Acer rescue ?

MattO

I've got a friend with some rental property that has a volunteer maple that they hate. They are going to take a chain saw to it this weekend, and they called me and offered it to me if I want to try to collect it.
(YIKES)

It grew up beside the deck, in a flower bed, and has been cut back repeatedly over the last 3-4 yrs. The current renters have been in there for about 3 yrs now, and the tree has not been touched in that time- and it has come back strong. It is about 6.5 to 7 ft tall and the trunk is approx 3". there are branches nearly down to the ground. Due to the repeated cut backs, there is some decent taper to it.

But is it realistic to try to dig it up now? I know this is the wrong time, but it will be removed anyway if I don't take it out - and soon. They will not wait till fall.

Are my chances good enough to make it worth the effort?

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weeble

Picture and an idea what kind of maple would help....

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wicksy

come on matt sounds to good to let go. Yeah not the right time but your best chance is to dig up as much root ball as possible, the more the better possibly cut a third off the height to. Also you should cut 70% of the leafs off straight thru the stalk, they grow back.Possibly put it in the ground at your house till it goes dormant. This should work so long as you dont disturb to much root that is the secret on this one, you could also try putting a big clear plastic bag over it for a while till new shoots start. Good luck

glenn.

Mcspeed

Best bet will to be work like a dog and get as big a root mass as possible, making what you do with it afterward harded. You will want a shaded place, but will you want it in the ground in a shady place, maybe a good screen if you want to put it back in the ground.

The other side would be a container so it's moveable, but we go back to my first statement about getting as much rootmass as possible, makes for a BIG container.

Sounds like you should try anyway.

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waltr

I dug a number of Japanese maples last July since I needed to clear an area for a landscape project. On the largest, 3" trunk, I cut through a number of large roots (1/2inch), lifted the remaining root ball intact and placed it in a big nursery pot. It thrived in partial shade. This spring's repot showed a tremendous number of new roots. All the maples I dug are growing well.

I'd go for it. Just try to disturb as few roots as possible, place in partial shade and water often. I don't believe you need to remove any foliage (another Bonsai myth) unless you need to reduce the top to move it.

MattO

Well, I've got a small pickup to move it - but I would probably need to reduce it to about 1/2 its current height. About 3-4 ft high. What are the implications of a chop two years in a row? (That is, if I want to get it smaller yet next year?)


Weeble - I'll try to get a pic today.

waltr

That would depend on how well its does after digging. The large one I dug last year was chopped again and repotted this past early spring. It is doing very well . I'd chop back excess growth now and dig. Just keep some branches with leaves. It will probably pop some new new shoots on the trunk later this summer.

MattO

Not gonna dig this one. Turns out its Acer Negundo. Here's what wikipedia says....

"It is a small, usually fast-growing and fairly short-lived tree that grows up to 10-25 m tall, with a trunk diameter of 30-50 cm, rarely up to 1 m diameter. It often has several trunks and can form impenetrable thickets.
The shoots are green, often with a whitish to pink or violet waxy coating when young. Branches are smooth, somewhat brittle, and tend to retain a fresh green colour rather than forming a bark of dead, protective tissue. The bark on its trunks is pale gray or light brown, deeply cleft into broad ridges, and scaly.

Unlike most other maples, it has pinnate leaves that have three to seven leaflets (usually three). Although some other maples (such as A. griseum, Acer mandshuricum and the closely-related A. cissifolium) have trifoliate leaves, only A. negundo regularly displays more than three leaflets.

The leaflets are about 5-10 cm long and 3-7 cm wide with slightly serrate margins. Leafs have a translucent light green colour and turn yellow in fall."


Not something I want to mess with.

candywhitevdub

looks like a pretty cool tree. i like how it flowers. on a free tree i dont think that you can loose