big trunk ligustrum

[TimS]

That's developing really well great job!

[Joelo]

Hey Symon,
Awesome tree's! You have inspired me as they are a weed in my parts and have just began to see the potential. Any advice on collecting/ digging.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
Joel

[delisea]

Hi Joel,
They are a terrible weed near me too. They are very easy to dig but put the effort into finding a trunk that you are happy with as you are going to spend years working on it. Look for some nice surface roots and something that splits to subtrunks close to the base it is ideal.

Wash of all off the field soil with a hose and cut of most off roots except those you want for nabari and about 10-15 cm of roots under the tree. If you can save any fine roots it is better. I don't know if you can cut it flat like an olive but they are related so it might be possible.

You will probably be left with just a trunk, as it is unlikely that any of the branches from the feild will be useful. The idea is to regrow all of the branches. To do this put it in a garden bed, but when I do this I plant them in bonsai soil to avoid washing the roots again when I pot it up. Alternately you could place it in a big plastic pot. Cheap potting mix is fine to use, easy to remove and is light.

Fertilise like crazy. Wire if you have to, to get the general direction of the branches right. Don’t worry and wire leaving marks as they repair themselves and it makes the branches look gnarly. Cut and grow gives the best looking branches. The thickness of the branches is proportional to the biomass that the branch holds, so let it grow.

They are super forgiving and I recommend them as the ultimate tree to start on because you can fiddle with them constantly and mistakes heal themselves. You can defoliate. They bud profusely. Cut back to two buds and be ruthless in removing buds you don’t want.

Have fun.

Cheers,
Symon.

[Joelo]

Thanks a lot for your reply! Appreciate all those tips.
I’ll get digging, keep you updated
Thanks again!