Ebihara on Developed maple

[Hawke84]

Hi all,
I've not done the Ebihara technique before. I'm going to do some practice on younger trees this growing season, but i have a deshojo that I would like to improve the nebari on. can you do this technique on older trees? im hesitent about washing the root ball and really digging up into the root ball to get to the base of the tree to screen the board in. That might just be my lack of experience pushing caution.

Pictures of the root ball March 2020.

 

[Shibui]

You could screw a board on the base of this but what's the point? It already has a shallow root system and a great nebari starting. It just needs a few years for the existing roots to mature and thicken. A board won't help a tree at this stage of development.
Correct root pruning is just as good as tiles and boards.

JM are quite capable of coping with relatively harsh root pruning and bare root but you do need to be comfortable with what you are doing. Practice on less advanced trees so you can understand just how root pruning affects trees then transfer that knowledge to more valuable stock when you are happy it works.

 

[Adair M]

It’s hard to say, because I can’t see how big the tree is, but assuming it’s “average” sized, that root ball can be reduced from the bottom. And shortened (as in making it less wide. And make it “rounder” rather than oval.

And yes, a gentle spray of water would greatly ease the bare rooting process. Once it’s bare rooted, then you can untangle the roots to get them all radial rather than scrambled.

There is NO SUBSTITUTE for proper root work, whether you use the Ebihara technique of screwing to a board or not.

That root ball looks to be pretty good, but you won’t KNOW until it’s bare root.