@ROEBUK that has been an amazing read of lifting, root pruning and re potting M. As I @Shin-Deshojo said "what a great resource" Maple forum members for years to come will benefit from your expertise. Just a footnote, how do you dispose of all that soil when power washing?
As you can see D first pic i used to pop the trees in the back of the car and take them up to the local car wash dependent on size and use there machine , used to get some odd looks but hey ho !! then i bought a power washer and started doing them on the back lawn but that tended to be messy , then when we had the new patio areas built i had a large drainage system built also and connected to the main drains so i now just remove the metal grilles blast all the crud off and down it goes in to the main drain , we actually live on a slight mound so the four houses on the mound are all connected and it's gravity all the way down and never a problem, things i do just to keep a few trees.
But they are beautiful trees you have there M. Nobody would every say otherwise. Thanks for telling me what you do regarding the washing, including great photos.
@ROEBUK thanks again, this gives me the confidence to go at it..I’ve kept JM for 25 years and have only ever cut the bottoms off..this gives some real insight into how far you can go and the amazing results. It occurs to me that pressure washing the root ball will remove compressed earth that has been welded on for several years and so brings a massive amount of air down into the roots..
Hi D pictures from today of the ji3 drianed over night very loose now with lots of gravel showing as well.
I really like this one, the base and the trunk line are pretty nice. No wonder you did give him a bonsai style. It reminds me a lot of this other Garnet that I was in admiration for, some years ago: Source: Acer palmatum dissectum Garnet - Page 1
A very spectacular example of "big bonsai". Rather more "Chinese" than Japanese" for many reasons, but I really don't mind, I like it a lot. Thanks for posting.
Seen this picture before years ago, seem to remember it's a german grower? The garnet i played about with also went to a bonsai enthusiast in the UK he was quite pleased with it.
I have no idea who is this grower from but he definitely succeded to make this dissectum in value, like you seems to do with yours.
Done a few today..blimey hard work..this Ariadne has been in this massive pot only for 2/3 years and had filled it out..I could have gone further with pruning but after having done another 2 am ruined lol
What a root ball for 2 to 3 years, I can see why your shattered R, must have weighed an enormous amount!! You've done a great job though and it will repay you with a great show, but perhaps next year after it settles. Excellent photos to show what to do.
I have found that some sulk the first year, but then the second year they are amazing. M @ROEBUK might disagree and tbh he is the go to on re potting info.
Oh yes for sure, some take up to two years before they are back to normal depends on the cultivar , but worth the wait when you see the new foliage coming back stronger , have a load of 2019 root pruned trees which are coming on very nicely at this time. Have one cultivar in particular which i started on in 2017 and it's only now just come back to how it should look after all these years , gone through an amazing set of changes over the years and i have picture recorded every year of it's progress , was looking at it today in the sunshine, it's looking really good at present and it's back to how it should be. Will update in a few weeks time.
@ROEBUK it’s a hard graft but I trust your knowledge!! For years I just put them in larger pots and only cut some of the bottom off. I’ve got another 4 larger ones to do this weekend then that’ll be it.
I’ve still got a few more to prune and repot..is it dangerous to do it now with buds bursting? Or can I proceed but do a lighter touch on the pruning front? Thanks Rich
Hope you don't mind me adding my bit here R. I'm very worried about re potting and root pruning at this stage. Swelling buds =OK, but leafing out = too much stress for the tree.
No problem D, I appreciate your comments..thank you. It was a bit touch and go weekend before last..I might just slip pot a couple of large ones I have left to do..with a mix of Melcourt mini pine chips and some compost..if nothing else it will get some air and nutrients around the rootball
I agree. It's risky to mess with the roots when the leaves are out, but there's still enough energy stored in the tree to endure minor trimming around the rootball. In that case, I use a very draining mix (lava rock = pozzolan) with a very small amount of organic soil. And it's better not to prune the top part, the leaves might look a bit drooping for a couple of days, but they're the "power plant" of the tree.
