Black locust limb wire

[Sean Walker]

I dug this is this spring along with 2 others and this is the lone locust now. But with those others dying I learned some stuff
I wired the main when I first got it and messed with it a bit for a few weeks as far as depth of bends and so on and this is where it stayed. You can see the medical tape up top that was an early attempt at a more .......vigorous bend and well .... crack ! But it healed itself up ! And after getting some pine mulch a couple weeks ago and putting some on it and it’s other compadre the leaves started to yellow and eventually fell. It’s buddy died (it was in an unhealthy state all summer limping along) must have been a ph thing??? But I removed the mulch and the leaves stopped yellowing. I cracked the little fella on the top left that’s why he doesn’t have and character yet just a front/back adjustment.

 

[DonovanC]

I’ve not worked with black locus, there’s a school in my town that was torn down this year. But before they tore it down there was a nice one with about a 4cm trunk that I wanted to rescue but the demolition team got to before me. I was saddened.

What are you plans for the tree?
What soil is it in?

At this point, the best move for this tree is (brace yourself)... to be put back in the ground. Lol
If you have a nice sunny spot where you can look after it, it’ll thicken up much nicer in the ground. I’d let it grow until it was taller than myself then cut it back.
Placing a round plastic disc (lid for a bucket) under the tree in the ground will help form radial roots for when you eventually Dig it back up.
Also, to make use of the wiring (perhaps not for this one as it’s been through a bit) but in the future, focusing on bends closer to the root base will be more useful as the upper half of this tree will eventually be chopped leaving only the lowest part of the trunk. So if you’re looking for trunk movement, starting with something this small, a nice bend at the base will help. But, honestly, that’s not even necessary as the trunk chop that you eventually do will ad movement.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t practice wiring on these little guys. So go for it! It’s fun lol

 

[Sean Walker]

Well as far as plans for it I’m just flying by the seat of my pants with this one! The one that just died was the one I really liked. This was the only one I wired. These Locust grew outside my grandmothers house when I was growing up so I’ve always had a fondness for them.
I appreciate your suggestions thank you very much ! As far as putting it in the ground I’ve bought and dug up a few different trees this year. Ive been trying to figure out how best and where to put the different trees to suit their needs.

 

[sorce]

Ive been trying to figure out how best and where to put the different trees to suit their needs.

Any tree will live in shade, so starting out there, you'll never get everything you can out of any tree.

So start everything in full sun, then observe for signs they can't take it.

Weak Maples will obviously get brown edges. This is One category of "can't take full sun". They may actually grow more and better In Full sun, so we are balancing this and aesthetics of brown leaves.

The other category is this one I've recently found expressed in our invasive buckthorn. Where though the soil is wet, they still wilt, but even if this doesn't necessarily mean they can't actually be positioned in full sun. They perk back up at night. Though I have had a newly collected one for, which I can likely attribute to this phenomenon.

Never adjust sun levels to compensate for watering, as in using shade to water less.

I reckon that's the best way.

Oh, I like how everyone has different reasons for enjoying different trees! Thanks for sharing!

Sorce