AusBonsai

Going to tidy up this swampys' root crossover in coming days. Should the root growing toward the tip of cutters go as well as the diagonal root passing under larger root?

the one going under the larger root should go for sure, but that other one is a little more tricky. if you remove it, it seems as though there a gap between the big front root and the one to the back-right.

I would say it also depends on what the nebari on the other side are like.
Have you thought about losing the thick cross over root?
Keen to hear what people think.


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Here are shots of the other side. There is a large awkward 2nd leader (on rear of trunk) seen on wider image.

I think swampy should produce roots quite easily. I would prune both those roots you refer to and then make horizontal cuts to remove a strip of bark about 3-5 mm wide between the roots that are left. Bury the root base a bit deeper and keep it damp next summer and you should have quite a few new roots grow from the top of the cut area which will give much better nebari.
Also take a bit of bark off the end of that thick root and cover it up as well and it should also produce more feeder roots ad look a bit better.

Thanks for that suggestion Shibui. I was wondering about how I could deal with that untidy old root.[GRINNING FACE WITH SMILING EYES]

Here's a few before and afters of the swampy's transition from a deep XXL plastic pot to a much shallower sumo sized wooden tray. I removed the crossover roots and recarved the large ugly right root to make a smoother more natural looking entry into the soil surface. I cut a slot between the main roots to encourage root growth between them. No branches are trimmed yet and I have a large 'second' trunk on the rear that worries me as to how I can remove or use it without cutting lower again. I left a bit extra on the trunk cut so I can turn it into deadwood while a new leader is developed underneath it over next few years.

I decided to experiment and create a wet tray. The tree was fastened into a large plastic sieve with holes drilled in the side area and dropped on top of polystyrene broccoli case lids turned upside down so they will act as a reservoir 10mm deep.
Before


After

Unfinished

I can't see the slot you cut between the main roots so I think it should be a little higher up. I would also like to see that root stump buried a bit deeper so it can send out new feeder roots.
I think the tree will like the new box.

The slot cut is now about 10mm under soil surface. I hear what you say about depth. I had to cut some huge vertical roots out and started to worry about going too far. It is deeper than previous level but maybe not enough shibui? How much lower do you think I need to go?

1. New roots will grow along the top of the cut. If you want new roots at the same level as the existing surface roots the cut needs to be at the same level as the surface roots. From your photos I would have made my cut around where your current soil level is so that new roots will grow at the level of the bigger roots.
Roots grow best in damp potting mix so the area you want roots needs to be deep enough to stay mostly damp - that depends on how you water but I find 10-15 mm is good. To get more, better secondary roots on that root stub I would cover it with mix so maybe another 10mm of mix on top of what you currently have. If there is not enough depth in the box/ too many deep roots t get the tree deeper then build up the soil level around the trunk. If raised mix keeps washing away use some sort of collar to hold a raised area of mix around the trunk - a strip cut off a plastic pot works well.

Thank you for the useful information and perspective. I'll revisit tomorrow and sort out the roots/depth issue while fresh.

I'd also be looking at chopping the trunk back down to the junction with the " large awkward 2nd leader (on rear of trunk)". Would give you really great taper to the trunk line. Don't worry about the size of the wound, because if you grow Swampies quickly even large cuts heal over and become virtually invisible in a very short space of time. Probably need a bit of wire to straighten that bad boy up a bit though. Good work with the roots as well.

Today I reduced some large roots that limited how deep I could plant the swampy and got rid of a ugly old 2nd leader on the back of trunk before reducing overall height. So the first 3 shots are how the tree looked last week with the rest todays effort. No branches have been finished but I removed some low leaders on left side as there are three heavy branches on rear of plant I could leave to progress lower trunk.






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Any chance of an update on this ???