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Is a Rhododendron's root ball salvageable?

FWBGBS

FWBGBS

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Brad
The wife and I removed this little guy this morning.
Its absence will be replaced by two Black Elderberries spread eight feet apart.
I've been itching to remove this shrub for over seven years now. I loathe the Rhododendron and its little cousin the azalea. They're messy, have a very short bloom time and they're messy!

http://i207.Rule #2/albums/bb90/fwbgbs/Wood%20Barter/Rhod%201_zpssirf8yfb.jpg

My question: is it worth proceeding?... Washing her down to remove all the dirt and prep her for Mr. Stihl?
Otherwise, I'll just saw the stuff above ground into squares and apply Anchorseal. The ball will become landfill.

This was a 10+ foot Rhododendron.
This past spring I harvested quite the haul of 4+" diameter limbs for turning.

My research found that Rhodis, belonging to the heath family, are closely related to the Tree Heath (Erica arborea).
As an avid pipe smoker I must admit my happy parts got a bit tingley.
And no, I won't be attempting any kind of poor man's briar pipe turning.
My turning abilities lay somewhere between finger painting and nose picking.

http://i207.Rule #2/albums/bb90/fwbgbs/Wood%20Barter/Rhod%203_zpsihjpwrdv.jpg

http://i207.Rule #2/albums/bb90/fwbgbs/Wood%20Barter/Rhod%202_zpsibgnl5h1.jpg


Black Elderberry:
5474.jpg
 
I'd say most everything is salvageable. I did a root ball back a while. They're a lot of work. After digging it out I let it dry enough to get some of the dirt out I put the hose to it. It was labor intensive. And like burl you're never sure what you are looking at till you actually get working on it.
 
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  • #3
Then I'll follow your example Rich.
Salvageable or not, I am extremely curious what kind of figuring this ball might be hiding.
I was sort of leaning towards inquisitiveness trumping turn-ability. You just gave me a needed push.

I might not fiddle too much with removing every speck of dirt.
I've got an old "less sharp" chain for just the occasion.
We'll see.
 
Glad you're going to attempt something with this -- best case you'll have something wonderful, worst case you'll have "a learning opportunity" :cool:
 
FWBGBS said:
Then I'll follow your example Rich.
Salvageable or not, I am extremely curious what kind of figuring this ball might be hiding.
I was sort of leaning towards inquisitiveness trumping turn-ability. You just gave me a needed push.

I might not fiddle too much with removing every speck of dirt.
I've got an old "less sharp" chain for just the occasion.
We'll see.
Click to expand...
That's great, you can never tell & you don't want to pass up what you might find. Good luck with it
 
GO FOR IT! There's nothing to lose and if ya gotta burn it it'll be in smaller pieces. Lol
 
A pressure washer will get rid of the dirt on the root ball very quickly! You'll end up wearing a lot of the dirt as it gets blasted out but it's fast.
 
Never heard of Rhododendron burl being used in woodworking. You might have stumbled upon the grand prize... or not. Be sure to give us feedback as you proceed. Chuck
 
Give it a go! As said above, there might be a jewel in there, and in the end, you will have answered the question for all of us...
 
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  • #10
Thanks for all the encouragement fellas. I'll give it a go.

Chuck, I was in the same boat you're in up until a few years ago.
I first saw mention of it on a pen turning forum, then found others using the wood to make kitchen utensils.
The wood is nothing too interesting; it holds the same "wow" as Wonder Bread.
But, that root ball, who knows.

The pen was made by Cody W. on another forum:

128822d1423338542-rhododendron-root-image.jpg


DSCF2126.jpg
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #11
gman2431 said:
There's nothing to lose...
Click to expand...
...Except for my Oregon chain and temper.

The 3000 psi pressure washer was laughed at by this beast's tangled root system and hidden quarry.
Rocks were embedded like they were trained by the Vietcong.

http://i357.Rule #2/albums/oo17/fwbgbs2/WoodBarter/Stump%201%201600x1200_zpsc4x8jlgu.jpg

http://i357.Rule #2/albums/oo17/fwbgbs2/WoodBarter/Stump%202%201600x1200_zpsxgdtbj3c.jpg

http://i357.Rule #2/albums/oo17/fwbgbs2/WoodBarter/Me%201600x1200_zpskk9d0elx.jpg

As my Stihl kissed wood the metal shards and rock chips quickly started to fly.
The wife even commented "Is it supposed to spark like that?"
I like to keep my wife, a nurse, close by when I'm doing dangerous, dumb or dangerously dumb things.
With a beat up chain and the sun slowly setting I decided watching the Houston game was a better bet and less frustrating.

What little progress was made I quickly realized the root ball is just too shallow to work with.
The endeavor thus far is proving to be a low ROI.

I'll soon post pics as to better explain what exactly is going on here.
 
Prop it up and make angled cuts toward the tap root (if it has one) so it looks like a pencil that's been sharpened. You can see how they did the cuts on these big logs to remove the roots so they could save the stump. Gary

calif walnut.jpg
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #13
Thanks for the sound advise Gary.
happy-051.gif

That makes total sense
Angled conical cuts would have born more fruit than attacking it squarely like I did.
Like my chain I'm none-too-sharp.

While sitting on the couch the wife suggested using the Sawzall to rid most of that tangled undercarriage.
I thought that was a pretty good idea too.

I'll give her another go tomorrow (Sat.).
I hate losing fights.
 
I wondered about a sawzall myself. Sure would save on the chains. Lol
 
Thanks for the entertainment. This read has been a smiling adventure. Rhodo's can be bland. I seem to see more folks use Mt. Laurel root. In the past, I would pick it up and drop it several times, set it aside in the sun yet protected from rain. I would repeat the process a few times over a week. Then use the leaf blower to dust it off. Just repeating these steps would get a lot of debris off. Then I used by-pass loppers and hand pruners to trim back the runners. A sawzall works decent but can have kick back, but its vibration can help shake things clean. After these simply steps, then the pressure washer hits home heavy. I've seen two bowls from Rhodo root masses, and both had a stone in it. Very cool looking.

If you take your time, your chainsaw will thank you.
 
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