Trash to- Treasure?

JoeR

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This little plant was just seconds from being thrown away. It had the ugliest base with lopsided roots and pole-straight trunks, really wish I had a before picture to show. You can kind of tell from the one I cropped. Anyway, I’ve reached a point where I don’t have time for anything without potential. But, right before I was about to throw it out, I remembered I had this stone from an old aquascape laying around and well, why not. Thinking of @Brian Van Fleet ‘s trident ROR thread I thought I could give this a shot. Now I’m very glad I gave this JM a second chance, it may actually have some potential now.


“Before” shot.
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And Then the work. Wish I had some sphagnum moss to use instead of the soil. Think it would be safe if I pick some up tommorow and redo it?
 

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This is perfect. Don't change a thing. Here is one I did exactly the same way a number of years ago. My "collar" was drain hole cover mesh on top of a pot. I took about a year to expose the roots. A little at a time once the growth has hardened. I love making these.
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Wire is biting in, and the maple is growing well now. Remove it or leave it? I bent the crap out of it and I just want to be certain it will stay. But scars may be a concern.

If anyone hasn’t read my thread of stuff for sale, I’m leaving for college in around two weeks and I can’t bring all my trees to the apartment, If any, So I’m debating putting this project in the ground- is that a bad idea? My concern is the roots will get ugly and disproportionate.
 

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Take of the wire today!!! It is already scarred, but the sooner you get it off the better.

Ground would be good too.
 
Take of the wire today!!! It is already scarred, but the sooner you get it off the better.

Ground would be good too.
Yeah it definitely is scarred now, but I plan on growing the trunk out quite a bit so I thought it would go away with time. I’m just not sure how to keep the roots in check while ground growing, I’d imagine it’s very easy for some to grow massive and leave the rest in the dirt
 
Yeah it definitely is scarred now, but I plan on growing the trunk out quite a bit so I thought it would go away with time. I’m just not sure how to keep the roots in check while ground growing, I’d imagine it’s very easy for some to grow massive and leave the rest in the dirt

Maybe you can come back in sigging season to dig it up, hack away at the roots and screw it to a board and then leave it be for another year?
If you think the roots will grow massively at random you might wanna balance them first?
P.s. see your inbox, replying didn't take me all year for a change ;)
 
Maybe you can come back in sigging season to dig it up, hack away at the roots and screw it to a board and then leave it be for another year?
If you think the roots will grow massively at random you might wanna balance them first?
P.s. see your inbox, replying didn't take me all year for a change ;)
True true. Although I don’t know what the board would do in this situation? So far the roots look pretty even so who knows
 
From my experience with root over rock styles, concern that the roots are going to go too out of control is pretty much the least of your worries. Root over rock require really aggressive, tough roots to look good. The vast majority of ROR style trees I see look a little tenuous in their hold to the perch. So a year in the ground would only be of benefit. And you may, over time, get the truck to smooth out more quickly.
 
That wire has bit in incredibly deep, and Japanese maples will carry wire scars for forever. They don’t form a thick bark that can disguise wire scars in the slightest. My suggestion is to let it get vigorous, then completely cut off all of those branches or the entire trunk with all those wire scars and start over. It sounds brutal, but it’s the only way you’ll get the tree to not have horrible scarring. Japanese maples really only need wire kept on for 2 or 3 weeks a lot of the time, not 4 or 5 months. I think it would be worth doing this because the roots look like they could be really nice they way you have set it up.
 
That wire has bit in incredibly deep, and Japanese maples will carry wire scars for forever. They don’t form a thick bark that can disguise wire scars in the slightest. My suggestion is to let it get vigorous, then completely cut off all of those branches or the entire trunk with all those wire scars and start over. It sounds brutal, but it’s the only way you’ll get the tree to not have horrible scarring. Japanese maples really only need wire kept on for 2 or 3 weeks a lot of the time, not 4 or 5 months. I think it would be worth doing this because the roots look like they could be really nice they way you have set it up.
exactly my thoughts
 
We’ll see how the scars look once it grows out some. I want the trunk at least twice the thickness so hopefully it will smooth out. In any event, I covered it all with cut paste to see if it would help- can’t hurt at least. I wish I could have wired more movement into it. I applied a guy wire to keep it in place. I anticipate the bud at the top branch taking over and cutting the main branch off as a sacrifice later on.
 

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You could grow that trunk out to be 8 inches wide and it will still have the scars. I suppose one benefit to cutting back to the root base and regrowing, if you choose to do so in the future, would be that you could wire some really intense movement into the new leader for the new trunk. I always try to look on the brights side ?
 
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