Monday, April 23, 2007

The sumo field maple - part 1

In spring 2001 I got this European field maple (Acer campestre) from Wolfgang Kaeflein. As one can see it is slightly obese. I panted it into a huge box an left it alone for a season. In 2002 I wired the top and the thick branches with 1 centimeter aluminum wire. I was used to a certain growth rate of maples but this one really beat me. It grew so fast at the top that the wire was in the wood before I noticed it. This was a mistake. The top was spiraling and it would look artificial forever.