hibiscus syriacus

[defra]

Here is a verry large hibiscus syriacus i dug out my front garden in the last week of march

the side with the big wound Will probably die, when it does i might hollow it out but time Will tell first it needs a couple of years to get healthy

last picture is today
sugestions are welcome

 

[Starfox]

It's big!

Not even sure I could cut mine back like that but I will go have a better look now.
Will keep tab on this for sure, thanks for posting.

 

[defra]

It's big!

Not even sure I could cut mine back like that but I will go have a better look now.
Will keep tab on this for sure, thanks for posting.

yeah its realy big lol
they seem to be pretty tough post a picture !! im curious haha

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Nice stump. Definitely give it a couple years to recover, you want it growing vigorously before your next hard chopping back.

Photos can be deceiving, but your grow box looks deep, maybe 6 or 8 inches.
It is potted up, don't do anything more with it, but should you dig another stup like that, saw off the bottom flat, even if you have to sacrifice a few more roots, it is better to use a wider, flatter grow box. Aim for less than 5 inches deep. Reason is that it will be difficult to fit this into a bonsai pot. You are ''locked in'' to growing for a couple years and then doing the flattening out of the root system, let it recover 2 more years, then put in bonsai pot. If you had gone with a shallower grow box, you might be able to make the move to a bonsai pot in one step rather than 2. But it is too late with this one, so keep it in mind for the next one. No matter what you have 4 or more years of work ahead of you on branch structure before you will be ready for a bonsai pot, so you are not really loosing time with the root work.

 

[defra]

thnx Leo yes the grow box is a bit deep but was the only thing i had wich was big enough to fit the tree
i did saw it flat on the red line (picture) but maybe should have done more
thnx for the advice next time ill saw of more !

ill Let it grow freely next year again and then fall 2017 branch selection or should i prune some branches this year already ?
the base of some branches already grew to 1 cm thick im guessing ill go for the clip and grow method

 

[bonhe]

Hi Defra,
It looks like single layer flower, doesn't it?
If I was you, I let it grow freely for 1 year, then will select the branch. I think few branches have to be removed. I have been using clip and grow for mine.
Bonhe

 

[defra]

@bonhe this is the flower when Just opened pink then purple and then i cut it off

thnx il Just Let it go wild next year

 

[bonhe]

@bonhe this is the flower when Just opened pink then purple and then i cut it off

thnx il Just Let it go wild next year

Ah, double layer flower! I have one like yours but the leaf shape is different.
Bonhe

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

as @bonhe suggested, I would do nothing more for 2016, end of 2017 might be a good time to do branch selection.

 

[defra]

leaves are gone !

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Nice, it is recovering health nicely. I took a good look at the internode lengths of several branches. You should let it run wild one more season. But then it will be time to start managing branches. Notice that the first few internodes are close together, followed by longer more widely spread internodes. Spring 2018, chop all branches that you will keep back to the zone of short internodes. This means removing the majority of new growth. But a mature looking tree will have short internodes. Best way to get them is by pruning for them right from the start.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Leave branches that you will eventually remove run long while you prune the ""keepers" short. The long sacrifice branches will draw energy away from the pruned ones, enough so the their next round of growth will keep shorter internodes. Until you get several levels of ramification, the sacrifice branches will be helpful in managing the keep for the design branches. Once in a smaller pot you should not need this trick.

 

[defra]

thnx allot for this advice Leo its very helpfull!

ill Let it grow and fertilize it next season also going to remove most of the flower buds to get it super healthy!

this season was with almosth no fertilizer due to the digging up.

only i wonder what i should do with the cuts of the big branches i sawed off,

ive seen a Walter pall video where he said to Let it rot away some and then after a few years to clean it up and carve it to make the cuts look more natural and then preserve the wood
i think that might be a good solution!

 

[defra]

@Leo in N E Illinois

after we had some frost Its clear that the side were the big wound below the ground is is dieing I know that cus the bark on that side on the trunk is getting Grey as i kinda suspected it would happen





my tought now is to cut it at red line and make a big hollow trunk out of what remains or am i acting crazy?

 

[defra]

this is kinda what i am trying to aim for with it

 

[my nellie]

Callusing with this species is very poor, takes the eternity...
I like what you are aiming for.

 

[defra]

Ready for season 2
Buds popping everywere

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I like how it is coming along. I agree, that section is dead. I would wait before carving, let the live wood grow another year or two, making sure die back has stopped. In time it will be easier to see where the live wood dead wood boundary is. Then carve it. Maybe 2/19

 

[defra]

Thnx leo ill let nature do its thing !

at some points 2 or more branches grew out of the trunk creating ugly so i reduced them to 1 branch and pruned them back some in length to stimulate more buds to pop up rest of the season ill let it grow unrestricted and feed it heavily it realy amazed me how strong it grew last year after collecting it

 

[StoneCloud]

I like where this is going! Time is always needed with trees but this one will get to where you want it. Mine took a season for the die back to finish but our climates are a little different.

Did you use paste on the cuts? I didn't, tbh I almost never use paste. Your's healed nicely.