I just moved to Ohio in August. I have had to do a lot of yard work. There is this old plum tree by the barn and it was covered in wild grape vines. I pulled and hacked the vines from the tree and pulled them from the ground. When I found the source, I unceremoniously hacked away when I realized that I had I potential bonsai. What was left was knoby woody stump. Can anyone give some advise on how to extract it from the ground early next spring without killing it? Have I already killed it? Thanks, CCH
Grape vines are usually pretty tough so I doubt that you have killed it. Old plants can be renovated by cutting back to a stump. It is possible to dig the stump for replanting, but your idea of a bonsai presents some problems. If the stump is large, you'll be digging a significant rootball to optimize your chances of success, What size pot are you planning on using? A large pot will give the grape lots of room and the result will be lots of growth which will make the bonsai hard to manage. A small pot that restricts the roots and growth would be best but it reduces your chance of a successful replanting. You have an interesting project ahead of you and I would be very intterested to hear how it turns out, maybe you can send us a photo. thank you for your post
Thank you for your reply, I plan to pot it in a very large pot to acommodate to root ball and root growth. Iwill train the top part of the plant first after a year or so of letting it get established. After its trained on the top, I will begin the process of training the roots. This will dawrf the plant. It will be at least seven to ten years before it goes into a bonsai tray. One thing about bonsai is that it takes lost of time. I wish I started when I was younger! Thanks again, Clark Huffman
