This first one has few roots but I'm sure there's enough for it to survive. As usual, I reduce the roots to just the ones I want in future. It will need to be cut at some stage in order to fit into a bonsai pot and I find that immediately after collecting is the best time to do radical root reduction. Good low bends but some reverse taper up higher. The first branch is a good spot to prune to remove most of the thickened area. Potted into a 30cm orchid pot to recover The second one is a little larger I hope the birds find somewhere else to nest this spring....
After pruning the trunks. The smaller trunk has some potential but the thicker one has significant reverse taper and very little movement. I'll leave it for now hoping that it will help re-establish a good root system. Might be a candidate for carving to reduce and hollow that side just leaving the smaller trunk as the main one.
Quite a large tap root but plenty of good fine surface roots this time. After washing out as much soil and stones as possible the chainsaw makes short work of the excess roots. Potted up into another 30cm orchid pot Still some reverse taper on the smaller trunk but I think it is a bit better than the photo shows. I'll wait until it has re-established in the pot and I can see which parts grow well before pruning any more. May even need some carving on the smaller trunk to disguise the taper issues and probable pruning scars.
Roots were out of the ground and uncovered for a bit over 1 hour.
