Any Possibility?

[57vert]

This old maple/oak, not sure, just keeps on trying to stay alive. There isn’t much left but that crescent shaped stump. The roots are way too thick to try and dig out. If I were to dig down several inches and cut the crescent stump off horizontal to the ground, is there any way to get it to root or would it just be a death sentence ?

 

[nuttiest]

I mean its only a few inches, how heavy is your shovel?

 

[Mike Corazzi]

Sometimses those wrecks have a close taproot. I did ONE and gave it away after not being able to confine it satisfactorily to a pot.
It is now 25 feet tall behind their goat shed.

 

[ShadyStump]

What's the tree next to it?
Might be the same kind, or even the same tree.

If it's a vigorous grower, try to get that stump out as whole as you can. Any but if root matter significantly increases your chances.

 

[Shibui]

The leaves on the ground look like oak in which case don't bother. Oaks can be transplanted but only with good roots. They are almost impossible from cuttings so without good roots there's little chance.
If it is maple there is some chance?
The crescent is the rotted stump of a reasonable sized tree so no wonder the roots are big. It is also likely to go down some way so will be quite difficult and time consuming to excavate to get roots.
Some stumps can be carved to look like very old survivors but here you have nothing left to work with so I really doubt you could make it look good as bonsai.
If you just want some excercise and experience go for it but, all in all, I would advise looking elsewhere for bonsai potential.

 

[57vert]

The leaves on the ground look like oak in which case don't bother. Oaks can be transplanted but only with good roots. They are almost impossible from cuttings so without good roots there's little chance.
If it is maple there is some chance?
The crescent is the rotted stump of a reasonable sized tree so no wonder the roots are big. It is also likely to go down some way so will be quite difficult and time consuming to excavate to get roots.
Some stumps can be carved to look like very old survivors but here you have nothing left to work with so I really doubt you could make it look good as bonsai.
If you just want some excercise and experience go for it but, all in all, I would advise looking elsewhere for bonsai potential.

I don’t think I’ll get any roots at all, going down several inches into the soil it’s all just big 3-4 inch roots. My thought was to dig down, cut the rotted crescent stump horizontal to the ground and stick it in a pan of water to see if it would root. Quite sure it won’t send out roots but thought with the vast knowledge here someone had tried something similar.

 

[57vert]

What's the tree next to it?
Might be the same kind, or even the same tree.

If it's a vigorous grower, try to get that stump out as whole as you can. Any but if root matter significantly increases your chances.

I have both oak and maple in my yard. So the stray leaves aren’t really an indication, but yes it is one or the other and I’m not wasting my time on an oak.

 

[nuttiest]

I’m not wasting my time on an oak.

Why not, youv'e wasted time on a stump.

 

[nuttiest]

I have a maple in my yard that is hollow on two sides and needs dug out, as soon as I want to layer it... all will be a long story but I still want to.
If it has a leaf bud, white tissue and cambium technically possible right?

 

[leatherback]

It will not likely root. An elm or Olive I would have said, perhaps. But just cutting a segment of trunk (That is all you have really if you do not get roots) does not normally root.

Might be you need to do it anyway to get rid of the tree though.

 

[Shibui]

I have a maple in my yard that is hollow on two sides and needs dug out, as soon as I want to layer it... all will be a long story but I still want to.
If it has a leaf bud, white tissue and cambium technically possible right?

Many maples are much easier than oaks. Will depend on species but with live cambium and leaf buds there is a faint chance that you'll be successful.

 

[RJG2]

I did it with an elm, but yeah, it was an elm. Had a lot of shoots though.

Maple would definitely have a better chance than oak.

Five Year Native Tree Challenge: RJG2's Ulmus rubra (slippery elm)

This should be interesting, if I can pull it off (out of the ground). This elm was cut down at ground level for a fence. The right side grew back into a full tree. I kept running over the left with the lawn mower, and after rotting away a bunch, it looks like the edge of a crater - this is...

www.bonsainut.com