Hello everyone,
I have been working hard on transplanting my outdoor trees. This little article is about an Amur Maple that is about 8 years old, and was uprooted a few years ago from a bunch I had grown in bigger pots.
Yes, there is a tree in there it is about 6 feet high. With a little bit of shovel work I was able to get it out of the ground. Of course it had huge amount of root growing out the bottom.
First reduction in size, so you can actually handle it. Roots all washed off, but still in the pot.
Removal of all external roots from the pot and remove the pot. Also some more chopping to reduce size.
Root ball washed down bare. This phase is where all those roots that do not bend at all are chopped up as close to the surface as possible. So all the large roots seen here are chopped off as high as they could be. (Not shown as I do not like roots in the air too long)
The orange arrow shows the cut level of big roots.
Finally the next resting place. I am hoping it survives, this was a huge reduction in leaf and root of this tree. Though Amur Maple are very tough and I should know how it went with in a couple months.
Now all that is left to do is to keep it wet, cut back some of the newer growth now and again and look closely at the tree to help decide the next steps. I have high hopes for this one. There will be update posts of this tree in the future.
Best
Such a thick trunk! Very desirable in a bonsai. Meanwhile I'm thickening my trucks with sacrificial branches (and varying success).