New shohin kaede

The rot will stop somewhere esp if no new water is supplied to it. Do remove all and any punky wood as much as you can before doing this (don't go past fresh wood), the tree will heal. As Brian mentioned, Kathy fills voids with putty all the time and let the new growth roll over it. She encourages growth by "cleaning" the rolling tissue every now and then....just taking off the bark to the green to urge it more. I haven't seen her do the towel trick but it is in line with something I've read about covering it with Sphagnum moss (same idea just different material).

BTW, please do not do your worst case scenario virt...you will destroy a wonderful tree.

Good luck!
 
davetree said:
You need to get the rotten wood out of there or you will just end up with another hole in the tree. You should be able to scrape out the rotten stuff with a sharp knife.
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That was my gut instinct. I cleared as much of the rot away as I could, but once I got to that hole I couldn't go any further without taking fairly large chunks of the live wood out first. I'm not sure if the rot extends all the way to the roots or not, so I don't know if it would even be a good idea to continue cleaning that rotted section.
Poink88 said:
The rot will stop somewhere esp if no new water is supplied to it. Do remove all and any punky wood as much as you can before doing this (don't go past fresh wood), the tree will heal. As Brian mentioned, Kathy fills voids with putty all the time and let the new growth roll over it. She encourages growth by "cleaning" the rolling tissue every now and then....just taking off the bark to the green to urge it more. I haven't seen her do the towel trick but it is in line with something I've read about covering it with Sphagnum moss (same idea just different material).

BTW, please do not do your worst case scenario virt...you will destroy a wonderful tree.

Good luck!
Click to expand...
Thank you for the reassurance, Dario. I agree, the virt is probably a tad bit much.

Is there any particular type of putty I should get, or just standard wood putty? Can you give me a link? ;-D

Okay, so the current plan of action is to fill the hole, use the towel/raffia technique, and wait it out. Thanks everyone for your help!

Despite the rot situation, I still love this tree. The front doesn't show any of the affected section, so at least it's got that going for it. :D

Brian, any links you can find about Kathy's techniques would be greatly appreciated. =)
 
Alex DeRuiter said:
I agree, the virt is probably a tad bit much.
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What an understatement. LOL I almost had a heart attack when I saw it! ;)

I will check if I can find theinfo on what she uses...I forgot but I know my clubmates bought it from Ace Hardware and supposed to be in use for decades. One thing for sure...she said to avoid Bondo (just in case you are thinking that).
 
Ordered. Amazon Prime rocks!

I'll inject the putty as soon as I get it in the mail.

I talked with my friend and he said that I could have left the rotted wood in there, and as long as I sealed it and the callous grew over, it would've been fine. Soooo, lesson learned: keep calm and don't gut trees without consulting professionals first. lol -- That was a pretty hard blow, but this was a good lesson. I still feel good about removing all of that rot, and I actually think that the newly carved surface will yield an overall better shape for the tree. :)
 
Really ? Leave the rotten wood in there ? I have never heard that before, especially if its soft.
 
davetree said:
Really ? Leave the rotten wood in there ? I have never heard that before, especially if its soft.
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Me too. You did the right thing removing the soft rotting wood. You're better off asking here. LOL ;)
 
I see what you guys are saying, and I agree. I don't think he was trying to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal. I think he was just thinking in terms of blocking off moisture and preventing the spread of rot without actually removing anything. I still feel good about removing most of it. =)
 
Alex DeRuiter said:
I'll inject the putty as soon as I get it in the mail.
Click to expand...

Kathy also use a ziplock bag...with a small hole at the tip of one of the corners and squeeze the putty out that way (like a cake piping bag)...injecting the putty in a small opening but deep hole. Otherwise on open hole, just use a painters spatula, a bread knife, a popsicle stick, or even a thinned out skewer stick. ;)

Oh, wear a disposable (latex or nitrile) glove.
 
Genius!!! Fortunately for me, I have some leftover large syringes from some liquid medicine for my dogs, so I think one of those should be perfect. However, if this stuff is too viscous, the plastic bag idea will definitely be implemented. :D
 
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This is just a beautiful shohin. I am not a maple guy, per say, but I am a shohin guy. If I came across material like this, I would definitely be interested in it.

Rob
 
Thanks for the kind words, Rob. Believe it or not, I actually hesitated on purchasing it solely because the branches were so unattractive. Silly, huh? It's become one of my favorite trees despite this recent issue. I'm looking forward to start working on final branch placement and overall refinement of the tree.
 
Alex DeRuiter said:
Howdy Brian,

1. That putty idea is exactly what I was thinking of as a way to heal over the hole. I know, however, that there's still rotting wood in that hole. Will it continue to rot, or should it be okay as long as it remains sealed off from the outside environment? I feel like if I just fill it with putty and cover it, it will just continue rotting and eventually kill the tree -- especially since it's so close to the roots.

2. You are the man for that! I remember hearing something about tightly covering a big chop scar to attain a flat healing site, but I had no clue it helped if it was damp. When you say towel, do you mean like paper towel, or should I use fabric?

I'm really starting to consider attempting to completely carve out the rotted area...but I'm so afraid that it goes all the way through the tree. What do you think?
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This is the epoxy putty I use: http://www.loctiteproducts.com/p/13/6/epxy_putty/overview/Loctite-Repair-Putty-Multi-Purpose.htm

I would carefully carve out what I can to remove the internal rotted wood, but without destroying or opening anything on the outside. In the end, if you can keep water out, it shouldn't be a problem.

The towel should be cloth. Like when your wife isn't looking, grab an old wash cloth.

I don't have any links at the moment...Kathy's not much for working online, so it's up to whatever people post about their interactions with her.
 
And so it shall be. Thanks for following up, Brian. :D

I'll finish cleaning it out as much as I can and apply the epoxy when it arrives. I wonder if that keyboard "duster" stuff would help blow dislodged chunks out of that hole...hmmmm. . . .

Cloth obtained. Cue the Mission Impossible theme song.
 
Never worked with it, but if its inert, moldable, and hardens, it should be fine.
 
First off, do not cut off the branch and hollow like you suggested as a worst case scenario. That's like amputating a leg because of an ingrown toenail.

Your rot appears insignificant in the grand scheme of the tree. You can clean it up and use regular cut putty/paste and it will heal over completely. This is fine: http://www.dallasbonsai.com/product-p/c76.htm

However, if you feel the need, once you dig out the rotten wood you can fill the void. Epoxy is fine, like others have said. If the void is large you can use patch cement. This is fine: http://www.homedepot.com/p/DAP-1-Gallon-Ready-Mixed-Concrete-Patch-31090/100177855#.UUG9lo7iMqY Or this, check it out: http://www.quikrete.com/athome/video-thin-repairs.asp

All you need is a stable base for the callous to grow over. If healthy, your tree will grow faster than it will rot. Do not fear.
 
Don, sorry for the late response -- been a hectic week. =)

I totally agree with you about not cutting off that back limb. Not sure why I'd even considered it, to be honest. The rot kinda freaked me out and I wasn't sure what to do, but at least I knew enough not to many any serious decisions without asking around first.

Thank you for the reassurance. :) I ended up buying the Loctite that Brian suggested, so when that arrives (hopefully Monday) everything will be patched up.

Overall I think it was good to cut away the wood that I did. I feel better knowing that the rot won't get worse. In addition to that, I think the section that was cut away will look better once it's healed since the way it was healing before was causing an unsightly buldge.

Moar picshures layter
 
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