Acer campestre - Hedge Maple Question

I have a large Hedge maple I would like to carve out the trunk. It would be a major wound. What month would be the best time to do this? For some reason I was think sometime during the winter, but I am not sure.

Thanks,

Mike

I would think doing this kind of work should be done during the growing season. You will probably damage some living tissue during the process. Better to have the tree actively growing and able to heal any wounds incured. Not too early, let the leaves harden off somewhat. Foliage will be a distraction, but I believe it's healthier for the tree. I have a couple small clumps I'm working on. I need to grow them out a bit as the growth is a bit coarse, they need to be bigger.

I used to live in and around Colorado Springs years back and I'll be going out to visit family the second week of Feb.
Anything going on at the Denver gardens?

i am sure species differ, but i did some fairly major carving on a birch in the middle of winter last year with zero ill affects this past growing season... if time allows, i plan on continuing it this winter...

here is the thread link:

https://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t16341-himalayan-birch-winter-work-question-follow-up-work-done

Hi,

Wikipedia wrote:
Betula utilis (Himalayan birch, bhojpatra, Sanskrit: भूर्ज bhūrja) is a birch tree native to the Himalayas, growing at elevations up to 4,500 m (14,800 ft).

I don't see many Himalayan birch growing around here (about 100 metres, 375 km from the sea, zone 8 )

Kidding aside, Acer campestre (which I suppose is "hedge maple", aka field maple?) is indeed a totally different species, not the kind of tree you can find in mountains 45,000 metres high, so it has different requirements and a different cycle (from what I know, A. campestre is very rarely found above 1,000 metres in its natural habitat).

I don't know what the climate is like where "Lost2301" lives, but I second the advice given by "LanceMac10". This is true for the vast majority of maple species.

AlainK wrote:Acer campestre (which I suppose is "hedge maple", aka field maple?) is indeed a totally different species

yep... thats why i said species differ, but both being deciduous, i threw that out there just as a "for instance"...

LanceMac10 wrote:I would think doing this kind of work should be done during the growing season. You will probably damage some living tissue during the process. Better to have the tree actively growing and able to heal any wounds incured. Not too early, let the leaves harden off somewhat. Foliage will be a distraction, but I believe it's healthier for the tree. I have a couple small clumps I'm working on. I need to grow them out a bit as the growth is a bit coarse, they need to be bigger.

I used to live in and around Colorado Springs years back and I'll be going out to visit family the second week of Feb.
Anything going on at the Denver gardens?

Not much happening during the winter. They may still have Holiday lighting out. They put out a lot of decorations for the Holidays. They hire a tree company to come in and put up lighting in the big trees. As for bonsai at the gardens. They are all put away for the winter. However every Wed. there is a workshop at the gardens from 9am-12pm. There is a green house where some of the trees are kept during the winter. The gardens bonsai master runs it. Send me a PM and I will give you more info on the work shop.

Thanks for the replies. Right now the tree is in the back of garage and hard to get to. I might wait until Walter Pall comes to town for a workshop.

Thanks for the heads up. I was just curious if I should even bother stopping by there. Truth be told, I'll probably head straight to Summit County!!
Have a great New Year!!!

I have a little 30 - 40 year old field/ hedge maple that has a hole straight through the trunk.. I maintain the hole by carving it during the active growing season, it starts to heal straight away leaving a nicer wound edge.

This is the little field maple just after it's winter pruning maintenance, You can see how the hole through the trunk has almost completely healed after 2 years..I keep it open because my daughters prefer it!

this question came up in a seminar I took recently with Danny Coffey, a bonsai artist that apprenticed in Japan for a number of years. He recommends doing all carving during season of active growth.

Field Maples grow like weeds here in England. They're
not that popular however as they don't offer as much as other Maples do in terms of aesthetic appearance.

I'd carve it at the end of winter just before bud break. That way it's easier as the leaves aren't in the way and sap loss is minimised. This also gives a longer repair period than waiting until it's in full growth mode.

JT. MKBonsai

I'd carve it in the dead of winter. The tree has no leaves so you can see what's going on, and it is dormant. Dormancy with maples is important for carving as, once the sap starts rising in spring, they will weep profusely from any fresh wounds. So if you don't get your timing right in spring you could damage or even lose the tree.

The other time I'd carve is in summer after the first leaves have set, but only if the leaves weren't going to be in the way.

In the depth of winter a bit of carving is a treat - enjoy!

I carve whenever i can be bothered, ive worked a couple of my Field maples already over the winter period, they are vigorous growers and you will get some callusing over during the growing season regardless..
i worked this one a few weeks ago



I used a little wound sealant on the edges on the top of the tree, but none below. according to Walter pall, wound sealant or paste isnt necessary anyway!
Have a watch of some of G Potters vids, he works all his deciduous in autumn, winter and summer


th main thing i watch out for, is not carving directly under branches, especially if you have a major branch you dont want to compromise by restricting its sap flow path, i try to avoid carving between roots that i suspect are feeding a particular branch.

Thank you all for the replies. I also saw Walter Pall carving on Hedge maples in the dormant season, not sure when in the dormant season though?

Mike

The best time to carve is, whenever you have time

The maples = a field maple including have quite high root pressure = sap circulation that starts very early in the winter and peaks in the spring.  The best time to deal with  field maples is in a growing period as soon as the leaves are fully developed.   The other possibility is to do the heavy pruning at the time of the leaves fall.   For the dead wood - if you make heavy cuts into the live cambium now you will ( in my opinion ) weaken the tree quite significantly due to the sap losses in spring.  
Good luck