Prunus mume stock from Evergreen Gardenworks

[Brian Van Fleet]

Here is an ume I bought from Brent in a 1-gal can in January 2010. It was planted deep, and I potted it higher when I transplanted it to that terra cotta pot (bottom of the photo) a couple months later, somewhere around a 1/2" thick trunk.


The tree after 4 seasons in the ground. The tag is good for reference. Can't believe its still with the tree!


The chop was made in May '13. The trunk has good movement and taper, but it's hard to get that to show up in a photo. I wanted to see how it responded, and since it budded again at the trunk...

In summer 2014, I chopped it again:

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

In 2015 I dug it up and put it in an Anderson Flat:

And let it grow basically wild for the next 2 years. It got to about 8' tall:

And after a good haircut:

It's back to 10" tall, and sporting a 4" base. Check back in another 2 years!

 

[Rob_phillips]

Looking good so far keep us informed.

I think i will make my next purchase a japanese apricot.
Its just hard to find one i like for the money asked for them here in the uk.
They either have poor branching or nasty scars and not much character but they still carry a hefty price tag.
But i will keep looking.

 

[Tidal Bonsai]

That has really come a long way, awesome work!

 

[LanceMac10]

That's a great job of creating a flowing taper on a developing piece of ground grown material. Giving us plebian screw-jobs a well documented history of said process....


Mr. Hyde sez' you been.....

 

[fredtruck]

Very nice, Brian. I think it's going to be a wonderful tree.

 

[Giga]

Very nice indeed - I need more of these in my life as there my favy species, so much so that my right arm is covered in a mume sleeve tattoo. This one is going to be nice

 

[Nybonsai12]

Coming along nicely. I will be following closely as i have two on a very similar path, maybe a year or two behind.

 

[Dav4]

These are super fun and satisfying to grow out in the ground. The vigor of a happy mume is wonderful to work with and they trunk up very quickly. I'm looking forward to seeing you develop the branches on this one.

 

[barrosinc]

is it 2019 yet?
Cool movement you have given to this one. The stick in the pot seemed not so good.

 

[GSCarlson]

Awesome ume! Is it ok to cut back all the summer's growth now? I was waiting for dormancy to cut my 2yo ume back. My thinking being it is still storing energy for the spring. Of course mine is much smaller than yours so my effort is in trunk development.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

I wasn’t really happy with how this one was coming out.

so I chopped it back again.

Much better...

 

[cmeg1]

Much better! Agreed

 

[just.wing.it]

I need some ume in my life...

 

[jriddell88]

I need a new chainsaw
?

 

[namnhi]

I need a new chainsaw
?

Only the mother could love....

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

This one took off like a rocket this spring.

Time to get focused back on the trunk though...

 

[RobertB]

We're most of these chops, chops back to existing shoots. At least the first chop looked like it was chopped back to a bare trunk.

I just got mine as a garden tree and was growing to plant in ground for a few yrs to thicken. Just wondering if I need to graft on some foliage lower on trunk the year before I chop and remove from ground.

Also sounds like early summer is the best time to trunk chop one of these as long as they are very heathy.

I understand you cannot trunk chop an non heathy ume down to a stump and expect back bids.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

We're most of these chops, chops back to existing shoots. At least the first chop looked like it was chopped back to a bare trunk.

I just got mine as a garden tree and was growing to plant in ground for a few yrs to thicken. Just wondering if I need to graft on some foliage lower on trunk the year before I chop and remove from ground.

Also sounds like early summer is the best time to trunk chop one of these as long as they are very heathy.

I understand you cannot trunk chop an non heathy ume down to a stump and expect back bids.

You should not chop any unhealthy tree. The rest of your questions are all answered in this thread.

 

[erb.75]

In 2015 I dug it up and put it in an Anderson Flat:
View attachment 150697
And let it grow basically wild for the next 2 years. It got to about 8' tall:
View attachment 150698
And after a good haircut:
View attachment 150699View attachment 150700View attachment 150701
It's back to 10" tall, and sporting a 4" base. Check back in another 2 years!

I can't believe the tag stayed with the tree either! ;0