AusBonsai

Hey guys,

After some advice on the tree below - has a good thick trunk as is visible! Most branches are gone except one which I decided to air layer instead (started that a couple months ago... wrong time or what haha).
I now have a dilemma, do I dig? Do I wait for back-buds? Do I let it become a normal tree instead of bonsai? Or do I die trying to make it into a nice bonsai?

Thanks peeps!

Hi M G , It depends on how soon the tree HAS to be moved . It you can leave it where it is all the better . The graft should take although it is the incorrect time to do it . With the tree left in the ground the back budding will be much better . If you have to remove it , well give it your best shot . Dig a big root mass and hang onto the layer , re-check it prior to bud burst , assess the layer for fungus /rot and take it from there . All the best .

Cheers Alpineart

alpineart wrote:Hi M G , It depends on how soon the tree HAS to be moved . It you can leave it where it is all the better . The graft should take although it is the incorrect time to do it . With the tree left in the ground the back budding will be much better . If you have to remove it , well give it your best shot . Dig a big root mass and hang onto the layer , re-check it prior to bud burst , assess the layer for fungus /rot and take it from there . All the best .

Cheers Alpineart

This tree needs not be moved for a long time, give it a year in the ground you think?

If you can leave it in the ground all the better for a couple of years.

My is to wait until the layer has taken & then chop the trunk to about half its current height and let it have a couple of years to grow unchecked then have another look at it. At the moment.it is big but taperless, nothing will change that in the next few decades.

Just from what my old eyes can make out the layer is probably not worth going on with for bonsai
The stump may be worth while but needs to be cut quite short and grow a tree from the stump. It will probably make abetter garden tree than a bonsai but if you really want to try it would be better to dig it and cut back now so it is under way sooner rather than later. If nothing else you should learn lots from the excercise.

you could always take dozens of layers off it in a couple of years if nothing else works out for you

Thanks everyone!
I think I'll leave it until I see some growth. The trunk itself doesn't have HUGE taper, but I think selecting the correct front and appropriately chopping one of the giant stumps at the top off (if not more) will give a fond illusion of better taper.

While this will never be a prize winning bonsai, I like what Shibui said about learning a lot from this. This is a. my first air layer b. my first attempt with a thick mature trunk and c. what will be my first attempt at developing a good root spread followed by good nebari. Also, I may as well practice jins and sharis along with trunk carving and defoliating.

Again, thanks to everyone who posted and I now have a much clearer picture of where I'm going with this .

So ended up digging the old tree (dad decided to put up a pergola with colorbond roofing...... no light gets through painted tin last time I checked), found a good root mass, and a great taper. Trunk is a bit too long but still not the worst to look at.

The thing that worries me is that I highly doubt this will survive despite the good root mass! Only time will tell, however I am always hopeful. Even some leaves and one more year would be nice out of this tree haha.

Pics below.

Just occurred to me that I have approx 5 Japanese maple whips... anybody thread grafted a Japanese maple before?

Grant - NBPCA has an extensive post on thread grafting a Japanese maple viewtopic.php?f=104&t=7263&hilit=thread ... nese+maple

There are other threads dealing with this. Use search button top right.

I like to use whips for root grafts.
Japanese maples thread graft very easily but using whips can cause problems with variations of foliage. Better to use extensions of the existing branches.

Update and new grow box! The box was put together and the tree planted a while ago, just couldn't find time enough to update. Pics below!

Nice one!

Your in business!

Cheers mate!

Had a look at this one and its really taken off in the last few weeks and thrown some buds one third and half way up the trunk!
and these are the buds! There's a third one between these that I'll likely use for grafting!

Nice mate! I picked a few maples this spring about the same size from a neighbour pulling them out of his front yard. They are shooting very well just like your one.
Good luck with the grafts

Hugh