My screw up. Maybe my biggest plant screwup

7 years ago

My biggest japanese maple is a large green seedling that I started from seed about 10 years ago. Its probably 7 feet tall and has a big base. Its a big tree. And it is my only maple that consistently has good fall color for me here in texas. Its lived it's whole life in containers now in a large Terra cotta pot. Well I decided to chop it for bonsai. I Reduced the main trunk to maybe 6 inches and the largest branch (which would be the new trunk) to about 16 inches. But I was too late. We are having an early spring and The huge chops are bleeding quite a bit. First, I tried covering them with sphagnum and gauze and tying the little bundles with rubber bands. That didn't help. The little bundles were very wet the next morning and i was worried it was bleeding too much. So I tried my cut paste (actually duct seal that I use as cut paste because I'm cheap) - that didn't work. I tried hot grafting wax on the big chop that didn't work -- made a big mess and ruined the cereal bowl i melted the wax in (I threw it away dont tell my wife) I tried girdling just below the big chop with copper wire and i couldnt get it tight enough. then I tried that nasty black pruning seal. that didn't work, even that stuff doesn't dry fast enough with the tree bleeding so much. I then tried the nasty black spray and drying it with my wifes hair dryer. Well that made a bigger mess. So now I have this bleeding stump covered with grafting wax, black paint, and cut paste all over it. Unless anyone has any better advice I'm just going to leave it alone and cross my fingers but part of me wants to toss the whole dumb thing in a dumpster. I'm pissed at myself for being so dumb. Anyway, any thoughts appreciated. Maybe someone can learn from my bonehead move which I then compunded with subsequent bone head moves and produced this hideous thing out of what was a perfectly fine, very pretty, big japanese maple. Or maybe someone will chuckle. Thanks for reading here is some before and after....

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

Embothrium
7 years ago
The bleeding won't kill it nor will the wax. Ultimately the main problem may prove to be that it is root-bound.
Todd C thanked Embothrium
Todd C
Original Author
7 years ago
It's in a really big pot, but if root bound is the issue I can fix that. It's headed for a bonsai pot anyway or at least a training pot. I bare root container plants all the time. I just didn't want to do two major insults at once. That's how I killed my big cedrus.
Related Discussions
Did I screw up my compost bin?
Q
Comments (22)
Plywood would work if it's one single sheet across the entire bottom of the compost bin without one tiny little place for the roots to grow through. Roots will find the tiniest little crack to go through. They will grow upward or sideways, whatever it takes. They like the moisture in the compost pile. Been there, done that. You wouldn't think roots could get into sewer lines either, but they do. I'd go ahead and try it, and then this time next year, if your compost is a root matted mess, you can come up with plan B. I've even had shallow tree roots grow up into the holes of plant pots that were sitting under a tree. Deanna
...See More
I think I'm I screwed up in my garden planning.
Q
Comments (3)
I don't count the plants, but I can tell you the size of the blocks I plant. For 6 people, I find that two or three 3'x8' blocks of bush beans -- each a different variety -- planted at a 4-6" spacing will provide 1-2 meals per week for the 4-6 week harvest period with enough for raw snacking by the handful and, perhaps, a little left over at the height of harvest for freezing. About 20 feet of State Half-Runners planted in a wide row on each side of a 2ft fence (5-6 total rows with beans spaced at 4 inches and rows at 6 inches), provided about two cooked meals per week and plenty of raw snacking with a bit left over to freeze again through its harvest period. I don't know how long that would have continued because it was cut short by frost. I'm not too familiar with regular pole beans, but 10 feet of yardlong beans last year gave us a month of meals 1-2 times/week and 2 gallon freezer bags. Yields will vary depending on variety and conditions and number of meals will vary based on how much you like beans and how many vanish after picking as raw snacks.
...See More
My biggest money saving tips
Q
Comments (36)
Car with standard transmission uses about 5 - possibly 10% less fuel. Skilfully done, car drivers can save even more. When you see a traffic signal turn yellow ahead - there's no law that says that you have to keep your foot continuing to push on the throttle! Then hit the brake, about a hundred feet from the intersection. Foot off of the throttle: coast toward the light. If you know it fairly well, you may be able to arrange to arrive close to the last car in the line just as it starts to move forward, and it takes less fuel to increase the speed while rolling that to start rolling from a standing stop. I often push in the clutch and turn off the ignition when I see a light go yellow ahead ... and can often manage to keep the car rolling as I approach a red light when it turns to green. Some say that coasting with the engine off is illegal in their jurisdiction, so best check with the legal people before you try that: the police here say that I am to be in charge of my vehicle at all times. No jack-rabbit starts when the light turns green, either. Try to arrange to travel with a friend driving a car that tells immediate fuel economy levels, get him to make a jack-rabbit start from a light that just turned green - and see your jaw drop as you see what mileage per gallon is being obtained at that point. Try to drive as closely as possible to the same speed, and a few miles/kms. per hour under the speed limit ... but not so far under as to be a hazard to the free flow of traffic. That's made easier by leaving a cushion of space between you and the car ahead ... and try not to get too incensed when other drivers pull into that hole in your lane, stealing your cushion. ole joyful
...See More
My biggest TC is rotting :(((
Q
Comments (9)
The portion that you see in the first pic is fine and healthy, it's under half of what I've had to loose...have potted the branches up from the rest as I know they should root , have done this many times before with jungle cacti....but if you look closely at the last pic where the second bigger stem has rotted off the soft portion seems to go into the base of that good stem. There does appear to be a collar just below the green area (where I wrongly removed a growth point) and those rotted fibres that I can cleanly get rid of go deeper into a kind of hollow. Do I snap the healthy stem off and reroot that as well, or can you wave a magic wand and get rid of that rotten bit for me....? Am so mad at not realising there was an issue before it got to this stage, it was a complete 'circular pot full'. Had seen a colour change, just thought it had caught the sun...but it hadn't, so yet another job to fix the roof now, and sterilise the scalpel again later this afternoon! Gill UK
...See More
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
7 years ago
Bleeding is very common with winter pruned JMs as the sap starts rising early. But it typically far more of a concern to the pruner than it is to the tree!

Don't wait too long to do the root pruning necessary to get it into a smaller or bonsai pot. It is best accomplished before they break dormancy. JM's are very tolerant of root pruning - I do it often as all of mine are in containers.
Todd C thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
Todd C
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks just haven't noticed anything like this when I pruned before. I guess because I usually do it after the tree is done growing in spring or early summer. I've also never chopped one so aggressively. I feel dumb for not just leaving it alone and making such a mess. I just hope it doesn't die back and lose that big branch because that will give some nice taper and movement to the tree. Tell me if I'm wrong but I was thinking about waiting maybe 11 months to bare root it. That way it can use whatever energy it has in that big root system to heal, back bud and grow. It can't be too terribly pot bound that's a really big pot probably 2 feet tall and maybe 18 inches across the top and even if it is I can fix that problem then I'm going to have to chop 2/3 of its roots anyway to get it in a training pot. Then 2 more years until a bonsai pot.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
7 years ago
How long has it been in that pot? That is not overly large for a 7' tree - most of mine are smaller trees in larger pots and I still need to repot/root prune every 3 years or so.

The theory is right - a big root system helping the tree recover from severe pruning - but that flies out the window if the root system is currently congested and therefore compromised. It will not be able to keep regenerating the feeder roots necessary to do the moisture/nutrient transport thing. Also, even very durable potting mixes start to breakdown after a couple of seasons so I'd be inclined to consider replacing that as well.

But it's your call :-)
Todd C thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

My screw up. Maybe my biggest plant screwup

Comments (5)

Embothrium

Todd C
Original Author

Related Discussions

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

Todd C
Original Author

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

My screw up. Maybe my biggest plant screwup

Comments (5)

Embothrium

Todd COriginal Author

Related Discussions

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

Todd COriginal Author

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Todd C
Original Author

Todd C
Original Author