"Naturally" trunk chopped maple advice request

[gjclayton]

Hello all.
I hope you are well.

I have an older maple that naturally has exposed roots and has trunk chopped itself a couple of times.
It used to be much taller and a few years ago the upper section died off. I then chopped and trimmed the top section.
It was growing a long new leader from this top section last year but then this was knocked off in high winds over the winter.
I wrote it off at that point as it looked quite dead. It lived in the back of my garden and I'm glad I didn't get around to throwing it away as it suddenly popped a new branch, noticed recently.

It is now quite a strange shape: high, exposed roots, an upper section that has potentially died back and a new single branch.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do with this? I'm obviously happy to let the new branch grow out but I'm wondering how to develop a maple with a single new leader onto something that might look beautiful!

Any advice that any can give would be very gratefully received!

GJC

 

[Shibui]

Let those new shoots grow. Trying to do anything now will likely damage those soft shoots. When the new leader is stronger and has hardened up - maybe next year - you can chop the old trunk back closer to the new trunk. In the meantime, just fertilise, water as needed and give it enough morning sun to grow strong.

I toyed with telling you to wire and bend the new shoots but doing that now will likely damage the tender tissues and wired bends rarely look good. I prefer to develop trunk shape by pruning. The resulting changes in direction usually appear much more natural and you'll get taper as a bonus.

 

[penumbra]

If you have space, put it in the ground for a couple of years and let it grow unrestrained. Sometimes these all but abandoned plants will surprise us and deliver more than expected. Basically forget about it for awhile (but do water) and work on your other plants.

 

[Tieball]

I would keep the roots buried while growing both the tree and the roots. Unless, I guess, if you are specifically exposing the roots now as a development stage.

 

[gjclayton]

Thank you so much for your responses. All very informative.
The root exposure happened naturally too when it was neglected (with a little bit of help). I will definitely consider burying them though.
I'll also think about putting it in the ground to help it along.

Thanks again!