"Elephant Foot" Maple

[JJshives]

What about letting it run as long as necessary then thread grafting the branches back down to where you want them? Is this an option here?

 

[A Random User]

Man. We should have a gambling option here. And I don't gamble.

But I Got $20 on the quoted is the path to righteousness.

But it's Sawgrass so I got $20 on a chop too!

And 50 cents on it weeps!

Sorce

No weeping here!

 

[A Random User]

Cinderella just needs a crown and some slippers!

Florida? What, by March?

Sorce

Who knows? Just got it today... and coming to terms with the path forward...
More than likely any work I do will probably take place at the earliest when I know we are out of danger of freezes.

 

[sorce]

I'll bet you can graft some roots pretty easy.

Tha trunk, "Cinderella" , is real nice.

I wouldn't want to see it chopped below that first branch.
Anything else. It'll grow back for you!

I reckon!

Sorce

 

[A Random User]

What about letting it run as long as necessary then thread grafting the branches back down to where you want them? Is this an option here?

Thanks for the reply!
I would agree this is a path forward that would work... the only other issue I have really touched on is the lack of taper within the trunk... so, I still think a chop, would be best to try and bow out of the straight/ no taper that the trunk currently has, as soon as possible, before a viewer has the chance to notice the lack of taper and get into the splitting off of multiple trunks which I can introduce taper into.

One could still graft and cut above... but was looking at the trunk closely after posting this thread and have noticed quite a few dormant nodes down near where I would cut, so I am thinking more than likely would not be a problem to just go ahead without the grafting.

 

[Dav4]

Fwiw, I like the trunk and base. Your second picture shows a nice, wide base and a heavy trunk that has subtle taper as it moves up to the branches. It reminds me of some of those heavy trunked deciduous trees that Walter Pall likes to develop. I'm still thinking there's got to be something up in the canopy you can work with, though I could be wrong. I do know that a trunk chop on this one will turn it into a decade + long project, even with the vigorous growth of a trident. Also, when you work the roots, be very aggressive but leave some small roots. I killed two very nice trident stumps I'd been growing for over a decade by doing just that- sawing them flat and basically turning it into a cutting- when I got frustrated when repeated ground layers failed...this one has a better base and roots then my trees ever did and you should be able to have pretty good surface roots without risking killing the tree. Finally, I've been lusting after a stonker trident trunk and I wouldn't mind having this one to work on.

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

You need lots of growth above the soil to make a tree respond very well to severe rootwork. I would repot in a flat box, working the roots down. Do not cut branches. In summer you let everything grow, next spring do the selection or chop you want. Let it grow but give direction to the growth. Next spring repot again. Would be my approach.

 

[sorce]

nice, wide base and a heavy trunk that has subtle taper as it moves up to the branches. It reminds me of some of those heavy trunked deciduous trees that Walter Pall likes to develop

This is not a quote. It is the song of tiny Bonsai Fairies.
Listen to them!

Sorce

 

[rockm]

First of all Sawgrass, I'm impressed that someone with your talent has the humility to ask advice on a tree that you're not experienced with. That's the way to show us how its done.

I don't have any experience myself with maples, and I don't like those giant scars from a trunk chop either. I saw a post (here?) where the tree was split vertically into four parts (quartered, when looking down from above of the trunk), then each quarter was tapered and when the 4 quarters were pulled together the tree had good taper and no giant disc of a scar. I'm betting you could pull that off.

No idea when would be the proper time for that though.
CW

That was done with a bald cypress. Probably won't work with maple--wood is brittle and big thick pieces tend to snap when put under too much pressure--unlike BC wood.

 

[A Random User]

Right after posting this thread and this tree, we had a couple of cool nights, and tree's leaves started changing color and dropping this past week. At first I thought it might be stress from lifting off the ground... (remember this tree wasn't actually in the ground when I got it... just sitting on top of the ground) And it might still be... however, my neighbor has a very large Red Maple in his yard that is about 30 feet tall that is dropping all of it's leaves as well. So, who knows? Here in Florida we get this all the time during our so called winter months... where trees will drop their leaves, grow new, drop them a couple of weeks later, and continue this cycle about 10 times before, spring actually ends up setting in.

Anywho... the problem is that this then screws one up on when to do any heavy work... and I don't want to start doing heavy work while the tree is confused with this cycle, or is stress from lifting it off the ground, starts to recover and I add more stress to it in the near future. So, I decided to go ahead and begin working it and just see how it goes... Also I need to get it into a pot, seeing it is still not in one, and roots need work, soil is just sand and dirt, from a field... I went ahead and removed the rest of the leaves, that were brown, cutting them at their petiole and being careful not to disturb the latent buds.

The following images are what I found underneath all the foliage... Still would prefer a shorter trunk, but what I found I think is doable for a broom... And I can always do a couple of grafts down lower to decrease the long look of the trunk. First order of biz, was to break out the sawzall and get to work removing the back heavy trunk. Brings the height of the actual trunk up to high, and needs to be replaced with branching in this area. Also, had only one or two finer branches coming off of it and they were at the base. I want to see a V shape in this region, so I first cut down at an angle to the lower finer branching of the trunk I was removing. and since this finer branches where in the back of the tree, I then cut a wedge shape further. Then sealed everything with cut paste to keep the area right near the cut from drying out and dying further down. I then did a couple of more cuts, one on the left top of the trunk, to bring the height of where this area splits down, and cut the heavy branch coming off the front down to it's first node to start some new branching here.

I have one more heavy branch in the back I will be cutting back as well... tomorrow I want to throw some wire on all of the branches and start getting them positioned where I need them, and will wait until I do, to see where to cut this larger branch in the back down too. Now, I know some folks might be asking why I have reduced these heavy branches down? The answer is two fold... first, new growth always grows faster than old, and second... if I am pretty much reworking the whole piece of material, I might as well reduce these at the same time and grow new, where I want a branch and be able to wire and style it much easier. So, not to have to settle for what's there.

Lastly, I seem to be missing my carving bits, and all of the cuts that I did tonight, need sorting out, and leveling off so they will heal over. So, just put the cut paste on in the mean time till I can.
Thanks!

 

[A Random User]

Wanted to add one more thing, with all the cuts that I did, I was careful to place them in between branching, so as to not have an a big chop that will never be able to heal over anytime in my lifetime...

This is why I wanted to go with a broom style. If one allows branches to grow on all sides of a flat chop, and have the area that needs to heal over in the middle of these, the chops will heal over relatively fast and nice seeing they will be in the crotch... as the branch thickens with growth.

 

[JudyB]

Nice work, good start to your goal of a large broom.

 

[Dav4]

Cool. I think you made the right choice in not chopping low. You're going have a pretty descent tree in just a few years.

 

[A Random User]

Did some sawzalling, and potting today... Did not really want to necessarily do it going into winter, but seeing I got the tree in a garbage bag...

Also, clean up all my chops and resealed them, before the potting... then started to wire branching into place. Only Got about half way through, but thought I would share the progress non the less.

Added a quick virt to show where headed, so I didn't get the "brooms don't look like that", reply... The style of Broom, I have choose is to do one with downward branching as well. Reason why, is that this will end up bringing the overall size of the tree down, and make the too tall of a trunk, better proportionate. And I don't have to end up with a 5 ft. tall tree.
Want to add one more thing... often if one is wiring a branch downward, and yet still wants to increase the size of the branch, it helps speed the process up, if one turns the ends of the branches back up towards the sky. They can always be wired down later, or just cut before to upward part. Thought I would mention this, seeing that I have quite a few of my branches styled this way.

 

[Coach]

Cool virt and nice pot/choice...really nice...good luck with the tree...it already looks like it's well on its way

 

[iant]

Nice virt. I have to say I personally don't like it when this style of deciduous tree has branches that start at a downward angle. I prefer the bottom branches horizontal to a little up and then the higher branches with a little tighter angle. If you wanted to fill in the low areas I'd graft in a lower branch.
Ian

 

[BonsaiButler]

Good trunk choices real nice start

 

[dirk hoorelbeke]

nice one

 

[ColinFraser]

I think @iant makes a good point. Maybe the hard cutback will get some buds to pop lower on the trunk come spring.

 

[A Random User]

Nice virt. I have to say I personally don't like it when this style of deciduous tree has branches that start at a downward angle. I prefer the bottom branches horizontal to a little up and then the higher branches with a little tighter angle. If you wanted to fill in the low areas I'd graft in a lower branch.
Ian

It's Ok... you don't have to like downward angle branches!
And yes! One could easily graft some branching down lower, but I like the style and the branch placement I have chosen.