Sir Speedy

I found about 8 maples (Rubrum and Saccharum) in the yard today. They all have BEAUTIFUL nebaris and stand at least 6ft tall. I am assuming that it is too late in the season to pull them now (mid 70's for the past and upcoming week with very little chance for rain). Is now a good time to do air layers and have them ready to chop at the end of summer, and pull next spring? They are all about 2+ in at the base, about 1.5in where I intend to to put the layers. Also if a final height of about 2ft is my goal should I do the layer there or below, say around 16in? There aren't branches to train for the new apex.

There is also an Oak with a better nebari than the 60+ft tall big daddies in the yard. It has huge leaves but I couldn't resist that nebari. Not sure if it will work as bonsai, might have to be about 4ft tall but I can't resist that nebari and rough bark. I couldn't identify it online, I'll try to get some pictures.

Michel

Hi,

I don't get it . . .
If they have beautiful nebari, why airlayer ?
Too soon for that anyway, I suspect . . .

Besides, for a dig or repot:
not the time of year is all-important,
but the actual state of Your trees after winter;

If buds aren't swollen yet: Too soon for a dig.
If buds are swelling: THIS IS IT, BUDDY !
If buds have broken: Too late for a dig.

__________________
Greetz,
Michel

Sir Speedy

First off I edited my previous post as I was on the phone before and didnt get to say all I was wanting to say. It might make a little more sense now.

Layer to save the rest the rest of the tree, they are at least six feet tall. I dont need that other four feet, kinda defeats the purpose of bonsai.

Buds have been broken for at least two, maybe even three weeks.

I understand that time of the year is important, hence the post.

I'm not trying to be an ass, but I don't understand your response. I'm new to this art form and trying to learn as much as possible. I dont want to kill these trees thats why I asked and didn't just go ahead and pull them out the ground.

dankone

personally ithink you can still get away with diggin' the maples. The worst time would be during the middle of summer when it is exremely hot. just make sure you get a lot of root ball. also make sure the root ball does not dry out. you will probably also want to cut the portion off the top to reduce the stress of diggin' up the tree, as you must compensate for the loss of whatever roots you leave behind. most maples if not all are vigorous growers and you will have the chance to air layer many times. as for the oak tree, i am not familiar with all the species you have in n. carolina. some would include: southern red oak, live oak, white oak, chestnut oak, willow oak, pin oak,laurel oak, overcup oak, scarlet oak, and water oak. you may try to narrow down what type of oak and then be able to determine what is best for that. maybe even a picture can help.

Michel

Hi,

It was never my intent to make You feel uneasy,
and I'm sorry if I unwittingly did.

If the trees' buds broke already 2 or 3 weeks ago,
it's too late for a dig right now . . .
I mean, I absolutely wouldn't risk it.
The Yin-Yang story about the foliage having to be reduced
in order to keep the balance with the loss of roots is true,
but doesn't apply here at the moment, unless You do some real
(light) root pruning work as well; Maples are quite notorious
for being able to bleed to death if severely pruned in these
conditions (+- 3 weeks after bud break; sap stream is
in full swing and going rampant by now).

If you're still determined to go ahead anyway,
You could first dig up the tree and do some light
root pruning work in order to have the tree go in shock
(i.e. thus stopping the sap stream) and an hour or so later
You'll be able to do some severe pruning "above ground",
with hardly any bleeding at the time, but as I said,
I would definetely NOT risk it with a tree I have real plans with,
as this is truly a "double jeopardy" scenario: Doing a first severe
intervention, and in order to counteract some of the definite
drawbacks it carries, doing a second severe intervention on top
of that.

I now also understand that, APART from the lower part,
You ALSO want to save the upper part of the tree
(by airlayering), and You can go for that this year,
as the best time for it in our northern hemisphere is
in late may - early june;
You still have some time left to prepare everything.
Wanting to airlayer (as well) on the same tree is also
a very real reason NOT to dig it up this year . . .

__________________
Greetz,
Michel

Sir Speedy

Good deal, thank you guys. Michel no hard feelings, I think I was a little edgy last night.

I think I am going to take advice from both of you. I will look at the trees again and pick the one with the least appealing nebari, tough as it might be, and try to see if I can get it out. More than likely a smaller one. That way I dont run the risk of killing one I really like. I'm going to slowly eitherway I go, try to spread pulling it out over a couple days to try to do as little damage as I can to the roots. I'm thinking of taking some wet potting soil with me each time to replace the soil I remove getting to the roots, that way the soil will be loose and I can still keep the roots from drying out.

As for the Oak, I beleive it is a Chinkapin oak (Muehlenbergii ). Big leaves with pointed tips and curved "u" shaped "notches". Unfortunately there are no acorns on the ground from last year. The squirrels take care of them, except for one obviously, lol.