How do I fix this reverse taper?

[Noulinator]

Any ideas how to fix this reverse taper without doing an airlayer?
Grafting seedlings, scarring or grafting a sacrifice branch below?

I got the tree fairly cheap and I intend to clean up the bulges on the trunk this year and do some branch selection and wiring.

Seems like a fun project.

 

[pandacular]

Any ideas how to fix this reverse taper without doing an airlayer?

Seems like you know the answer. The root spread is quite poor, why avoid a layer?

 

[Noulinator]

Seems like you know the answer. The root spread is quite poor, why avoid a layer?

I kinda like the “movement” of the trunk, and think it would ruin the look. Any ideas for a layer placement and angle?

 

[pandacular]

If you want to keep that first bend, you could put your layer just at the widest point of the lower knob. I would also consider removing/layering the top section, as the middle of the tree is a bit of a stovepipe.

Good project tree for sure.

 

[Jrmcmich]

Assume that at graft point? Hard to tell just a guess. But if you did decide to layer it at that junction think would be nice movement still.

 

[Shibui]

I've tried scarring to increase trunk thickness. Not entirely satisfied with the technique. It worked a bit on one tree but took around 5 years to make much difference. The lump on the other tree grew faster than the scarred area so defeated me.

Grafting a sacrifice branch might work but the callus caused by healing the wound is more likely to increase the thickened area when you remove the sacrifice branch.

If the nebari is poor, grafting more roots into the base might slowly enlarge the base.

All the techniques I've tried are slow so don't expect instant success with anything. Even layering will probably take 5 years or more before the new roots are thick enough to expose as nebari.

 

[Woocash]

Grow a sacrifice, bend it through the middle of the bulge on the left hand side of the first pic and get yourself a new primary branch. Or layer off the top thick branch and graft it on at the bulge. If you've got the skills. I'm not advocating fully, just saying what I see. Nice project, I agree.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I don’t really see what I would consider reverse taper from those photos. If it’s low enough, consider thread-grafting a couple seedlings through the trunk to create nebari at the soil level, and over a few years, it will spread enough to fix the problem. Look at some @MACH5 and @Dav4 threads to see how that is done.

 

[leatherback]

Looking at the full trunk, I would not worry about the shape of the lower trunk.

If you do proper, aggressive rootwork every other year and push the tree to really grow for a few years [e.g., aim for a 50% increase in diameter] you probably get the easiest results; Many lumps will even out, and with the rootwork you broaden the base of the tree significantly.

 

[leatherback]

[whatever you decide, I hope you have covered your roots properly again, else you might loose these smaller roots; Nebari development happens below-ground.]

 

[Noulinator]

[whatever you decide, I hope you have covered your roots properly again, else you might loose these smaller roots; Nebari development happens below-ground.]

The picture with the spring leaves is the newest one. I covered them with moss.

 

[Noulinator]

Looking at the full trunk, I would not worry about the shape of the lower trunk.

If you do proper, aggressive rootwork every other year and push the tree to really grow for a few years [e.g., aim for a 50% increase in diameter] you probably get the easiest results; Many lumps will even out, and with the rootwork you broaden the base of the tree significantly.

By that do you mean the trunk has interesting enough movement?

Grow in diameter branch wise or root wise? You mean branch, right?

Its hard to capture the indent/reverse taper on a picture. But it does have an area where it seems to be a bit concave.

I just played a bit with considering a different front for the tree.

I need to get a spin table soon. However I did a video here:

I took some pictures but they are really bad. However front number 2 might also be an interesting front for the tree. What do you think?

 

[Noulinator]

I've tried scarring to increase trunk thickness. Not entirely satisfied with the technique. It worked a bit on one tree but took around 5 years to make much difference. The lump on the other tree grew faster than the scarred area so defeated me.

Grafting a sacrifice branch might work but the callus caused by healing the wound is more likely to increase the thickened area when you remove the sacrifice branch.

If the nebari is poor, grafting more roots into the base might slowly enlarge the base.

All the techniques I've tried are slow so don't expect instant success with anything. Even layering will probably take 5 years or more before the new roots are thick enough to expose as nebari.

I think I will try to graft more roots and maybe clean up the trunk a bit.

 

[Noulinator]

I don’t really see what I would consider reverse taper from those photos. If it’s low enough, consider thread-grafting a couple seedlings through the trunk to create nebari at the soil level, and over a few years, it will spread enough to fix the problem. Look at some @MACH5 and @Dav4 threads to see how that is done.

I tried to find the posts. Didnt succeed. This forum is kinda new to me and the platform is a bit confusing. Will try to give it another look!

I posted a video here:

 

[Noulinator]

Assume that at graft point? Hard to tell just a guess. But if you did decide to layer it at that junction think would be nice movement still.

No idea if it is grafted or not

 

[99 Mile Creek]

I don't see an issue.

Gnarly base and then twisting and bending back...looks great!

 

[River's Edge]

Any ideas how to fix this reverse taper without doing an airlayer?

Which area of reverse taper are you referring to? The pictures appear to show several. If referring to the lowest section near the base, I would consider that a smaller issue than the others or the straighter section with less taper above the initial lower movement in the trunk.
The important aspect os how much work are you prepared to do and how much improvement are you wanting to make with this material? What are your goals?

 

[Joe Dupre']

I have to ask. Do you want to get rid of the reverse taper because "a tree should not have reverse taper" or do you really not like the look of reverse taper? If you really don't like the look of it, then you should try to get rid of it. I think it's a great tree with its own personality. Maybe enjoy it for what it is and get a "good" tree later on.