Acer Katsura project#1

[BobbyLane]

From a nursery tree. again this one picked out for its exceptionally good roots that will only improve. tree has a good, solid trunk. i like the branch structure on this one, still very raw, but i see a very natural image down the line

20190320_204135 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190320_160818 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190320_170111 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

i dont bare root these, but i tease out a little of the surface, sides and base, misting with fish emulsion/seaweed water solution as i go along. so a little of the old soil gets sprayed off but not much as you can see.
because i want the tree to recover quickly, i want to spend the season developing a branch structure
20190320_174201 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

the tree had to be planted at an angle, if i had tried to plant it straight like it was in the nursery pot, i would have to cut off some high roots....rather than cut roots off and then try to graft on new ones, why not just slant it.
works for me
20190320_174209 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

20190320_174227 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190320_174320 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190320_204328 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

you can see the high roots here on the left
20190320_174333 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190320_174827 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190320_175455 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

then into a suitable container to continue its development, it will have room to grow in this shallow rectangle and the base should only get better
20190320_185633 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

is it grafted? i dunno, i can't really tell

 

[BobbyLane]

ive already cut back both trunks, i have something like this in mind for this tree going forwards, some subtle movement in both trunks i want to work with
20190320_234229 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

20190320_234229 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I like it.
It probably is grafted, I would suspect right below or at the point where all the 'Katsura' main branches come out. Grafting is not a ''fatal flaw'', if the graft is difficult to detect, and does not detract from the image of a tree, it is perfectly okay. I would say this is an excellent, acceptable graft. Go with it.

 

[BobbyLane]

I like it.
It probably is grafted, I would suspect right below or at the point where all the 'Katsura' main branches come out. Grafting is not a ''fatal flaw'', if the graft is difficult to detect, and does not detract from the image of a tree, it is perfectly okay. I would say this is an excellent, acceptable graft. Go with it.

thanks Leo, one always gets the impression that grafted trees are seriously bad, well on maples in particular. i guess what you really have to look out for, is the really horrible, noticeable ones as you say.

 

[GGB]

Katsura is by far my favorite JM cultivar. I have seen them available as cutting grown (evergreen garden works) but if that's a graft it obviously doesn't matter. In fact if it is grafted, you're probably better off as they are pretty slow growers

 

[BobbyLane]

surprised to see some deshojo in a few of my go to places, i know they are one of the most sought after J maples...the grafts are shockingly bad on them though.
also stumbled upon a kitohime which was tempting. too much work to compact it down though and ive read they're very slow growers with unreliable branch growth habits.
could possibly go in for a sango kaku if i see one with good roots and potential to increase in value.

 

[BobbyLane]

so the left trunk was taken back to a leader and a few weeks ago i decided to reduce the right trunk to a strong shoot lower down as i wasnt getting any budding near the top.
was a bit of a dilemma because i didnt want to make a visible scar from the front of tree, its not a big wound anyway, there is a bud emerging which will help to obscure it
this one was just cut back n tidied up
im growing out the leader on the right trunk but it will be slightly shorter than the left side when thick enough, think there is also the option of a shorter broom if i reduce the sub trunks to growth lower down

 

[BobbyLane]

been looking at this and i see the option to slice off the right sub trunk at flush angle.to create a single trunk line, the movement would be fantastic, taper good.but leaves a big scar at side of tree, then just looks like of of those maples where you know its been chopped.
currently the tree is heading towards a naturalistic approach.the right sub will break into two branches, the small chop at the front is obscured by branches but will also heal over in a few years.

 

[BobbyLane]

so i think ill continue with something similar to the initial virtual.a main trunk that splits into two with one trunk more dominant....
ready made nebari on this one

 

[BobbyLane]

left sub trunk is shaping up nicely

 

[BobbyLane]

So the large volume of wood in the right sub trunk still bothered me...

I decided, rather than completely remove it and make a large visible wound, i went with the V cut between the two sub trunks, in the process reducing the right sub to a couple of branches lower down.
weighing up the pros n cons.....i get a less visible wound coming from the top, the trunk movement is more visible, i have a prominent branch on the right rather than another trunk, the trunk taper is improved

i used a reciprocating saw to make the cut
20190819_172441 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr


out came the dremel with a round termite head, to get a little concavity in the cut
20190819_173137 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190819_173608 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190819_172432 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

from the back
20190819_173702 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190819_173559 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

20190819_174857 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr
20190819_175019 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

 

[BobbyLane]

happy with the outcome

 

[cmeg1]

Nice!Should get better and better.

 

[BobbyLane]

Nice!Should get better and better.

cheers buddy, yep just needs time now. fun species to work with is Acer katsura

 

[AlainK]

out came the dremel with a round termite head, to get a little concavity in the cut

OMG!

Sorry if I'm so blunt, but I just can't see the pleasure you can take for maiming trees.

If it's a "style", I don't really like it, and if I like one or two trees treated like that (mistreated like that), I hate the gimmick : carving instead of forming.

What's next ? Most of the tree rotting and another Mengele-style experiment ?...

A maple...

Search this forum with the key-word "Ebihara", another way of working on trees, another way of looking at nature.

Alain

 

[BobbyLane]

well now the leaves are off we get an idea of what was done over the season.its only early days, i started work on this in spring only

the primary lines are in place, we can see that there is already some balance.the lower branches are thicker and stronger. the tree is at a stage where it can be left to grow out and just clipped periodically, there is already enough early movement in the branches

 

[BobbyLane]

in the main trunk at the tip at the back you can see where i got a little die back in the shape of a V, this is even though the cuts were made in the grow season..it hasnt travelled any further which is good.
the V cut lower on the trunk was made late in season i hope i dont get any die back in that area, otherwise progress is ok so far, the tree has potential and is one of my keepers

 

[Arnold_K]

@ AlainK um, ... "another Mengele-style experiment "
What do you mean by this?

 

[AlainK]

@ AlainK um, ... "another Mengele-style experiment "
What do you mean by this?

OK, thanks for pointing that excessive comparison, I was close to the Godwin point. I regret saying that.

I may be wrong, but I feel there's a kind of fashion among some British bonsai fans to make a lot of deadwood on deciduous trees. To me, it looks like a trick.

Like making a maple look like a juniper. No, I've never seen dead wood on a mature maple, it either heals or dies. But I was wrong for this one, it can survive.

Of course, you're well aware of what I meant by "Mengele-style experiment " : pointless, cruel experiments for pseudo-science - or here, torture for a deviant idea of what a tree is.

So far, the tree looks rather good, not a "survivor" like those I don't like at all.

I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings mentioning "Mengele", but I think that as a European ( ) you're enough of a 21st century adult to understand.

 

[Paulpash]

OMG!

Sorry if I'm so blunt, but I just can't see the pleasure you can take for maiming trees.

If it's a "style", I don't really like it, and if I like one or two trees treated like that (mistreated like that), I hate the gimmick : carving instead of forming.

What's next ? Most of the tree rotting and another Mengele-style experiment ?...

A maple...

Search this forum with the key-word "Ebihara", another way of working on trees, another way of looking at nature.

Alain

Ebihara cut great chunks of wood out of sacrifice branches. He also Frankenstein ed grafts by attaching them to seedlings then back onto mature trees. Ebihara might have used a saw instead of a power tool but the intent is the same - to make a better tree in the future.

I'm interested in how you'd go about solving Bobby's problematic slingshot dilemma?