Nothofagus fusca & menziesii culture

[Pat.d]

Hi All,
I have some small Nothofagus Fusca and Menziesii and am wondering if anyone uses them as bonsai and if so what the best styling options would be?
Also do they take successfully to airlayering?
They are not so common in my neck of the woods and any info would be greatly appreciated.
Regards,
Pat

[Boics]

Hello Pat.

I'm not overly familiar with these exact species but I have tried and successfully layered a copper beech tree before.

One thing to note was that I layered the tree (or attempted too) two years in a row.
The first year went perfectly fine without a hitch.

The 2nd year went not so well and actually ended in a failure.
When I cut and peeled the cambium layer it was particularly dry and did not remove easily.
It was actually hard to distinguish between the outer cambium layer and the sapwood.
I believe this was due to a lack of sap / nutrients in this layer.

My conclusion is that I probably tried to layer too early (not long after bud burst).

[GavinG]

They're both New Zealand species, I've never heard of them here, either in the garden or for bonsai. It's interesting how few NZ species we know here. Some of the Tasmanian Nothofagus species make good bonsai in the right climate, but they're slow. Good luck, keep us posted.

Gavin

[Pat.d]

Thanks for your replies.
Boics I have just severed a Fagus sylvatica -English beech airlayer with good roots and currently have it on a hotbench so hopefully it will root out properly - about 2 inch diameter base.
Gavin i will give an update with my trials and see what happens.
Regards,
Pat