Collecting from Brick Walls?

[legoman_iac]

Heya all,

Looks like I'll have access to a bunch of figs, and possibly a gum tree) growing out of brick walls. The owner said there's a few I could collect, otherwise they'll get destroyed.

Any tips anyone can share (especially when collecting from brick walls) would be greatly appreciated!

I've been reading up on 'transplanting saplings' online, though this is generic from ground to ground articles, and I'm wanting to go from brick wall to pot (or maybe even root over rock?) with thing to note so far:

- keep the same orientation to the Sun (ie. label which side points North)
- plant ASAP, avoid letting the roots dry oout
- water well once transplanted
- keep in shade for a few weeks
- seasol few times a week

Thanks,
Daniel

[kcpoole]

Pot up and recover beore doing anythig like root over rock
nothing special, just get as much root as you can and treat like normal

Ken

[dansai]

The figs should be easy. If it was warmer you wouldn't need much root, but as its cooling down, if you need to get them now, definetly get as much root as possible. The gum will be a lot harder as you probably won't get feeder roots with it, but if it's going to be destroyed anyway, may as well grab it as well. Put it in a free draining mix and water heavily a couple of times a day and

[Lane]

What's on the other side of the brick wall? I'm sure you've considered this already but worth asking if you can get access to help collect as much root as possible.

[shibui]

Some things that are published on line are not the whole truth, some are just plain rubbish.
From the list you've included I offer the following:
- I've never seen orientation matter when trees are transplanted. I've seen and heard this but many millions of trees and shrubs have been planted out without considering the orientation and relatively few die from it.
- While I do try to avoid roots drying out excessively they can tolerate a certain level without stress. Figs can tolerate dry roots even more than other species. We see it in aerial roots. when dry they just go dormant for a while then start growing when moisture returns. When collecting all sorts of species I simply shade the root ball to keep direct sun off. Many of my trees have spent several hours out of the ground with no added water before being either soaked or potted up. Some have survived after being out of the ground for up to a week.
- water well after transplant - Yes but be aware that it is possible to overwater trees that have reduced roots. Water the plants in well but then monitor watering to keep the mix just damp.
- Keep in the shade. There is some debate about this. Sunlight stimulates leaves to produce energy and food which in turn stimulates root regrowth. Many species also hate deep shade and may die from lack of light rather than the transplant. Most of my collected trees go into semi shade to recover. They have direct sun for at least a few hours each day to help them recover. Most of the prebonsai that I root prune go straight back into full sun after root pruning and repotting. That includes natives that are root pruned in summer and you should note that I root prune far harder than most. I've also been trialling this with exotics and, even though many have dropped all the leaves after such treatment in hot weather, few have died so far.
- Seasol: I've mentioned this a few times before. I understand that some people are addicted to this stuff but my trials have never shown any positive (or negative) effect from using it. I don't soak collected trees nor do I use it afterward and the vast majority of my collected trees have survived and thrived.

You don't mention whether this wall is to be dismantled or whether the trees need to be collected without damaging the wall. If the wall is to be demolished it will be easy to get plenty of roots. If not it will be more difficult but not hopeless. The figs will probably have some roots on the surface which you might be able to save. that will help but I have seen figs collected by simple sawing the trunk off level with the wall and transplanting them as cuttings.
I think the euc will be a different story, especially at this time of year. By all means take it and keep us informed of the result but I don't hold much hope.

[legoman_iac]

Thanks all, and thanks to shibui ... so I got it all correct, except for 99% of it? Haha. This is why I don't trust the internets and start threads on here, hehehe.

The walls are at least double brick, with no access to the other side. The walls are the priority, owner wants the trees gone to prevent wall damage, so I unfortunately have to favour the wall(s) over the trees.

If I do need to saw the figs, what else do I need to do to help them ... rooting hormone? Poke holes above the cut to stimulate roots and pot them deep?

I'm not expecting too much from the euc, and has started showing signs of stress ... with a couple leaves going yellow. Which makes me think maybe it's a fig too, assumed it's a gum as it is towered by a gum, though could be co-incidence.

Hoping to get access next week so will update here after the attempt rescue mission!

Thanks again all!!!

- D

[shibui]

The things you have listed above mostly won't stop your trees growing new roots but, they don't actually help so you are just wasting time, effort and resources doing all that stuff.

I had assumed that the wall was the priority, just a faint glimmer of possibility that you'd get out of it easy by taking the trees as the wall came down - now dashed to smithereens.
It may sound quite easy and look possible but I think you will find it a bit more difficult to get those trees off that wall. I'd take an old but sharpened chisel and a hammer along with your branch cutters and secateurs. A saw you won't want to use again may come in handy. I believe that one of the best tools for this sort of cutting is the cable saw https://www.bunnings.com.au/haron-25-cable-saw_p4900077
Easy to tell figs from eucs. figs have a large, pointy growing tip at the end of every shoot with a sheath surrounding it. Also milky sap when you cut them.

If there are any roots, even tiny little ones on the stumps you collect then hormone is probably not necessary but, again, it probably won't hurt either.
Holes above the cut is just wasting your time. Roots should grow from the wounded area where you have cut the tree. Why make more wounds?

I'll look forward to seeing what you get.

[dennismc]

I have done this many times with figs. They never looked back, may have even appreciated being released from their prison


The gum tree is another matter altogether. If you do remove it place it in a somewhat sandy mix. Then if it is to survive it must remain constantly wet for several weeks. After that normal watering. This may sound counter intuitive but comes with about 30 years of experimentation with gum trees.

Dennis Mc

[legoman_iac]

Just managed to get to the trees ... good news, sad news and bad news:

- good news: have five new trees (pic below)
- sad news: no gum, all figs ... but at least a better chance of success
- bad news: no real roots to speak off.

Well no roots in the sense I'm used to. Had to saw/break them off. As others warned/suggested this was not as easy as it looks (without damaging the walls), however most have fairly well established aerial roots which I'm hoping will help? One root system was about 1 meter long!!!

figs_lowres.jpg

So ... next question, what do I do with them? Haha.

I was naively expecting to have some roots to work with and pot them up as though doing a re-pot/slip pot.

Should I trim any of the roots? Or just roll them up and place them in?

- Daniel S

[Max]

first three i would pot, 4th i'd cut short the root and add hormone, 5th hormone on the base should hopefully pull thru with plenty of sun and a sandy soil mix

[legoman_iac]

Thanks 'no idea' ... should I cut any of the roots from the first three? They seem quite dry but assume they'll love being in soil?

[legoman_iac]

Quick update:

1- These were all "rescued" last Thursday
2- Not being very organised, I didn't have enough pots, soil, etc
3- Finally potted them all up last night, Sunday evening

As suggested I added rooting hormone (Purple Clonex) to trees #4 and #5 ... and also to #3 (as seen in the previous pics).

Photo updates below with new numbering/identifcation ... showing the before (in their original habitat) and after (potting):


1- Repunzel Style "Bonsai" (is there a proper term for this, like "roots over pot", or am I just being silly?):
I didn't have the heart (or knowledge) on cutting this epic root system, which is over ONE METER long, so for now have just potted it, hoping that'll work ... keen to get any advice here, if whether or not it'll work?




2 & 3- The Trees formerly know as #4 and #5 (cramped a little as I ran out of pots):




4- Medium Sized Tree, tiny root trim then packed the rest into the pot:




5- Mini-tree:



Having taken a few days to pot these, I can see some of the leaves starting to curl and fade ... fingers crossed they pull through!

- Daniel

[melbrackstone]

Regarding "Rapunzel," the collection at the Toowong Botanical gardens includes a number of trees with metres-long roots left to dangle on the ground, however the trees themselves are in pots.

[legoman_iac]

So I should pot her?

[melbrackstone]

There seem to be enough smaller roots around the trunk. I suspect if you put it into a just-damp mix it should be able to grow enough roots to sustain it from the trunk. Wire it so it's very stable, and try not to over-water....and keep it in a warm sheltered north-facing spot until it's grown some new roots. It will need to be getting sun most days, I reckon.... maybe even sit the cut trunk on a rock so it won't rot...