Help ID species from bark only .

[oranjeaap]

Posting from phone so I can add pictures.
Go ahead and have a guess.
Will add more info when on pc later.
Or if you want have a guess what the pins are for too...
Have fun!






Any clues yet? Maybe this lonely bud can help?

 

[Jrmcmich]

Hillier elm?

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

Don't have any idea for species, but maybe the pins are holding splits together?

 

[nuttiest]

pin oak.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

pin oak.

You win.

 

[oranjeaap]

Well the truth is...........

I dont have the slightest clue.

I found it growing between my Hibiscus Syriacus bush while doing some heavy garden pruning. It kinda blended in with the stems so I hadn't noticed it before. I thought "hey, that doesn't go there" and lobbed most of it off. That was about 3 weeks ago. Today I returned to my Hibiscus to airlayer the massive main trunk that will make a nice bonsai if I find a way to improve wound healing (that's where the pins come in actually).

Well turns out little guy had really strong and thick roots and actually had a really thick main trunk/root kinda thing, thicker than the actual trunk, growing well under the massive Hibiscus bush.
It was a massive pain to dig it out and since I had no intention to keep it I was anything but gentle and the stump took some hefty abuse. It's nothing but a miracle the bud wasn't torn off in the proces, and it might still die I guess.

I think it somehow originates from the roots of a massive tree that grew in that spot before it was felled by a storm 20 years ago, because I doubt any seed left there by a bird would grow such a thick underground trunk.
That tree was a Poplar according to my mother but I dont really trust her memory.

It actually had nice roots radiating outwards in all directions wich would form an excellent future nebari but I think I wasn't gentle enough and most of the roots probably wont make it either. But I decided to pot it anyway mainly because I got curious what species of tree we have here. And it would be a nice first victim to practice my "bark flap" technique on.

The cut I made 3 weeks ago was kinda ugly and torn so I made 4 incisions, peeled down the bark a bit (like a banana basically), cut another piece of the trunk and folded the excess bark over the wound. The bark flaps are kept in place with the pins. It's a technique I'm hoping to use on the Hibiscus im airlayering atm. When I lobbed of bigger branches in the past they never really healed / closed at all, so to make a convincing bonsai out of it I need to find a solution to this problem.

 

[oranjeaap]

If the tree lives and the flap won't heal nicely it's fine, I will cut it back to the first bud.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

I've wondered about this exact technique. Definitely following to see the results. I hope it survives for you.

 

[Mike Westervelt]

Where do you live? that could help.

I'd guess prunus, either cherry or plum based on the bark

 

[oranjeaap]

Where do you live? that could help.

I'd guess prunus, either cherry or plum based on the bark

Your ancestor(s) came from my country judging from your last name

Yes location would help to elminate a few candidates. I narrowed it down to some possible candidates that are very common in my area. But basically every decideous tree native to Europe can be found in my neighbourhood. Nearly every garden has a few huge trees here many over a century old. Just my garden has chestnut, field maple, Elm. It had a massive Japanese Maple that died when the "Poplar" tree fell on it during a storm.
The street is planted with some kind of Maple, it's Norway Maple according to Google Lens. The sidewalks are lined with hornbeam hedges and field maple hedges. Just around the corner is a massive park with every tree imaginable. Just around the other corner is a street planted with some kind of blossoming trees. So yeah, could be anything really.

Here is a list of 37 different species of "monumental" trees (atleast 80 years old) that were felled in my town in the past 15 years. Sadly I can no longer access the list of current monumental trees.

• Aesculus hippocastanum
• Betula pendula Tristis
• Quercus rubra
• Fraxinus excelsior Pendula
• Pterocarya rhoifolia
• Abies veitchii
• Aesculus hippocastanum Baumannii
• Acer platanoides
• Tilia x europaea
• Abies nordmanniana
• Acer cappadocicum
• Quercus robur
• Fraxinus excelsior
• Populus alba
• Carya cordiformis
• Acer saccharinum
• Robinia pseudoacacia
• Fagus sylvatica
• Populus x canescens
• Tilia platyphyllos
• Crataegus pedicellata
• Pyrus var.
• Prunus domestica
• Malus var.
• Pterocarya fraxinifolia
• Acer pseudoplatanus
• Populus tremula
• Populus tristis Italica
• Cedrus
• Taxus x media hicksii
• Carpinus betulus
• Salix fragila
• Fagus sylvatica purpurea
• Tilia tomentosa pendula
• Prunus serrulata
• Platanus acerifolia
• Populus x euramericana

 

[oranjeaap]

I've wondered about this exact technique. Definitely following to see the results. I hope it survives for you.

It has it's limitations, the bark needs to be plyable in order to peel it back first and later fold over the wound. So it depends on the species and the age of the branch.
On older branches or brittle bark species I guess instead of peeling it back you could just use a dremel tool to hollow it out a bit and then try snap the bark inward and hope the cambium etc stay connected. Seems more risky and the older the branch the less risk you want to take probably. Im doing some airlayerings of stuff in my garden just for practice. I got a field maple and elm I will try the technique on.

 

[Cadillactaste]

If the tree lives and the flap won't heal nicely it's fine, I will cut it back to the first bud.

View attachment 601392View attachment 601393

I'm thinking Dario a member who no longer visits...did something similar. But to appreciate huge chop scar. He called that tree...a name...Frankenstein I believe.

 

[NeedlesAndLeaves]

The bark looks like Birch to me.
If you do live in the country your account name obviously shows, then you will have many leaves that wil tell you what you already know

 

[Baron von Smoogle]

My app calls it a River Birch.

 

[Mike Westervelt]

Your ancestor(s) came from my country judging from your last name

You are correct but it was awhile ago, 1664 to be exact.

 

[NeedlesAndLeaves]

You are correct but it was awhile ago, 1664 to be exact.

I have a friend Maarten Westerveld.


They use a D these days

 

[oranjeaap]

The bark looks like Birch to me.
If you do live in the country your account name obviously shows, then you will have many leaves that wil tell you what you already know

Yes some kind of Birch was my own first thought. But they dont really grow in my area. Time will tell! (Or it will die and we will never know)

 

[Potawatomi13]

Birch.

 

[Shibui]

My first impression aligns with @Mike Westervelt. Bark looks very like a cherry. Second guess would be another Prunus, probably plum.
Post some photos of leaves when fully open and we can refine the guesses a little more.

 

[Woocash]

Yes, birch for the vertical markings, prunus for the horizontal striations. Either/or.