Zelkova project

[Djtommy]

Perhaps you can let the tree force its energy into 1 single branch which you let grow very straight up, once its got some thickness just start all over, chop the branch where you got some nice straight section to make a broom and later on layer it at wanted trunk lenght

 

[Giga]

I like this one looks like something for the desert in Africa - like a baobab tree

 

[Dav4]

Without knowing any more about this stock, ground layering will square away the roots in short order and I bet this one would make a fantastic informal broom in a few years.

 

[Mellow Mullet]

I was hoping to make a broom style of of it. And I hadn't picked a front. But, one of the larger branches did not bud out.

So, this project has not gone particularly well. The rot in the middle from the old chop extended far deeper into the trunk than I expected.

Adair, have you ever filled the hole or cavity left from the rot on one? My arakawa maple had a hole it from the top where the branches split, similar to yours, and it exited about and inch or two above the roots. It went all the way through. I managed to repair it. I used to epoxy putty to plug the lower hole, recessed it enough so the bark could roll over it. I filled the cavity with a product called Durham's Rock Hard Putty, available at HD or Lowe's. It is a powder that you mix with water, when it dries it is, well, rock hard. Since it is a liquid you can really get the cavity completely filled. I left a little room at the top to put epoxy on it for the bark to roll. Three years later, the bottom is completely covered with bark, you can't even tell where it was unless you know where to look, and the top is almost completely healed over, about a dime size to go, should be completely healed over this year.

Just a thought.

John

 

[Dav4]

Adair, have you ever filled the hole or cavity left from the rot on one? My arakawa maple had a hole it from the top where the branches split, similar to yours, and it exited about and inch or two above the roots. It went all the way through. I managed to repair it. I used to epoxy putty to plug the lower hole, recessed it enough so the bark could roll over it. I filled the cavity with a product called Durham's Rock Hard Putty, available at HD or Lowe's. It is a powder that you mix with water, when it dries it is, well, rock hard. Since it is a liquid you can really get the cavity completely filled. I left a little room at the top to put epoxy on it for the bark to roll. Three years later, the bottom is completely covered with bark, you can't even tell where it was unless you know where to look, and the top is almost completely healed over, about a dime size to go, should be completely healed over this year.

Just a thought.

John

Interesting. I've used this to make carpentry repairs, but the product isn't water proof and I would assume this would pull more moisture into the void and foster more rot. It sounds like it worked for you so I may give it a go when the opportunity arises.

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Interesting. I've used this to make carpentry repairs, but the product isn't water proof and I would assume this would pull more moisture into the void and foster more rot. It sounds like it worked for you so I may give it a go when the opportunity arises.

I was skeptical, too, at first, but a fellow club member, Joe Day, is who put me on to it. He showed me a tree he had used it on years ago and it is still going strong.

 

[Adair M]

Adair, have you ever filled the hole or cavity left from the rot on one? My arakawa maple had a hole it from the top where the branches split, similar to yours, and it exited about and inch or two above the roots. It went all the way through. I managed to repair it. I used to epoxy putty to plug the lower hole, recessed it enough so the bark could roll over it. I filled the cavity with a product called Durham's Rock Hard Putty, available at HD or Lowe's. It is a powder that you mix with water, when it dries it is, well, rock hard. Since it is a liquid you can really get the cavity completely filled. I left a little room at the top to put epoxy on it for the bark to roll. Three years later, the bottom is completely covered with bark, you can't even tell where it was unless you know where to look, and the top is almost completely healed over, about a dime size to go, should be completely healed over this year.

Just a thought.

John

I've used that product to level floors. Never tried it on a bonsai.

Peter Tea filled his trident maple with some concrete when he discovered it was hollow. So I'm familiar with the concept.

I've got all the rotten wood out, so I'm just going to let it grow to build callous.