Amur Maple chop recommendation

[LCD35]

Thanks @Leo in N E Illinois , @0soyoung , @thumblessprimate1 , @Hartinez , and @sorce for the advice and discussion!

 

[Hartinez]

I sealed the cuts with duct putty from Home Depot. At first I had a hard time getting it to stick, as the putty was a little damp and sap was absolutely pouring out of the three wounds. I ensured I used enough soil to cover the nebari and let it continue to develop. I wanted to build a larger container, but don't have enough lumber to build a grow box. Another option out of reach is ground burying. One issue is the number of ground squirrels. I used to have a full grown crab apple in my backyard. Used too. Also, there is in ground irrigation and sprinklers that I have no control over. So, back in the original container for now. Not the best option, but the best I have. Now I wait.

I think the chop looks good. I might have cut that one chop a little tighter to the main trunk as wounds that big tend to bulge a bit when healing. And that’s second stub may not be needed but I could also see it being part of the overall design. At this point it’s a wait and see! I’d imagine it’ll be just fine and should be covered with new buds in time, but Be wary of a freeze and bring it inside if there is a threat. Nice base! Did you cut any roots coming off of the top of what will be your future surface roots? If not it maybe something you do at some point. Much like branching you don’t want geese roots coming off the those primary roots vertically. They will just get bigger and not part of the final look.

 

[LCD35]

I think the chop looks good. I might have cut that one chop a little tighter to the main trunk as wounds that big tend to bulge a bit when healing. And that’s second stub may not be needed but I could also see it being part of the overall design. At this point it’s a wait and see! I’d imagine it’ll be just fine and should be covered with new buds in time, but Be wary of a freeze and bring it inside if there is a threat. Nice base! Did you cut any roots coming off of the top of what will be your future surface roots? If not it maybe something you do at some point. Much like branching you don’t want geese roots coming off the those primary roots vertically. They will just get bigger and not part of the final look.

The second stub was more of an insurance play. I could see it being incorporated into a broom, or removing for informal upright. I did hit the other cut in the middle with a knob cutter, so it's fairly concave. I think I might have used a bit too much putty. I figured out that if I wet my hands, manipulating the putty was easier and stuck to me less. I'll keep an eye on building for next year and this thread will be a good reminder

I did not remove vertically growing roots on the future nebari, so yeah, I'll attack that next repot. The bottom middle of the root ball was very thick; cutting flush was a snap and should prevent or reduce any roots wanting to grow down. I was super stoked about the amount of radial roots and surprised to find it after cutting to reveal them. There's only one spot that's a little more bare than the rest, but it looks natural and I think it'll work out.

The weather was been mild for winter this year. This time last year I was buried in snow and spent several weekends on the mountain snowboarding. I noticed most of it's melted up there on my way to Boise last weekend. I'm worried that I might have 10 weeks of daily bonsai dancing back and forth to the garage, but what can you do?

 

[LCD35]

Looks like everything is going well. I must have fertilized well last summer, going into winter, as the stump has positively exploded in buds. It's really easy to see the internodes now, with buds growing in rings. False spring made this tree push, but the past four nights have been well below freezing, into the 20s and teens. Nightly it's been moved into the garage to protect the buds.

 

[LCD35]

Good day time temps. Good response.

 

[Colorado]

Nice! I’m chopping mine next spring

 

[LCD35]

Worrying about branch die back and leaving the lower stub seemed prudent at the time of the chop. Looking at Cousin It today, that worry just seems silly. Lower stub will go next year. I imagine this amount of growth down low is REALLY gonna help with the taper. Perhaps I could have gone lower with the chop? This is the path now.

I've treated it with a systemic because aphids and leaf cutters were a problem for all my plants last year. This three in one has anti pest, anti fungal, and some slow release fert. I've hit this bush with fish emulsion and some heavy concentration miracle grow. I've followed the Walter Pall school of heavy fert for heavy watering in fast draining soil with my conifers. I was a little concerned applying that technique here with fert burn, but that hasn't appeared to manifest and seems to be working well. This amount of foliage should make for a beautiful little bonfire come Autumn.

Temperatures heating up, so I'm much more confident watering daily, deeply. I'm hoping that will stave off potential leaf burn. It developed a touch last year, but I don't know how well the nurseries watering regimen was. Do amurs scorch from sun? Elevation isn't high here, but at 3146 feet, I notice that I sun burn quicker at least. Disregard the dead willow in the background; I'm still in mourning.

 

[ponderingsage]

Tree is looking good.
I'm Glad that root hook came in handy.
Nice job keeping those low branches. Are you going to keep them as sacrifice branches?

 

[LCD35]

Tree is looking good.
I'm Glad that root hook came in handy.
Nice job keeping those low branches. Are you going to keep them as sacrifice branches?

Bro, it came in very handy, just look at that root mass I had to tangle with. Thanks again For right now, keeping everything to just let it build energy. There's a lot of low stuff that I'm hoping will be useful for sacrifices. I won't really worry about the branches until I get the taper resolved. Who knows, maybe I'm doing it all wrong since this is my first major attempt. It's wild and I'm having a blast.

 

[ponderingsage]

Well, I think your on the right track!