"J-Maple Root over Rock"

docs_bonsai

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This J-maple has been on this rock for 25 years...I used the old school method by placing a small cutting on top of the rock and buried them...Year by year I raised the rock and kept lashing the new roots to the rock...The tree measures 16" tall and 22" wide...A slow process that works well...Got to have patience for this work...Transplanted it into this blue/grey 9" by 2" round pot last year...Needed the moss replaced, cleaned it up and gave it a hair cut…Ready to go!
 

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PaulH

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Its one of your best!
Carve the olive yet?
 

Mikee002

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Wow... beautiful tree! I can't believe that it's so long coming... makes me wish that I was into bonsai younger in life (though I'm pretty young anyway).
 

Alex DeRuiter

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Beautiful tree. Is there a chance you could post larger pictures? I'd love to see it close up.
 

crhabq

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docs,

Nice, super nice!

Even so, have you tried irritating the callous to help close the pruning scares on the two roots? Might help the image along.

Might look even better potted in a nice scoop pot, tilted slightly to the left. Not much but a little to the left and and the canopy a little more forward.

Lovely tree, glad you are showing it now. It is quite the eye-catcher.

Thanks for posting this and your patience in producing such an inspiring bonsai.

Ray
 

Joedes3

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Wow! Twenty five years, now that is patience. Great tree.
 

docs_bonsai

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Thanks for the awesome response and comments...Here's a larger shot.
 

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docs_bonsai

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Ray I"ve been trying to close those openings in the roots for some time...When I put the tree on the rock it was only a cutting and those roots were just stubs...One new root grew around each of the stubs and that's the way it turned out...I'll do a little carving on the openings and try to reduce them or make them a little more attractive...Thanks for the comments.
 

R_F

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Very nice! Do you have any leafless photos?
 

docs_bonsai

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No winter shots right now but I will post a few this fall...Thanks for asking.
 

evmibo

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A couple questions if you don't mind answering:
-How large was the cutting when you started?
-What did you "lash" the roots down with? Would you continue to use that material if you did it again? Also, this must have been difficult and a fragile process in the beginning, correct?
-How low below the surface of the soil did you allow the roots to penetrate?
-How did your soil mixtures evolve throughout the 25 years? (not necessarily exact materials used but what were you trying to achieve with the mixture. E.g. moisture, increased drainage etc.) How often did you completely change out the older soil for fresh soil?

I've got some Ulmus parvifolia seedlings and I'd like to start a journey like yours next spring.
Btw, very cool tree :)
 
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docs_bonsai

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I'm working on a new post that explains most of the questions you've asked...Not quite ready yet…Thanks for asking.
 

docs_bonsai

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This is the material I’m going to use…The cutting is a six inch larch…Three inch trunk and three inches of root…The process is easy and usually completed when the tree is dormant…Less stress on the cutting…Tie a cutting (just about any type of material will work) to a desirable location on the rock with plastic tree tape… Snug!..I use to use raffia but it decomposes to quick… The plastic tape is versatile …Wrap the tree tape around the rock and loosely pull the roots in onto the rock on each turn…Keep wrapping down the rock leaving openings between each wrap…When you get to the bottom of the rock tie off the tape…Plant it in a pot large enough to cover the roots of the cutting and rock…Let the cutting grow, pinch as you normally would…Every spring when the tree is dormant you can lift it out of the pot and check the roots…Each time you do the same thing as before…Tie any new roots and give it a general clean up each time…As you do this work each season you can start to lift the rock up out of the soil and expose more roots…One nice thing about this process is that you can prune the top, start working on the apex and the design each time you repot it…
 

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crust

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Gee I could never get a larch to regenerate without at least some buds on it. Are you sure these are larch plants you ahave here?
 
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