BIG PLUM versus STIHL pt 2

[alpineart]

Hi Matt ,i probably hooked into this thing prematurely but i couldn't move a 350kg trunk around .I like the single sided tree , if it shoots on he other side then i have more choices .Mate post a pic of your tree i would like to see it for sure .Cheers Alpine

[Brandon]

This is fantastic! I have a plum that was planted 15 years ago out the front by a well meaning bloke, underneath a Banksia. I think he thought it would only grow about 2 foot!!

Anyway, pulled it out of the ground yesterday after much chopping and coaxing, is now planted out the back. This thread has givin me much thought to what I'm going to do to it.

I look forward to seeing how your tree goes over the next few years.

Bookmarked!

[alpineart]

Hi Brandon , hope you took some pics of your efforts , if you did post them up ,i would like to see them .Cheers Alpineart

[alpineart]

This was an effort and a half .Root pruning and repotting the Big Mother Plum . It took 6 hours from start to finish , but hey i can actually lift the trunk now .I ran a angle grinder carver around the box and seperated the top section from the bottom . I then set up a tripod using 4x4 posts and hooked up a cable puller , drilled and screwed 4 x 100mm coach screws into the base as anchor points to lift the mother up

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Then simply cranked it up and began removing the original soil from around the base so i could cut loose with the chainsaw and tame this trunk a little so it would fit into a large round 600mm terracotta bowl i had .

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After cutting the old roots off and a few new ones there was little left , so i used the tooth pick method Bodhidharma Posted a while back hoping to stimulate new roots .All set and ready to drop in the pot for the next growing season .Surprisingly the base is still green even though the carved section has dried out .

[alpineart]

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Potted up ready for the new season .Cheers Alpineart

[bonsai4life]

Alpine,

What an inspiration just to have a crack at something this big.....and get it work really well
you're a LEGEND

Cheers Gott

[Mitchell]

Phenominal!

[alpineart]

Hi Gott , just someone stepping outside the square , couldn't find a smaller plum that i could get my hands on at the time .Have to try to keep it alive at least .

Hi Mitchell , its looking better every time i tackle the bugger .

Cheers Fella's

[Handy Mick]

Alpine,
was this tree dug from the ground, or did to layer?
This plum looks great.

[MattA]

You are a determined man Alpine and I love it. You have to be inventive when you get into BIg stuff like this. It will be a very special tree with a few years growth.

After cutting the old roots off and a few new ones there was little left , so i used the tooth pick method Bodhidharma Posted a while back hoping to stimulate new roots .All set and ready to drop in the pot for the next growing season .Surprisingly the base is still green even though the carved section has dried out .

I have found that plums often look completely dead but when you get down the bottom there is still life. My little one I posted up recently had a long section of dead wood coming out from the base. When I dug it there was a live vein & roots along the bottom of it, its been potted up and hopefully it shoots.

Do you think the pot is actually big enough or are you planning on repotting every year?

Matt

[alpineart]

Hi Handymick , the tree was actually blow out of the ground in a storm .The Council cut it up and took it to the waste yard . I gave them a slab for the trunk and they loaded into my trailer with a Crane trunk .It weighed in at about 350-380kg . The whole story is here from collection to now .Cheers Alpine

[alpineart]

Hi Matt ,determined to succeed might be the case .The pot required will have to be around 750 x 600 minimum to be comfortable .The bowl was used as its the only one large enough , rather than put it back into a box .Yearly repot's until the ideal root mass is produced . I will have to save my pennies for a big rectangle pot or make a custom built one .Cheers Alpine

[MattA]

Hi Matt ,determined to succeed might be the case .The pot required will have to be around 750 x 600 minimum to be comfortable .The bowl was used as its the only one large enough , rather than put it back into a box .Yearly repot's until the ideal root mass is produced . I will have to save my pennies for a big rectangle pot or make a custom built one .Cheers Alpine

Glad its you and not me doing the annual repotting. I have a few BIG things coming and a few more that are in need of repotting, I try to overpot them so i dont have to do every year. I am also considering putting a few of the ones coming straight into the ground for a while to regain strength (and save my back repotting).

You mention that this came from green waste after being storm damaged, was that in August at the time you started the post or earlier? I have been offered a plum not much different in size to yours but the owner wants to enjoy the flowering one last time. I dont expect any problems with it not taking but as always the more info the better. I will take some pics of it insitu when I go to dig a BIG wisteria from the same house. The garden is jam pack with soo many potential bonsai i am sure i didnt see all of them in the 3hrs I was there today. Best of all the owners of the garden are more than willing to let me layer or dig many of them.

Since seeing the post of someones BIG bougys and the home made marineply pots I reckon that could be the go for some of mine, much cheaper than proper bonsai pots & alot less risk of them getting broken.

Matt

[daiviet_nguyen]

Hi alpineart,

This is a project more than worthy for Bonsai Focus.

When you were working on it, did you have any helpers with you? Because it look too much for one man

But might not

I do feel the current pot is a little bit too tight?

Best regards and thank you for sharing the post.

[alpineart]

Hi Matt , these are the pics on the 27 / 8 / 2009 , the day of collection

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Cheers Alpine