Shimpaku's Absurdly Large Root - Cut, Wire, Jin, Other?

[goosetown]

Purchased this neat little Shimp (it's 16" tall from base to tip) for about $50 and worked to thin it out a little today. Going to wire it this weekend hopefully, but wanted to ask the group about this odd, gigantic root it has.

Obviously, it's out of proportion aesthetically with everything else the tree is doing. Wondering what your advice might be as to what I could do with it? If the root ball is big/strong enough, should I just excise it? Could I wire it down with the rest of the roots? Could I wire it in the other direction and jin it? Something else? Or should I leave it be and learn to live with it?

Really no clue here where to go as I've never had a tree with this issue. Thoughts/ideas are much appreciated.



Geh, sorry, I have no idea how to rotate these. Seems to be an issue with my camera phone. Apologies.

 

[Dav4]

That root may incorporate more then 50% of the entire root system. That's alot of root to remove at one go. If you can't find a way to incorprate it into your planned design, I would reduce or remove it only after evaluating it completely during re-potting at the right time of year for such work in LA.

 

[october]

Honestly, this is not a problem. When it is ready to go into a bonsai pot, you can raise the soil level so it covers half of the root. This way, the tree will look like it has a nice wide base that tapers. Also, you may have to leave it anyway..When you repot next year or the year after, you can inspect what is going on under there. However, it looks like most of the root system might be attached to it.. I think the root needs to be there for aesthetic reasons. If you remove it. You will not have a nice base.

Here is a virt of the soil level raised.. problem solved... and it looks good.. Nice tree by the way.

Rob

 

[goosetown]

Yeah, that's my worry - which is why I wondered if root wiring is a thing. I will mostly likely end up keeping it for the reasons you mention, but can you (or anyone else) possibly link to a good resource on root trimming? This is something I'm painfully unfamiliar with.

That root may incorporate more then 50% of the entire root system. That's alot of root to remove at one go. If you can't find a way to incorprate it into your planned design, I would reduce or remove it only after evaluating it completely during re-potting at the right time of year for such work in LA.

 

[buddhamonk]

The main problem with this shimpaku is that it is not a shimpaku but a procumbens

 

[goosetown]

That's a great point. Here's my only question to what you wrote: what about the fact that it's at least an inch higher on the trunk than the rest of the root system (at least as far as I can tell at the moment; it could be a little bit higher)? Point being that even if I cover it up, it's going to be really tough to level the soil and keep it so that the rest of the external root base can be seen. That's why I asked about root wiring, if that's a thing.

Again, this is something I'm sure I can deal with, and I bought the tree knowing it was like this because I thought the rest of it more than worth the trade-off. Thanks for the tips so far; as soon as it goes into a pot it'll be covered to preserve the root-base effect.

Honestly, this is not a problem. When it is ready to go into a bonsai pot, you can raise the soil level so it covers half of the root. This way, the tree will look like it has a nice wide base that tapers. Also, you may have to leave it anyway..When you repot next year or the year after, you can inspect what is going on under there. However, it looks like most of the root system might be attached to it.. I think the root needs to be there for aesthetic reasons. If you remove it. You will not have a nice base.

Here is a virt of the soil level raised.. problem solved... and it looks good.. Nice tree by the way.

Rob

View attachment 24877

 

[goosetown]

Oy, you're not wrong. Mislabeled as I was transferring/labeling pictures of this and two other new trees at the same time. Tis indeed my new procumbens. All else remains as stated.

Here's to sleeping less than thirty hours over a weeklong period!

The main problem with this shimpaku is that it is not a shimpaku but a procumbens

 

[JudyB]

If you really don't like it, as you move into smaller pots with this tree, you could take it off thru a couple of sessions. I had a tree (deciduous) that had a root like this, (hated that root) and chopped it off all at one time. Almost lost that tree. Big lesson learned. It was a lot more of the root mass than I thought it was...
Good luck, get some sleep!

 

[capnk]

Ground layer or air layer would solve the problem.

 

[edprocoat]

I like the root, but I like weird roots in general and I am not a tree guy who shows trees, so I guess what I am saying is it would depend on what your plans are for the tree. I have heard of root splitting, again I do not know if this would be feasible for the procumbens but it may be something to look into. That sure is a great looking tree though, good luck with it. I know my procumbens when given a chance produce roots whenever the trunk gets dirt on it, I would assume they would ground layer well although I have never tried this. I joined two prcumbens near the base to make a split trunk and it worked well, I buried the joined area for a season and when I raised it there were roots growing everywhere that was covered, I lost this tree this spring to a remedy for tip blight I applied which killed it. I would definetely hate to try something that would hurt that tree so be carfeul and research whatever you decide to try.

ed