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tonyb416

transplanted into a pot

tonyb416
16 years ago

My brother-in-law has a lovely "mystery" Japanese maple that I've long admired. He found a sapling from this mystery maple a few feet away from the parent tree and asked if I wanted it. I jumped at the chance, but before I could help him out, he proceeded to dig a small circle around its base and yank the sapling out! It came out bare root!

I almost screamed at him, but he was just trying to help and he really doesn't know any better. I soaked the little guy in a bucket of water and wrapped it up in newspaper before transporting it back to my house where I transplanted it in one of the azalea pots we had lying around. It's been about two weeks in the pot and all its leaves have shriveled to brown. I'm hoping the root is ok and it will eventually bounce back some time in the fall. Do you think it'll make it?

It's about 2.5 feet tall with multiple stems coming off one main trunk. I'd say the main trunk is .5 inch thick.

Thanks,

Tony

Comments (3)

  • myersphcf
    16 years ago

    I'd say probably not time will tell.And if you have not read stuff here before be aware a sapling ( seedling) may or may not be the same as the mother tree and likely will not be an exact match...it may look totally differnt and you won't know for several years. Grafting,air layering, rooting (good luck), or other such DIRECT techniques are the only way to get an exact match. David

  • tonyb416
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Right, David, because grafting preserves the cultivar, but letting a tree seed on its own brings about variation in the species. I got that. But the sapling looks a lot like the momma tree now.

    I guess time will tell. But I've been lucky before -- I transplanted an eastern redbud last fall and it's now growing -- and everyone has told me that transplanting a redbud is risky at best -- so I'll take my chances.

  • myersphcf
    16 years ago

    I've never had trouble with red buds they always seem to "take" for me... and I think if your JM hadn't been man-handled it probably would have been ok too..but I doubt it will but hope it does.. an older tree "properly" trasplanted in summer often looses it's leaves and puts on new ones but a pulled out bare root youngster ...well I wouldn't hold your breath but anything is possible..David

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