maple and box wood collecting.

cmechilln

Hello,



My name is Chris. I have been lurking here for a while. Lots of great info to be had.



I have a question about urban collecting of Japanese Maples and boxwoods.



First let me explain a little about where i'm collecting from. The owner of the office building I work at doesn’t like the Japanese style landscaping. He is tearing everything out himself and replacing with queen palms.



The good news for me is that i have access to about 15, 20 year old boxwoods. They are currently only about 2.5 feet high since they have been trimmed regularly. The trunks are amazing on a few of them.



I also have access to 2 Japanese maples. 1 is a laceleaf maple and the other im unsure of the exact type of maple. The lace leaf maple is 3 feet high and about a 2.5 foot branch spread. The second maple is about 5 feet high and about 2.5 foot spread.





I have a little time to collect these. Not required to get them out now. Owner is just happy that ill be removing them and he wont have to.



Can i collect now for both boxwood and maple?



I would like to keep the laceleaf maple intact and not trim it way back when collecting since i can later airlayer the branches an make nice bonsai. Is this possible?



Should they be put into a pot or a grow box?



I will send pictures if needed.





Thanks for the help.

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BrianBay9

Hi Chris,

Now is a good time to collect these trees. Laceleaf J maples are kind of tough bonsai subjects, but the boxwoods should do very well for you. Other J maples are also good, depending on their size, location of graft (if any) etc.

You should prepare for these trees before you dig. Get large pots, or (better yet) grow boxes, or (better still) raised beds prepared with good draining soil available. You'll want to keep the root balls moist, and get them back in soil as soon as you can after you dig. If you have to drive a fair way, cover both the root ball and foliage if possible.

Another possibility is to find someone who has had experience digging potensai to share the work and the trees....

Pictures are always welcomed....we'd love to see the trees.

Brian

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cmechilln

Here we go. First time posting images to this board. Hope im not violating a thumbnail rule. Sorry if i am. I took the images with my phone so they really are lousy. Sorry about that.

Alos please let me know if these would make bad Bonsai. Id prefer to know this rather then take the time to dig them up and find that they are not a good candidate.

Laceleaf maple





Other maple







Best image i could get of boxwoods

BonsaiManNJ

Nice stuff. Both the maples will probably require an airlayer tho.

cmechilln

Thanks, What do you mean by Laceleaf maple being a tough bonsai?


I dont have to drive very far. I can do everything at the office. I have access to water and will bring the grow boxes with me and put in the box directly from the ground.

cmechilln

Do you suggest air layering the top off the maples? I was thinking i could air layer it two or three times on the top and create more then one bonsai out of it. I was then thinking a trunk chop. What do you think?

rockm

Laceleaf maples make marginal bonsai, as their leaves tend to burn to a crisp pretty easily in the ground during hot summers in the sun. Containers only multiply this tendency. They are also less hardy than the full leaved cultivars and can't stand some of the same techniques, primarily leaf pruning, as easily.

You can air layer a maple til you heart's content, but the main focus should be on the larger trunk if you're planning to collect a larger landscape tree. Both these maples are nice, but they're not spectacular. Trunk chopping the full leafed one could make a nice starting point for a pretty good bonsai.

The boxwood can probably be lifted with little problem as they're not all that old or large. Some of the trunks are pretty good, but you have to consider what those trunks--and associated larger top branches will work into. Bending larger branches isn't easy on boxwood. You should be able to get a pretty good root mass by digging a foot out from the trunks and undercutting as much.