Five Year Native Tree Challenge - Woocash’s Field Maple

Woocash

Omono
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Ok, since this contest started I have always intended to actually enter and document some progress, but what with the arrival of a newborn and subsequent kick up the backside to get the boat nearer completion I have had very little time to do any work on any trees, let alone document and post about them. There are a few I had earmarked for the challenge, however, so I have finally gotten round to doing a bit of work and posting them.

First, a tree that will quite possibly stay with me for as long as I am around on this spinning ball of rock. After some workmen had cleared a load of scrubland on the site - and rather injudiciously at that, I chanced upon this maple at the back end of last year, right on the edge of where they had been clearing. Tucked away in a dense thicket of blackthorn, I would likely have never spotted it so thank you workmen (and girlfriend for employing them).

It has been rabbit/deer munched all around the base and up into the crown so while only 15 or so years old it has the look of centuries worth of age to it. Plus, to my eye at least, it has nearly perfect branch structure already. I merely need to add some flesh to the bones…

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Collected 24th February. Conveniently, it was growing in a thin organic layer on top of a layer of heavy clay meaning it has a nice even root spread with almost no downward roots. It is quite big, however, so getting out of the hole and lumping it to the van was no mean feat!
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It required a big box so I thought an octagonal one would do nicely
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These pictures show the nice root spread but they will need some reduction in the future
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Finally, potted up and ready to go!
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Woocash

Omono
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After a long, cold, wet beginning to spring it was only beginning to leaf out at the start of may.

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Then, for the next month, it really struggled with and giant infestation of green fly. I am loathed to use too many chemicals, but after a good treatment of bug spray, the effect was almost instantaneous and by the beginning of July it had exploded with growth. At that point I decided to give it a haircut.

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I had initially decided to employ the hedging technique, but because the growth was so dense and because so much of it was useless, I went for a more selective approach so I can see the branch structure more clearly and the future direction is easier to manage. I am using hedging for several of my trees and it appears to be working well, but for field maple the growth is just so coarse and budding so prolific that there will always be options available and so back budding just doesn’t need to be encouraged in the same way.

As it stands today, 70cm (28”) tall from the pot, 60cm wide, 10cm (4”) trunk thickness at 10cm high.

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Wow it’s already on its way to being an impressive bonsai. Good luck
 
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