to value hard science are tempted to extend that skepticism beyond scientific hypotheses to test credible practical advice.

Even in Science (Especially?) you rely on expertise from others. If something has been shown once, yeah, be critical. But after 10 papers confirm this, it becomes something you build the next layer on. Unwillingness to take any expertise from others and start building from there is in my view anything but science.

"if I have seen further [than others], it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
[Bernard of Chartres & Isaac Newton]​

 

[Gabler]

Even in Science (Especially?) you rely on expertise from others. If something has been shown once, yeah, be critical. But after 10 papers confirm this, it becomes something you build the next layer on. Unwillingness to take any expertise from others and start building from there is in my view anything but science.

"if I have seen further [than others], it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."
[Bernard of Chartres & Isaac Newton]​

I agree. I don’t mean to suggest you should be skeptical of replicable experimental results, but until multiple papers confirm an hypothesis, it’s good science not to trust it 100%.

Also, paradigm shifts can happen, overturning decades of prior understanding. That’s not to say they invalidate individual experimental results, but they do change the way data are subsequently interpreted.

 

[Underdog]

I have had a couple neglected ones in pots for several years. The leaves do reduce. Mine usually under 2"

 

[Gabler]

I have had a couple neglected ones in pots for several years. The leaves do reduce. Mine usually under 2"

Thanks. I would not have expected that great a reduction in leaf size. If I can get them under four inches, I’ll be happy.