JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
Hey, This is coming along nicely. I know crabs can be hard to heal, but you might try recutting that wound in the summer this year and re starting it.
Shohin Siebold's crabapple
- Thread starter Fishtank307
- Start date
Fishtank307
Shohin
Buds are starting to open! First one on the bench 
I snipped of a couple of branch-tips two weeks ago in order to get the inner buds to grow. There were a lot of dormant buds, especially in the apex.
My guy wire wasn't very effective... I'm overcompensating with this new one!
@JudyB I know what I'm going to do this summer!
I snipped of a couple of branch-tips two weeks ago in order to get the inner buds to grow. There were a lot of dormant buds, especially in the apex.
My guy wire wasn't very effective... I'm overcompensating with this new one!
@JudyB I know what I'm going to do this summer!
Fishtank307
Shohin
I don't know if I did this too early, I reopend the wound and hollowed out the old wood. (In the picture it actually looks deeper than it really is)
I also sealed the wound with cut paste. (The putty kind)
I also sealed the wound with cut paste. (The putty kind)
Fishtank307
Shohin
More pictures:
JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
As long as it's in strong growing mode it's the right time. Looking good!
erb.75
Chumono
your tree is looking nicer with each post!
Fishtank307
Shohin
Thanks!
Paulpash
Masterpiece
Don't be afraid to cut hard into older wood before bud swell when it's dormant to get latent buds to pop. When it pushes growth in Spring this is when it has energy to spare and by removing the tip many more secondary buds will be activated. You can then pinch the tip to force energy into the buds behind the leader as per Stan's recommendations. On some of your branches you don't have secondaries yet - I'd consider doing this next year if they haven't popped otherwise they'll just get longer and longer with little taper. You've done well moving this tree on but they are a challenge when it comes to encourage branching.
Fishtank307
Shohin
Thanks for the advice, Paul! I'll certainly prune back the branches without secondary branches. There are barely buds visible on those. Good tip!
Paulpash
Masterpiece
You can tell where dormant buds on a branch might occur through looking very carefully for node rings. This will give you a good idea how far to cut back to in order to induce the right extent of backbudding.
Fishtank307
Shohin
I think a section of the trunk died off..
Does anyone know if this can be 'fixed'? As in filling the hollow and let callous over?
I really don't want to make it into a deadwood feature unless there is no other way..
Does anyone know if this can be 'fixed'? As in filling the hollow and let callous over?
I really don't want to make it into a deadwood feature unless there is no other way..
Fishtank307
Shohin
Almost half of the trunk died 
There was no way I could fix this. The wound was just way too big. So I decided to turn it into a feature. Normally I'm not a huge fan of large deadwood features on deciduous trees, but this was pretty much my only option. When life gives you lemons...
As I progressed, I started to notice how large the dead part actually was. It went all the way up to the original cut that was made by the previous owner. I made sure I only carved the rotten parts, and some live tissue on the sides.
I then removed the top layer of soil and added some new akadama.
The end result for now:
I'll probably add some lime-sulphur with ash or ink to make the hollow darker and add some depth.
There was no way I could fix this. The wound was just way too big. So I decided to turn it into a feature. Normally I'm not a huge fan of large deadwood features on deciduous trees, but this was pretty much my only option. When life gives you lemons...
As I progressed, I started to notice how large the dead part actually was. It went all the way up to the original cut that was made by the previous owner. I made sure I only carved the rotten parts, and some live tissue on the sides.
I then removed the top layer of soil and added some new akadama.
The end result for now:
I'll probably add some lime-sulphur with ash or ink to make the hollow darker and add some depth.
Leprous Garden
Yamadori
Do you think the trunk death was related to your wound modification? Or do you think it was happening all along after that very large cut up top?
Fishtank307
Shohin
I noticed a slight change in the color of the bark, close to the base, before I reopened the wound up top. So it was dead or dying before I cleaned up the cut.
When I started carving, I noticed that the dead part of the trunk was linked to one of the (three) big roots of the tree. That root probably died first, then the trunk followed. It's not that surprising now that I think about it. The big wound up top, the dead part of the trunk and that big root are all in the same plane. The root wasn't supporting any foliage, so maybe that's why it died.
Fishtank307
Shohin
Here's what had happened. First the big root died off, taking a portion of the trunk near the base with it. Then the whole trunk on that side died off, up to the big cut up top.
Honestly, I'm not super bummed out by this. I think it could look pretty neat in the future, once the deadwood has weathered.
I'll post another picture when I've treated the deadwood with lime sulphur and ash. Still looks very young right now.
Orion_metalhead
Masterpiece
I like it. The big chunk out looks like an old orchard tree that got half its side torn out in a storm. When it starts barking up, itll look really cool.
LCD35
Mame
So how has it healed in the intervening years?
Fishtank307
Shohin
It hasn't.. Sadly, once part of the trunk started to die off, its health deteriorated and eventually it died.
Crazy Diamond
Omono
Malus dont heal very good big wounds or loosing thick roots, they are also very suscceptible to fungi atack. A shame but sure you will find another one 
LCD35
Mame
Sorry to hear that
