Banksia Serrata Cape York Dwarf

[Ray M]

Aah nice base. Chop to lower branch?

Hi kvan64,
I'll do the chops in steps. Once I've done Chop3,
I'll use the new growth to develop a new leader and branches.

IMG_9548 -2 - chop1.jpg

IMG_9548 -2 - chop2.jpg

IMG_9548 -2 - chop3.jpg

Regards Ray

[Pearcy001]

Looking very healthy Ray. It's hard to believe the base is 180mm, what a beast! Hard to tell the size of a tree on the white background.

Over how long will you do the three chops? Also do you seal your Banksia cuts with putty, paste or neither?

Cheers,
Pearcy.

[Ray M]

Hi Pearcy,

Looking very healthy Ray. It's hard to believe the base is 180mm, I did a new measurement when taking the photos. That's the size above the ground and it looks like it is spreading out further below the surface.what a beast! Hard to tell the size of a tree on the white background.

Over how long will you do the three chops? I'll do a chop and wait until I see some new growth and then do the next chop etc Also do you seal your Banksia cuts with putty, paste or neither? I'll use the double sealer method. Seal it with the Kiyonal Tree Sealer, wait until it hardens, then put some putty over the top.
Cheers,
Pearcy.

Regards Ray

[Ryceman3]

Wow. That base is big!!
Is it 180mm in diameter or circumference??
Either way, love the tree and also love the impetus to leave it to bud and flower... Awesome! That is worth seeing.

[Ray M]

Wow. That base is big!!
Is it 180mm in diameter or circumference??
Either way, love the tree and also love the impetus to leave it to bud and flower... Awesome! That is worth seeing.

Hi Ryceman3,
It's 180mm diameter. When I can get a moment, I'll take a close up photo.

Regards Ray

[Ray M]

Hi Folks,
Here's an update on where the Banksia is at the moment.

First I'll show the size of the base. It has spread out very well and is continuing to do so.

IMG_4322 -2.jpg

IMG_4323-2.jpg

I have removed the two air layers. and the tree has come back very well.

IMG_4319 -2.jpg

The two air layers have taken off very nicely. Lots of new growth and the roots are already through the bottom of the colanders.

IMG_4317 -2.jpg

IMG_4318 -2.jpg

I took the tree to the School of Bonsai today and it has now had the next step. I removed several branches to bring it down to where I want to develop it as a bonsai.

IMG_4325 -2.jpg

Regards Ray

[Ray M]

Hi Folks,
I want to share a nice surprise I got the other day with the Banksia layers. We are doing Banksias at the School of Bonsai this week so I thought I would go find the layers and check if they were suitable to take to the school. The following photo shows what they looked like when I found them. There is a tree in there somewhere!!

_MG_4890-2.jpg

After removing the weeds I could now see how things were going and what the next step would be.

_MG_4891-2.jpg

_MG_4892-2.jpg

There was the start of a cone on one of the trees.

The next step was to remove some of the lower branches and cut back a little. I then started to dig down through the top soil to see what was happening with the base.

Background: When I planted the two layers, after removing them from the host tree, I left the muck and the Sphagnum moss on the layers and planted into bonsai mix.

As I dug down I could feel that some of the muck and moss was loose and could be removed. The next part is the pleasant surprise. I could feel that the base was now quite large compared to the original diameter of the trunk. This being the case I decided to lift the trees to a point that the thicker base was exposed. The next few photos will show the results.

_MG_4893-2.jpg

_MG_4894-2.jpg

_MG_4897-2.jpg

_MG_4895-2.jpg

The shape and height of the trunk on this tree is quite good. It will only need to shape branches etc.

_MG_4893-3.jpg

This tree will most probably need to be cut down to the red line to improve taper and branch placement.

Regards Ray

[Ryceman3]

Hi Ray,
Those layers are really going well for you, although that is hardly a surprise.
Couldn't quite tell from the photos, but when you cut back did you leave the developing cone intact? I'm kind of hoping you did ...
Great post, thanks for sharing!

[Ray M]

Hi Ray,
Those layers are really going well for you, although that is hardly a surprise.
Couldn't quite tell from the photos, but when you cut back did you leave the developing cone intact? I'm kind of hoping you did ...
Great post, thanks for sharing!

Hi mate,
Sorry, no I cut it off. There is still a very small one so I'll see if it does anything.

Regards Ray

[Ray M]

Hi folks,
I've taken these Banksias to the next step.

_MG_4907.jpg

_MG_4909.jpg

_MG_4904.jpg

_MG_4906.jpg

_MG_4910.jpg

_MG_4910-2.jpg

Regards Ray