Rough bark root stock on grafted maple?

[SeanS]

I went to a local nursery today to buy some stepping stones/pavers. They have a selection of grafted JM cultivars that I always browse through. The grafts are terrible and really high up.

Today I saw something really unusual. One of their bigger maples has what looks like rough bark root stock. I dug down in the nursery bag and found a little shoot coming from the root stock. Worth buying for the root stock?

 

[Crazy Diamond]

Wow thats a nice bark, I would buy it for sure!!

 

[leatherback]

Any indication it is indeed palmatum with rough bark? If it is, it is worth considering yeah

 

[Pitoon]

I would buy it to experiment with.

 

[Crazy Diamond]

There are any scientifical explanation of why some maples have the rough bark?

 

[River's Edge]

I went to a local nursery today to buy some stepping stones/pavers. They have a selection of grafted JM cultivars that I always browse through. The grafts are terrible and really high up.

Today I saw something really unusual. One of their bigger maples has what looks like rough bark root stock. I dug down in the nursery bag and found a little shoot coming from the root stock. Worth buying for the root stock?

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It depends, generally root stock is easily propagated by seed. It may be better to research the variety and obtain some seeds or seedlings from the grower. This would give you the variety that interests you and the opportunity to create a better start. After all maples grow pretty quickly, particularly those they use for root stock. That way you could work on nebari, movement and taper for the first five years and potentially come up with a very interesting and nicely formed bonsai.
I agree the bark is interesting but the form is simply a straight stick.

 

[penumbra]

If you can afford it, indeed buy it for the root stock. Great find.

 

[rodeolthr]

As a buyer for a small nursery several years ago, I had a broker that brought me several a.p. dissectum that had been high grafted on rough bark seedlings. I asked about why that was, and he replied that they were just experimenting with it to see how it looked. They apparently had plenty of rootstock seedlings that exhibited rough bark.

 

[penumbra]

As a buyer for a small nursery several years ago, I had a broker that brought me several a.p. dissectum that had been high grafted on rough bark seedlings. I asked about why that was, and he replied that they were just experimenting with it to see how it looked. They apparently had plenty of rootstock seedlings that exhibited rough bark.

That really does make sense and your bringing it to our attention is appreciated.
Still, I maintain it is an awesome bark worth cultivating. I have only had experience with a few hundred JM seedlings and they all had the typical smooth bark. How great it would be to have seedlings that developed this trait. Perfect graft free bonsai starters.

 

[rockm]

Something to note, backbudding on roughbarked varieties of JM can be iffy. The rough bark is thicker than 'normal' JM bark on older trunk like this one..it can suppress new shoots trying to emerge through that thick bark, same for air layering. Don't count on it, enjoy it if it happens...As said, this is weird since rough bark are typically grafted on "normal' smooth bark run-of-the-mill JMs