brewmeister83
Chumono
One of the tree species I've always wanted in my collection has been a burning bush/winged spindle (Euonymous alatus) because of their amazing fall display of bright salmon red to crimson leaves. I've always kept my eye out for one with a decent trunk, but being an understory plant the majority I've come across in the woods have been uninspiring, with fairly vertical, fairly straight branching with little to no character. As much as I wanted one to work on, I've always told myself to wait for one that would really catch my eye, passing by hundred if not thousands and not collecting one... until this spring.
I first discovered this tree about 8 months back on a piece of property my family had purchased earlier in 2017. At first, I didn't recognize it as a burning bush, because I'd never seen one with a trunk this big before! By my estimate, the tree had been planted back in the 60's or 70's given its size and the age of the house it was planted in front of. There were some flaws to the branching, a little bit of reverse taper here and there, and a couple nasty chainsaw cuts from where the previous homeowner had tried to prune it to make it presentable. But all things considered, as ugly and rough as it was, I saw enough potential to make me come back in the spring to collect it. So there I was, collecting my first and possibly only burning bush in the first week of May. The buds on the tree were just starting to extend, so even though I should have probably dug back in mid to late April (I was busy moving at that time and couldn't go out collecting), I knew this plant had a very good chance of surviving given that it is a tenaciously tough species around here.
I started by cutting off the upper branching of this 5-6 meter monster, leaving enough length to help with leverage when I finally rocked the tree out of its hole (this length would later be reduced upon potting up). Grabbing my trusty all steel trenching shovel, I put my foot to it and went to drive it into the ground. *CLANK* I hit my first rock on the first shovel full. It was big, but luckily small enough I could lever it out with the shovel and roll it to the side. About an hour later (and no more big rocks luckily), I had finished the initial cutting-in around the entire tree and had severed many large roots radiating out from the trunk giving me a good indication as to the state of the still concealed nebari.
I first discovered this tree about 8 months back on a piece of property my family had purchased earlier in 2017. At first, I didn't recognize it as a burning bush, because I'd never seen one with a trunk this big before! By my estimate, the tree had been planted back in the 60's or 70's given its size and the age of the house it was planted in front of. There were some flaws to the branching, a little bit of reverse taper here and there, and a couple nasty chainsaw cuts from where the previous homeowner had tried to prune it to make it presentable. But all things considered, as ugly and rough as it was, I saw enough potential to make me come back in the spring to collect it. So there I was, collecting my first and possibly only burning bush in the first week of May. The buds on the tree were just starting to extend, so even though I should have probably dug back in mid to late April (I was busy moving at that time and couldn't go out collecting), I knew this plant had a very good chance of surviving given that it is a tenaciously tough species around here.
I started by cutting off the upper branching of this 5-6 meter monster, leaving enough length to help with leverage when I finally rocked the tree out of its hole (this length would later be reduced upon potting up). Grabbing my trusty all steel trenching shovel, I put my foot to it and went to drive it into the ground. *CLANK* I hit my first rock on the first shovel full. It was big, but luckily small enough I could lever it out with the shovel and roll it to the side. About an hour later (and no more big rocks luckily), I had finished the initial cutting-in around the entire tree and had severed many large roots radiating out from the trunk giving me a good indication as to the state of the still concealed nebari.