Trident Maple knocked over by wind

Hey guys,

I have a trident maple in very early stages of development. I'm allowing a leader to have free growth to achieve smooth taper on a trunk chop (Excuse me....severe trunk reduction). Yesterday, my wife calls and said the wind had knocked it off the bench, and it had been uprooted. Coincidentally I had just slip-potted this guy on Sunday without touching the roots at all and so all the fresh soil went all over God's creation. My soil mix is very loose (2/3 turface to 1/3 lava rock) so when this plant uprooted a lot of the soil shook off the roots. I told my wife to put the tree back in it's large pot, pile as much soil as possible on top, to put it in the shade and water the hell out of it. When I came home, she had only put it back in the pot and watered it heavily, and so a lot of roots were still exposed. I came home, put a lot of soil on top and watered it heavily and have tried to water the foliage as much as possible since this morning. Since I don't have a misting system set up, I asked my wife to water the foliage as often as she can remember while she's home.

I assume misting will help the plant establish roots quicker. My question is, is this accurate?

Also, should I cut much of the foliage to compensate for the root loss? I'm not really concerned about the plants survival. This guy is such a vigorous grower that I think he can make it out of anything. He's in the shade for now and I don't have to move him until I see signs of growth again.

Thanks for your help!!!
Have a great week!!!
Sam

Didn't you have it wired into the pot with tie-down wires?
Iris

How much root was lost?

Sounds to me like the tree should survive just fine.

But wiring trees into pots is always a good idea with the winds we get around here (and placing a newly potted out of the wind's reach).

Well Sam, as Iris mentions, that will teach you to plant a tree unwired in its pot.

Not to worry, keep it in shade until you see new growth, water as normal. Don't bother misting or spraying the leaves, trees take in little water through the foliage and you'll just more than likely encourage mildew and fungal problems. Especially on a Maple.

Just be grateful the wind didn't "re-style" the tree for you.

-Jay

Thanks for your responses everyone.

Iris, I didn't have it tied down. I'm not sure why since all the rest of my trees are. I think I was in a hurry.

Jim, I'm not sure how much of the root system was lost. The rootball was fairly intact but quite dried out from being out of the soil.

You're right Jay. I will be damn sure to tie them down from now on. I've been racking my brain wondering why I didn't and I honestly can't remember. The fact that it was just slip-potted with no established roots, made it seem like a bomb went off inside the soil. Turface everywhere. Good thing I have 5 more 50 LB bags. I'll stop watering the foliage, and let the tree do it's own thing.

Have a great week Y'all!!!
Sam

this is what I found after my opened umbrella shattered the glass tabletop due to wind. Luckily the hornbeam was wired in, and it simply bounced, lost a bit of the soil, and came to rest. I was very lucky.

And so the score is;

Hornbeam- 1, Glass Table- 0

I live in a very windy area 30mph winds are not uncommon. I always wire the tree into the pot and also wire the pot to the bench. I lost 3 trees on a windy day that was about 80 degrees. That's why i take the extra precautions.

There is a difference between wiring a tree in the pot and correctly doing same. many is the time I have gone to
someone I am mentoring who is concerned their newly repotted tree is not responding properly.Often, tho wired in, it is still loose enough to have the wind constantly wiggle the tree just enough to negate any tiny fine roots from really getting established. A fine line for sure but something I felt worth pointing out.

around the "pacific rim" where i live, adhering the pot to the stand is not so much a wind thing as is the insurance against earthquake.

dick benbow wrote:There is a difference between wiring a tree in the pot and correctly doing same. many is the time I have gone to
someone I am mentoring who is concerned their newly repotted tree is not responding properly.Often, tho wired in, it is still loose enough to have the wind constantly wiggle the tree just enough to negate any tiny fine roots from really getting established. A fine line for sure but something I felt worth pointing out.

around the "pacific rim" where i live, adhering the pot to the stand is not so much a wind thing as is the insurance against earthquake.