Japanese maple #5 progression

[MACH5]

This is a progression series of one of my Japanese maples. I acquired this fairly large tree back in late Summer of 2008 from a grower in upstate NY. Despite the fact that it is believed to be a standard green maple, it has pretty small leaves and its internodes are short. Interestingly enough it is also quite resistant to leaf burn. Soon after purchasing the tree, I noticed a rotted portion of the trunk where the bark peeled off easily revealing a large scar at the bottom of the trunk. The good news was that the cambium seemed to be growing over the area once again and the wound was healing. It was an ugly scar for sure! Below is a pic of the tree from the grower.

In the Fall of 2008, after leaf fall, I looked at the tree and made some cuts in an effort to simplify its branch structure. Below is a pic of the new front that I considered. I contemplated this angle only for a short period of time and ultimately I was on the quest again to find a better front for this tree.

In late Winter of 2009, I looked at the the tree again carefully. I came up with an idea of what I could do with it. Below is the sketch I made in March 2009 of the new intended design.

For this idea to be realized, I needed to air layer one of the branches in order to create my second trunk. In April of 2009 I went ahead and did it. Below is the tree with one of its lower branches air layered.

This is a closeup of the air layer. The pic was taken right before I cut the branch off. It was June of 2010 and at this point it had enough roots to grow on its own.

Air layered branch cut off from the parent tree.

The branch was now planted right side up in its own container. It will take a couple of weeks for the leaves to face up towards the light. I kept my new "tree" in this pot until the Spring of 2011 at which time I grafted it onto the base of the main tree.

And finally below is the tree as it looks today complete with the new small trunks at its base. The tree stands 27" from soil level. After almost two years, the grafted branch (now the small trunks) has bonded well to the main tree. It will be left again to grow unchecked this year to further strengthen the graft union. Also the original ugly scar at the bottom of the trunk has now completely closed up.

The small, straight thin trunk to the left of the main tree is a root graft that I made last year. Most likely by Summer it will be cut off.

THANK YOU FOR LOOKING!

 

[daygan]

This looks very nice! Thanks for posting!

 

[Casus]

Very inspiring! Thanks for posting!

 

[Martin Sweeney]

Mach5,

I like the idea behind the new image you created as well as the execution of the technique. Thanks for sharing.

Regards,
Martin

 

[catfish chapstick]

well done. dont let the wires scar it and you'll have a perfect tree

 

[Dav4]

Awesome!....taking pretty good material and making it Soooooo much better by thinking outside the box. I love the grafted second trunk. Great job, and thanks for the tips/tricks...great stuff.

 

[JudyB]

Is really nice to see someone's thought process from planning to fruition. If your plan is solid, then the results if you stay on track (that can be hard) can be rewarding. This is a great example of that, I love the image you've created.

Do you find that the sketch keeps you from diverting from the intended path?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Great work...good photos too. Love twin trunk trees!

 

[NewWorldBonsai]

Fantastic and detailed photography. Thanks for sharing!

I will be checking the updates.

 

[Dan W.]

Beautiful composition!

 

[fore]

Love what you've done to improve this tree! Also I think the second trunk works great, but, for me, not the best tree for the second trunk due to that large knot. I would've used the smaller one myself. JMO

 

[MACH5]

well done. dont let the wires scar it and you'll have a perfect tree

Thanks Catfish! Yes this is exactly why I try and wrap all my thicker gage wire in floral tape. It works great and protects the bark quite effectively. Regardless one must always stay vigilant since it will eventually bite into the bark even with the tape applied. In my opinion is well worth the extra effort when working with delicate barked species like maples. This is not so easy if one's collection is very large.

Is really nice to see someone's thought process from planning to fruition. If your plan is solid, then the results if you stay on track (that can be hard) can be rewarding. This is a great example of that, I love the image you've created.

Do you find that the sketch keeps you from diverting from the intended path?

Thanks so much Judy! I don't always sketch ideas I may have. When I do, it does help me keep it all on track to some degree. With that said, I won't hesitate to abandon an idea for the benefit of considering a better one. So the sketch may well end up in the trash!

Love what you've done to improve this tree! Also I think the second trunk works great, but, for me, not the best tree for the second trunk due to that large knot. I would've used the smaller one myself. JMO

Thanks Chris! Yes the knot can be easily refined later. For now, not much work has gone in this area because I don't want to move or disturb the trunk too much since it can/will brake off at the graft union. It still needs time for the bond to become really solid. It will take time. I will let this small trunk(s) grow unchecked for a least another year or two.

 

[MACH5]

This is an older pic of the tree when the air layer was just separated. It was the branch on the lower right of the tree towards the back. You can also see here the ugly "key hole" shaped scar I mentioned earlier on the lower trunk which just finished closing up last year. The new front of the tree is now being pictured.

 

[fore]

Thanks Chris! Yes the knot can be easily refined later. For now, not much work has gone in this area because I don't want to move or disturb the trunk too much since it can/will brake off at the graft union. It still needs time for the bond to become really solid. It will take time. I will let this small trunk(s) grow unchecked for a least another year or two.

Can you share exactly what you would do to that knot Mach5? I've got one JM with a nasty looking knot and I have no idea what to do to it. Was thinking of just making it a stock plant.

 

[MACH5]

Chris in this particular case I will make two cuts since the trunk has swellings on both sides. The trunk is slightly thicker than a pencil so it should be pretty easy. I'll make a concave cut in order to take all the "ugliness" out on the one side. Generally the cuts need to be deep enough or you'll end up with a lump again as the cambium rolls over. Then once the wound has healed, I'll make the second cut on the other side to finish refining the area. I can't to do it all in one go since the trunk is rather slim. Additionally, all small buds here will be cut off to prevent further swelling.

I have had this problem with some maples as far as ugly knots and swellings and even reverse taper. Through cutting and carving, sometimes rather aggressively, I have been able to redefine the outline of a given trunk or branch joint. I hope this helps any.


Incidentally, I am still working on many areas of this tree as far as refining improperly or carelessly made cuts by the original grower.

 

[tmmason10]

What a cool progression! Great work, thanks for sharing.

 

[fore]

Chris in this particular case I will make two cuts since the trunk has swellings on both sides. The trunk is slightly thicker than a pencil so it should be pretty easy. I'll make a concave cut in order to take all the "ugliness" out on the one side. Generally the cuts need to be deep enough or you'll end up with a lump again as the cambium rolls over. Then once the wound has healed, I'll make the second cut on the other side to finish refining the area. I can't to do it all in one go since the trunk is rather slim. Additionally, all small buds here will be cut off to prevent further swelling.

I have had this problem with some maples as far as ugly knots and swellings and even reverse taper. Through cutting and carving, sometimes rather aggressively, I have been able to redefine the outline of a given trunk or branch joint. I hope this helps any.


Incidentally, I am still working on many areas of this tree as far as refining improperly or carelessly made cuts by the original grower.

Good idea Mach5! I hadn't thought of doing it in stages. Thanks!
Chris

 

[Paulpash]

Great tree and nice mother daughter re design. How did you fix your air layered section to the main tree - drill & screw? Do you have any tips to share on how to close callus / cuts quicker? I heard someone 'reactivating the callus' but the specifics weren't given. Thanks.

 

[MACH5]

Great tree and nice mother daughter re design. How did you fix your air layered section to the main tree - drill & screw? Do you have any tips to share on how to close callus / cuts quicker? I heard someone 'reactivating the callus' but the specifics weren't given. Thanks.

Thanks Marie! Glad you like the tree. I first did some carving on the main trunk as well as a little bit on the small one with a chisel to expose the cambium layers and create a good contact point for the two trunks. Afterwards, I affixed the small trunk to the main one with raffia for a period of almost two years. The raffia was removed right before I took the most recent picture. Unfortunately I neglected to take pics of this stage in the development

As far as closing cuts quicker, I suggest using cut paste on all your larger cuts. Make sure is not applied too thick. I learned this tip from the well known Gary Ishii. If the cut paste is too lumpy, it can delay the callusing process. Some people don't even bother with it but I highly recommend using it. In my experience however, the key is to simply keep a healthy tree. I don't think is necessary to allow a tree to grow unchecked to close average sized wounds (although it certainly helps). You'd be amazed just keeping a healthy tree how well and quickly you can close those wounds!

By "reactivating the callus", I assume it meant that sometimes you must get the callusing process restarted since at times, and for various reasons, it may just stop. This means you cut all along the edge of the callus (you'll see green underneath) to force the cambium layer to continue rolling over the wound.

For best results also make sure all your cuts are neat and clean

 

[coh]

Good idea - I'll have to remember it, as I might be able to apply it to some of my trees.

Chris