AusBonsai

Hi folks,
Looks like the Wisteria's are going to take very well. I was out checking in the shadehouse this afternoon when Mrs M wandered passed and asked how the Wisteria's are going. So I had a closer look and whala, there are heaps of roots starting to emerge. It is only 12 days since they were potted.
Regards Ray

Hi all,
I have just returned from being away for 4 months. My neighbour was kind enough to take some photos for me. All the trees flowered very well. This was a nice surprise as the layers are less than 12 months old. I was able to put a number of the trees on the floor of my shade house and the rest had to go outside.
Regards Ray

Ray M wrote:

MOGGINATOR wrote:can i ask what sort of soil you are using? are u buying it or making it?

Hi Mogginator,
I make my own mix. I use Ray Nesci's potting mix, Zeolite, Perlite and Orchid mix.
Ray Nesci's mix is basically:
1/3 Compost - This is made from composting HARDWOOD SAWDUST
1/3 Pine Bark Fines
1/3 Coarse Sand - from my observation the sand is quite coarse, 2-3mm

My normal mix would be 10kg Ray's mix + two heaped double handfuls of Zeolite, then mix that 50/50 with Perlite. Basic mix.
Figs and Pines: Basic mix, mixed 50/50 with a good Orchid mix like Yates Orchid Mix. Figs and Pines love a very open mix.

Regards Ray

Hi Ray M...Me being a novice and not knowing too much about soil mixes/mediums. From memory perlite is a light medium, quite soft and crumbly so just would that mean that it would breakdown quickly. I was wondering what the advantages of using Perlite in the mix would be...Aeration maybe...? Is your mix specifically made for use with air layers grown in colanders?
I have the colanders (30cmW x 20cmD), Ray Nesci's mix & diatomite, so would just need to pick up the perlite.
The Zelkova that I'm currently air layering has a trunk thickness of around 7.5cm so would it be wise to invest in a larger colander. Think I can get my hands on some that are 40W x 20D.

Thoughts....

Hi Bonsaiforest,

Hi Ray M...Me being a novice and not knowing too much about soil mixes/mediums. From memory perlite is a light medium, quite soft and crumbly so just would that mean that it would breakdown quickly. I have used Perlite for at least 25 years. Your right in saying it is light. If you crush it, it will certainly crush to a granular/powder. When it is in the mix I have found that it will last a very long time without crushing. I was wondering what the advantages of using Perlite in the mix would be...Aeration maybe...? It makes the mix much lighter and does a good job in opening up the soil for drainage. Is your mix specifically made for use with air layers grown in colanders? I use this mix for potting most of my trees, not just those growing in the colander.
I have the colanders (30cmW x 20cmD), Ray Nesci's mix & diatomite, so would just need to pick up the perlite.
The Zelkova that I'm currently air layering has a trunk thickness of around 7.5cm so would it be wise to invest in a larger colander. Think I can get my hands on some that are 40W x 20D. If it was my tree I would certainly get the larger colanders.

Thoughts....

Regards Ray

12 days to get the roots growing out of the colander!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You're doin something right!

Thanks for the extra info Ray!

Hi Ray,

At what point would you re pot the plant from the colander to a solid pot?

Tsmalls wrote:Hi Ray,

At what point would you re pot the plant from the colander to a solid pot?

Hi Tsmalls,
All of my trees stay in the colanders until I consider them to be a bonsai. The colanders give such good growing characteristics, so leaving the trees in the colanders and developing the trees in them works very well.

Regards Ray

hi ray m

For Wisteria to flower, is it a cold winter or a semi wet pot during summer. Or both are needed to achieve flowering. Your thoughts please.

david

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

Nice thanks for the info, I'm going to give wisteria layering over spring this year, hopefully it works. I'll post some pics of the (hopeful) progress

tuma wrote:hi ray m

For Wisteria to flower, is it a cold winter or a semi wet pot during summer. Or both are needed to achieve flowering. Your thoughts please.

david

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

Hi David,
There are a number of factors that will influence the flowing of a Wisteria. I will list some for you.

1/ Does the tree flower well? This is one of the most important things to consider. If the tree has flowered and is a good flowering tree this will help enormously.
2/ Is the tree in the sun? All flowering trees need to have a lot of sunlight to flower well.
3/ The tree must not be stressed over summer. Wisteria's love water during summer. When in a pot they will tend to drink a tray of water a day. Some people will put them in water trays during summer.
4/ Fertilizing. Wisteria's like to be fertilized with a fertilizer that is not to high in Nitrogen and high in Potassium. This needs to be done quite some time before flowering.
5/ Do not prune at the wrong time. Mid to late January should be the last pruning.

Please note that I'm in Sydney and I notice you are in Brisbane. This may effect some timing issues.

If you are intending to do layers on a Wisteria, point 1/ is very important. The tree that I took the layers off in this thread was an extremely good flowering tree. This is one of the great things with layers, whatever the D&A that is in the stock tree will be transferred to the layers. When planting from seed there is no guarantees as to what each seed will produce.

Regards Ray

Ray u are a horticultural genius.

Charliegreen wrote:Ray u are a horticultural genius.

Hi Charliegreen,
Thanks for your kind words mate. Please don't think of me as a genius, I still have so much to learn to be given that title. When I talk to someone like Ray Nesci I realize how much more there is still to learn. I am always open to learn new things. I think a wise person is one that realizes that he/she is a learner and always open to learn new things.

Regards Ray

Ray, did I miss something, did you pare back the bit of trunk under the roots?

hawkeyes wrote:Ray, did I miss something, did you pare back the bit of trunk under the roots?

Hi hawkeyes,
No mate. You may find two different scenarios when you remove a layer. If the roots are strong enough for you to wash the Sphagnum moss from them and are then able to part the roots enough to gain access to the trunk, you can cut back the trunk. The second scenario is that the roots are very entwined in the moss and are to immature to move them. Just plant the new layer as is. As time goes on and the roots mature and strengthen you can cut the trunk back when it's time to repot. Please remember that the roots are very fragile at this stage and need to be treated with a great deal of care.

Regards Ray

Hi all,
I took a couple more layers off this Wisteria tree. I put the layers on the beginning of December 2016. On Thursday 9 February 2017, on my way home after teaching at the School, I thought I should call around at the property and see how they were going. There was plenty of roots on both layers so I cut them off. It was a 20 minute run to home so I left the roots wrapped in the plastic and headed home. As soon as I got home I placed both layers in a bucket of Seasol. I left them there for an hour or so, then removed the plastic and put them back in the Seasol. I trimmed both trees back to a couple of leave and removed any obvious branches I thought would be of no value. Potted them in Colanders and made sure they had secure stays to prevent and damage to the roots. You will notice in the photos that the layers flowered.
Regards Ray