Sugar Maple Opinion

[barguy8194]

I plan on collecting this sugar maple from behind my house in a couple weeks once the buds start popping, but I need opinions...

Obviously I would want to wait to make a cut until it’s recovered from the collection, most likely next year, but should I leave it as it is or cut at the red line? Looks like this tree was cut once several years ago, and I cut it a year or two ago to open a view off my back porch last year, before I was considering it for bonsai.

There are a couple branches where that first cut was, but a lot more popping out where I cut it last year. It’s about 2.5” at the base, and where it’s cut now is about 2 feet. Thoughts?

 

[barguy8194]

Now thinking I’ll play with the angle and plant it this way, so the main trunk is diagonal, and leave all those branches to grow upwards.

 

[bonsaidave]

If that lower half gets lots of light this year, you might get more branches lower.

I would still choose a leader and cut the rest back a bit. Watch out for reverse taper it can happen quick.

 

[Cable]

Should be interesting. I thought sugar maple was one of the varieties whose leaves didn't reduce well?

 

[barguy8194]

Should be interesting. I thought sugar maple was one of the varieties whose leaves didn't reduce well?

That’s what I’ve heard. But I’m ok with it if they don’t. I like the species, hoping it’ll have good color to the leaves in the fall. This one will never be a show tree, I’m a total newbie lol. So it’s really just for me, and it’ll be good practice either way.

 

[M. Frary]

Chop before collection.
Like one minute before.

 

[Zach Smith]

What Mike said. Chopping trees in the ground requires much more after-care than you might think. And the results are often not what you had in mind.

 

[Cable]

That’s what I’ve heard. But I’m ok with it if they don’t. I like the species, hoping it’ll have good color to the leaves in the fall. This one will never be a show tree, I’m a total newbie lol. So it’s really just for me, and it’ll be good practice either way.

That's cool. I have several trees that are just for me.

@Zach Smith, would you please expound? Your comment seems to be both agreeing with Mike and touting the opposite.

 

[Zach Smith]

That's cool. I have several trees that are just for me.

@Zach Smith, would you please expound? Your comment seems to be both agreeing with Mike and touting the opposite.

Nothing like clarity, eh
If you're going to lift a tree from the wild, chop it and lift it. Chopping in the ground with the intention of coming back in a year or two has a lot going against it. What I have often seen with field-grown specimens is they throw a bunch of buds near the chop - sounds good, right? - but when these take off you get a bad swell at the chop point which, if you fail to manage it as it's developing, you're only left with a tough chore later on. So you have to manage that field-chop in order to prevent a lot of work down the road. What's the point? If the base of the tree is sufficiently large, and you like the taper and character of the trunk, go ahead and containerize it. You can manage the chop point, and develop a branch structure as the tree recovers.

 

[Cable]

Thank you