Root grafting experiment

[Ohm']

Just thought i'd share theses pictures of a big shishigashira landscape tree that i root pruned drastically and thread grafted one year ago as training purpose.

It will obviously never make a good bonsai to my taste as chopping the trunk low will leave a massive scare and i don't think it's worth the effort.

I will probably separate the big roots where the grafts took next spring to try to make a few rafts or kind of clump style eventually adding more grafts.
I didn't cut any roots this spring as i will airlayer the top this season.

I am aware that this is nothing exceptional or new but it may be entertaining for some of you and this helped me to be more confident about root grafting and will push me to do it on more valuable bonsai maples in the future.

 

[Ohm']

 

[dlayton]

What kind of seedlings did you use For the grafts?

 

[Ohm']

What kind of seedlings did you use For the grafts?

Just regular Palmatum seedlings

 

[dlayton]

Just regular Palmatum seedlings

I figured. Question. Can you see the graft after you’ve done it like on grafted trees?

 

[Ohm']

I figured. Question. Can you see the graft after you’ve done it like on grafted trees?

I don't think so, as thread grafting is very different and more esthetic than grafting a scion of a cultivar to the side of a rootstock for ornamental trees that are not supposed to become a bonsai.

I didn't remove the cut past to check how it looked like but anyway in this case, the roots should be under the soil and if the top of the grafts were meant to be cut and the nebari exposed it would just be a little scare to heal.

I will post pictures next year when i separate the roots and remove the cut paste as i plan to keep the seedlings as the main trunk but i believe it should look like a healed cut all around as the grafts thicken over time, but not sure thought...