Hawthorn collection

[OliverN]

Hi all,

Collected my first hawthorn ever today!
I dug it out at a construction site near my house, I saw it when I went running for the first time in 3 years, might do that more often from now on
I was thinking of putting it in a big pot at first, but the roots that I was able to get are quite limited (see pic). So i decided to plant it in my yard.
I put some plastic over the tops of the big roots I cut off and added some rooting powder and spaghnum moss around most of the roots.
The goal is to make some air layers in a couple of weeks. Feel free to advise if this is a good idea or not...
Otherwise i might wait a year and them do it, or trunk chop it in the near future
Fingers crossed that it makes it!
All feedback welcome!!

Cheers , Olivier

 

[my nellie]

Not the ideal timing for collection. The tree has leafed out already and temperature is rising.
I'd say you should have cut the trunk back to those new lower shoots. I wish the tree survives.
But wait to get further more responses.

... ...The goal is to make some air layers in a couple of weeks. Feel free to advise if this is a good idea or not...
Otherwise i might wait a year and them do it, or trunk chop it in the near future... ...

You need to see the tree recovering first.

 

[TomB]

Not the ideal timing for collection. The tree has leafed out already and temperature is rising.
I'd say you should have cut the trunk back to those new lower shoots. I wish the tree survives.
But wait to get further more responses.
You need to see the tree recovering first.

Don't even think about air layers until it has been established and growing strongly for at least a year.

 

[Cattwooduk]

You'll probably need to take a substantial amount of the top green off that tree for it to stand a chance looking at how much root you got to support it.

 

[sorce]

That's the entire tree!

Well....minus roots I guess!

Sorce

 

[OliverN]

Looking at the feedback i'm preparing to get the saw out again!
Now the question is: do i cut it back real low ( basically trunk chop it) or do i keep the trunk + the part i'd like to layer (1 branch) with some green on it?

Thanks for the feedback!!

 

[ralf]

Nicely educative seed to mame thread. Only Sorce is spoiling the average...

Oliver, it seems you are pretty much like me. Just make it and then start looking for the manuals. As I am slowly approaching the shohin size I do realize that this may not be the best procedure to follow.

Regarding your hawthorn: Despite the fact that this is now mainly about the timing of your activity I cannot overlook the quality of the tree itself. Someone on this forum I guess Maros has written something like: " there is 1 of 500 hornbeams with a good movement worth to be collected".

Your hawthorn: I would definitely keep some leafs . Seal well the cut. Place it in the shade - or use a screening to protect from the direct midday and afternoon sun. It is good to have some sunshine in the early morning though. Spraying leaves with a rainwater is in my opinion beneficial. Several times per day but not in the late afternoon to avoid problem with fungal infection. Do not overwater the ground. Keep fingers crossed. If it makes it do not hurry into the airlayer. The plant should be strong and growing vigorously to make a good airlayer.

Good luck.

 

[OliverN]

Based in the feedback (much appreciated!) I did some serious trimming today. I kept just 1 branch -the one with some nice movement i want to air layer later- and all others were cut off.
I also kept the foilage moist throughout the day since the weather is quite nice here currently (what are the odds)...
I'll keep a close eye on it during the following days and keep my fingers crossed!!

Thanks for the input, i'll post a pic of the current state tomorrow.