Texas Red Oak

Monday 3/22/2010

This was an 18 to 20 ft. red oak that I decided to dig up this yr. instead of next yr. The buds were starting break open so I chopped the top off & got the root ball out. This is what it looked like after I bare rooted it.









This is what remained after I cleaned it up, with most of the tap root intact.














This is the view from opposite side, it has a nice curve & about a 4" trunk at the base.












This is where I cut off the rest of the tap root from the bottom of the root mass.















Then I sat the tree in a tub of water to soak while I prepared a Styrofoam box to put it in.












After a few more cuts to the roots so it would fit in the box ,I filled it in with my bonsai soil mix.
So now I'll have to wait & see what develops. I will probably have to grow new branches from scratch provided it survives.
Updates on it's progress, I hope!




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Dig in Febuary 2010

Jason and I were going on a dig and I told him that two customers of mine had never been on a dig. So I invited them to join us, "B" & Jacob were raring to go!




There are some steep cliffs on this creek bed and I had tie to a tree & lower my self down to an interesting elm tree .
Notice how clear the water is in this creek.
























Jason is climbing up from the bottom very
carefully!













"B" starts to work on this huge rock below the tree.
Dangerous work standing under neath that rock; but "B"
says he's pretty nimble for a 300 pound man !












After knocking that big rock lose "B" & Ray continue to
work at the root system

























Jason,"B", & myself try to work loose
the root system from the side of the cliff.
Most of the time you have to bare root the
tree,as is the case here.















The shadow belongs to Jacob who was
taking the pictures. we are pruning the tree
before potting it up. Most of the branches are
dead so we are cutting back to the trunk & hoping for
new branches, will update on its progress.
This was only one of the trees that were dug up this day,many other trees were also dug up by "B" and Jacob & Jason , will show some of these at a later date. "B" and Jacob hope you had some Bonsai fun!!!!!


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