Sekibonsai
Shohin
Maybe its a compensation thing since I'm 5'3"... always been fascinated by big little trees in pots. Even as I get older I resist the urge to "go small"... "ain't getting any stronger..." "You're gonna hurt your back old man!" I continue to powerlift to be able to maneuver the biggest of these monsters. Still love the swamp and pulling out the big 'uns. I frequently fly solo on my digs now so I've got a few tricks for moving large masses of wood. I had been eyeballing this one (its on my land so no conservation issues) however it involves a 20' levee to get it up and down into the nursery. Probably weighed a solid 300+ pounds as I was not able to move it and that's where my deadlift max tends to be. Here's a bit of my collecting process.
The base is about 24" in diameter and the tree was ~30 feet tall. I leave the height until the very end for leverage to pull the tree over and pop the tap roots one at a time. No digging, only a sharp saw, a lopper and hand pruners used. Once out the ball is wrapped in drop cloths.
The trip up was slow- 6" at a time with the come-along... The trip down was much faster than desired and I ended up trashing the tendons and ligaments in my knee when the cart got away and took me with it.
The goal is to collect basically a big cutting- envision the final planting depth and take back all unneeded wood, leave whatever small roots you can and get the muck out so the tree can be in "good soil".
The tree had two lower branches that I assumed were dead that I left for possible dead wood features.
The base is about 24" in diameter and the tree was ~30 feet tall. I leave the height until the very end for leverage to pull the tree over and pop the tap roots one at a time. No digging, only a sharp saw, a lopper and hand pruners used. Once out the ball is wrapped in drop cloths.
The trip up was slow- 6" at a time with the come-along... The trip down was much faster than desired and I ended up trashing the tendons and ligaments in my knee when the cart got away and took me with it.
The goal is to collect basically a big cutting- envision the final planting depth and take back all unneeded wood, leave whatever small roots you can and get the muck out so the tree can be in "good soil".
The tree had two lower branches that I assumed were dead that I left for possible dead wood features.
Attachments
-
0124211400_HDR.jpg175.1 KB · Views: 369
-
0131211311.jpg148.9 KB · Views: 237
-
0204211130_HDR.jpg340 KB · Views: 206
-
0204211145.jpg149.1 KB · Views: 183
-
0204211146.jpg199 KB · Views: 185
-
0204211146_HDR.jpg228.2 KB · Views: 175
-
0204211149_HDR.jpg221.2 KB · Views: 187
-
0206211440_HDR.jpg234.3 KB · Views: 180
-
0206211451a.jpg218.9 KB · Views: 185
-
0206211504.jpg218.8 KB · Views: 236