repotting acer palmatum arakawa

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Two years ago i bought an arakawa maple. It was the only one in the store that had a payable price (for me) because it had a bad rootbase.. I bought it to take some airlayers. At the time of purchase it was late spring and i potted it in a big tub with big akadama so it could gain vigor for a successful layer last year. This spring it was time to look how bad the rootbase was.
I did a shoot graft a few weeks ago.
The rootbase was a bit one sided, had a few big roots. So i shortened what i could and left what was on the right level.

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I use big sized hard akadama for projects like this.
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In the center i use smaller akadama.
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The tree has two runners to gain trunk thickness, one will be airlayered this year. We will see in a few years if new roots have shown.
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The tree has gained a lot of girth in the last few years. Lets make a bigger tree...
 

River's Edge

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After repotting in 2017 the tree just opened its leaves and stayed that way the rest of the year. Not enough roots to power additional growth. Lets hope the tree made some roots and i can let the tree grow freely next year.
I respect the progression you have chosen to advance the tree. Your pictures show careful work, well thought out. I am sure you will be happy next fall.
Well Done.
 
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The previous year it was super powerful. I hope it returns and I can double the trunk size in a few years. After that I'll have to close wounds and continue with the final branches. I would like to layer one of the tops to have one for a bigger tree in the future. Would like one in the garden too. They are difficult to find and expensive. But worth the work I hope.
 

leatherback

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I think this summer I should twist your arm a bit and make you show me your garden. It looks like you have all the trees I would like to have :)

They are difficult to find and expensive.
Yeah, I have been unale to find one with aging bark, and had to buy a 3 year old grafted specimen 2 years ago.

The previous year it was super powerful.
I have the same issue; I repotted and the tree just did not tart. Grew leaves and sat there. In a way glad to hear you had the same issue. Let's hope they are just sulky after repotting. I have not ben able to find someone who could tell me how to get the plant started. And as it was my first year owning one I was a bit worried..
 
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I just removed lots of roots and the tree is rather big so I expected some kind of retardation. I've put it in extreme big particles of akadama I think it got too dry once or twice, enough reason to stall after a repot. There were no dry tips and a dry mix for the first year is always tricky after a hard repot. Let's hope for the best.
 

MACH5

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+1 That was my question as well with regards to the low graft. Great job Dirk! Have a few on a growing bed at different stages of development and of course I have twin trunk that I am hoping to update the thread this fall. You pretty much get it all with this cultivar!
 
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The graft was there to induce extra taper. To high for a second trunk. Since I let the top explode the graft didn't grow vigorous enough. The large waiving top does induce more taper than anticipated so at this point I removed the graft. It made no sense to let it there for this tree. It wasn't attached yet by the way.
 
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Indeed healthy looking plants. I would put the arakawa in a grow box, wire a tree out of it and let it grow for a year. For the layer i have most succes with leaving enough foliage under the layer. Tried it without and it failed (might be coincidence).
 
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