Chinese elm propagation

[MattA]

I have been given access to a mature chinese elm and can take whatever material I want for propagation..

So a few questions... I know they will grow from root cuttings & hardwood cuttings etc etc but when would be the best time? and methods? How big a piece can be taken as a hardwood cutting and when? winter as is usual? I did a load of cuttings of a seiju elm last winter & had zero success, is chinese elm easier to strike? Did I take them too early (june)? Should I throw them in a pot of sand & repot in spring when they have callused? The seiju I just put in a prepared garden bed.

HELP!!!!

Matt

[bodhidharma]

G'day Matt, would you consider an aerial layer in spring? Select a good branch that has prospects and go for it. The Chinese Elm layers very easily. That way you end up with a more mature looking tree

[Pup]

Try your cuttings in polystyrene boxes with clear plastic over the top mini hot house type. I have a lot of success with this. The polystyrene act as a warmer in winter and a cooler in summer. Or you can use clear cool drink bottles cut in half in 10mm pots.

Bohdi's idea on air layering is good you can get up to a 150mm trunk with out trouble. Please though look for movement in the pieces to be layered.

Cheers Pup

[GavinG]

Cuttings from seiju, corky-bark and chinese elm all grow in peatmoss/sharp sand 50/50 for me, maybe under glass, in shade? They'll get fat quicker in the ground, plant at an angle, keep chopping.

Gavin

[Mojo Moyogi]

Hi Matt, Bodhi and Pup have offered some great advice. I'd like to add that late spring for airlayers, mid winter and also late spring to late summer for cuttings, up to an inch thick are relitively straightforward. With a heated bed and a mist system, larger cuttings up to 3 inches are possible. I have been using 0.5 to 2mm diatomite for about 6 years as a cutting medium and it works very well. If you are trying large diameter cuttings, look for cutting material that has a bit of flare at the base, for instance at the base of a branch as it comes off the trunk. Otherwise you will end up with a batch of rooted cuttings that are too columnar. And there is too many log trunked bonsai out there as it is . As for rooting hormones, Clonex Purple is readily available and should suit your needs.

Good luck and don't forget to share your results with us.

Cheers,
Mojo

[Watto]

Try a root cutting taken in late August. From a mature tree you could get a reasonable size and they are almost bullet proof. Place in a pot with bonsai mix, in the shade for the first six weeks then treat as a normal tree. Good luck!

[MattA]

Thanks everyone for the advice... This is a mature tree of about 35yrs that is in the line of the developers bulldozer, along with taking a few pieces from it this year, I am hoping to get the whole lot when its ripped out, the trunk is about 40cm in dia which would be pushing it as a start to bonsai, I can always split it into several smaller sections as I have done with a few other deciduous trees in the past.

Bodhi I had been thinking air layer for a couple of bits I have my eye on ( I do like them BIG). But was also wanting to get a lot of different sized stock out of this tree before the dozers hit it. There is too much waste so if I can get a load of new plants from it before it goes all the better.

Will let you all know what i do & how it goes. More damn exotics as i am trying to cull them from my collection. Oh well I can sell off the rest & keep the orig base for myself.. hhmmm 40cm dia trunk with a ratio of 1:1, megasumo

Matt

[alpineart]

Hi Matt , i would try and get hold of the developer , locate the contractor and sort out a deal to rip, lift and load it into your trailer .Take the tree home , drop it on the deck, throw some potting mix around the contained base and there you have a massive stock plant to layer , take cuttings or cut down and Bonsai .Cheers Alpine

[Pup]

Hi Matt , i would try and get hold of the developer , locate the contractor and sort out a deal to rip, lift and load it into your trailer .Take the tree home , drop it on the deck, throw some potting mix around the contained base and there you have a massive stock plant to layer , take cuttings or cut down and Bonsai .Cheers Alpine

That is a good idea it has worked for me and a mate with some trees, BUT do not forget the slab or block. That way next time he will get in touch when he sees more trees to come out.

Cheers Pup

[MattA]

Hey Alpine,

That is a great idea except the developer is a nasty megacorp. We are still in the fight to stop it all together but the reality is due to our location (next to the F3 fwy) it is inevitable. The trees owner planted it behind there fence in the bush to block out the 'ugly' gums I will content myself to get a few good pieces from it for now & hopefully get the trunk when the time comes. Its about 5 houses down & could be dropped straight over my back fence into a prepared bed.

I have done deals with developers etc in the past for material, but am yet to establish those sorts of connections here in Newcastle. I did score a huge Tibouchina last year that was being ripped out by a bobcat, it is curently regrowing in the garden, was only thinking the other day i should get some pics of it before it progresses much more.

Matt

[alpineart]

Hi Matt grab some nice branches now , cut them down to 300mm pieces ready for cuttings {Nice movement ect}.Then either soak them in willow water or dip them in hormone powder and pot up as per normal cuttings .I have great success every year at this time with Crab Apples and Elms , 99% strike rate last year with both cuttings taken April/May on old wood .Cheers

[MattA]

Cheers Alpine, I will do just that...

Last year i had a terrible time with hardwood cuttings, successes... 2 from 30 red leaf crab apple, none from 30 seiju elm, 6 from 60 mulberry 'shatoot', 2 from 20 black mulberry, 2 from 20 climbing Cecile Brunner, none from 40 siberian plum. A large crepe myrtle didnt reshoot nor did the 3 kiwifruit. It was a bloody dry winter & at the time I wasnt able to get water up to the top of the yard where they all where.

This year will be different, all the cuttings I take will be going into pots. Its more soil & effort but I am hoping to get better results. Will post details of stuff I take from the elm & when & how it was dealt with. I know where i can lay my hands on willow so think I should go & reread the post on willow water.

Matt

[alpineart]

Hi Matt i have great success with willow water , i usually take the willow in early spring but i have taken it in late autumn and had success, and i have a hot house/cold frame .Pup suggested Polystyrene boxes, if you can use them i work up to 100 cuttings into each box ,depends on the size of the box and cuttings then place them into the cold frame and the strike rate is great ..Cheers

[MattA]

Poly boxes are a nono with chickens around, well mine atleast.. They have a strange passion for eating them

[Macros]

Hey Guys,
I have tried propagating chinese elm, Japanese Maple, Trident maple, Fig, and various other species in these manners and never had one take?
I think I must be holding my tounge wrong or some thing? Apparently honey on the end of a Ficus cutting works a treat, maybe I am just abnormal.

Thanks,
Mac