I collected an old (115 y.o.) red maple (acer rubrum) two years ago in
Maine. It has a really gnarly lower trunk with some holes, etc. It was
growing between a couple of boulders so it was pretty well confined.
The taproot that went down between the boulders was rather hefty so I
cut it off to give it a flat base. When I did so I realized I had only
left a few feeder roots at the base. This also allowed me to count the
rings, by the way, although that wasn't the reason for the drastic cut.
I put it in a deep wooden box and hoped for the best. The tree has
thrived, to the point that it has filled much of the wooden box with
roots. Bear in mind it had almost no roots at all. When I first had it
in the box I had to hold it in place with guy wires since there were no
roots to run a wire through. It is doing quite well. Next year it's
going into a training pot! Graduation!

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

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