AusBonsai

Thanks for the reply guys, thats what i thought, looking forward to trying this technique out on some of my trees this year!

Progress report :
All going OK with these grafts, both seedlings have grown on and leafed out this Spring. One I have no concerns with, the other was slower to develop and in the last week or so I have noticed that it's foliage was wilting a little. The other one is fine. The soil is moist but not waterlogged and I have been rotating to maximise sun to the full circumference of the tree. Pics attached of the seedling I'm a little concerned about, it isn't on death's door (I think not anyway) but just not as strong as I would like - new growth is evident so it is still trying. Hopefully all is good.

Have a good look at the base of the wilting one. I think it is the one with wire and I think I may be able to see a small patch of black bark right at soil level. If that is really blackened bark I suggest the seedling has been infected with the fungal disease which can kill the base of the tree and roots. Wilted leaves is typical sign but usually earlier, just after bud burst. This always seems to be early spring attacks up here. I have had a few survive but many just die. I have not had it affect older, established trees, only younger, developing ones.
Early fungicide treatment may save the seedling but I have not done any to report success or failure.

If there's no sign of black bark I'm not sure what the problem might be

shibui wrote:Have a good look at the base of the wilting one. I think it is the one with wire and I think I may be able to see a small patch of black bark right at soil level.

Mmmm... so I zoomed in and I see what you are seeing. It is the one with the wire as you suggest, and I can see the black. I guess that is the reason I try to take as good an image as possible, sometimes you capture stuff you had no idea you were photographing. I’ll have to wait for tomorrow to confirm, too dark now unfortunately... I’ll report back then. Thanks for your feedback shibui, much appreciated!

wrcmad wrote: This year I am going to give these a try: https://store.bonsaitonight.com/collect ... ting-nails

Just been looking on line for these grafting nails. Any idea where you might get them in Oz?

Here's an image of the seedling at the graft. I dug it out a bit and there is definitely a blackened area just above where I put the nail through the trunk. It seems to be quite localised and the roots below look reasonably healthy when I did a careful dig below. The darker area on the main trunk are just like that because of the sealant I applied when I first did the graft so no concern there. I will hit it with fungicide and hope that does the trick ... thanks shibui for chiming in, at least now I have a plan of action.

dansai wrote:

wrcmad wrote: This year I am going to give these a try: https://store.bonsaitonight.com/collect ... ting-nails

Just been looking on line for these grafting nails. Any idea where you might get them in Oz?

I have looked and looked.... but can't find them here.
I ordered from the US, and used them this year - definitely the best grafting nails I have ever used due to their small diameter, length and rigidity - minimal damage to the seedling, but great holding strength due to the compressive characteristics of the green rubber stopper.

So I had a bit of a scratch around at the base of this trident today just to see how those grafts were taking. I was thinking that the one with the fungal thing may have failed due to the fact the seedling died about a week or two after I posted the last images ... but I think it has come up OK. The other graft also looks good - I'm thinking I really need to cut the top of this seedling too as it is getting a bit big ... I'm guessing it's OK to do that if the junction has fused - which I think it has? Or maybe I should just cut it back to restrict growth a bit and give the graft more time (even though it looks pretty sealed to me)?? I kind of thought it may take a bit longer to graft together, but all looks good to me! There seem to be quite a few other little roots popping up around the edge of the nebari so I'm looking forward to seeing what I have when I repot at the end of winter.

great thread
i've definitely picked up a few tips i can try out now / during repot

those grafting nails would make things easier but will try with the corkboard pins for now

Nice weather for a repot or two this weekend so this tree was the first cab off the rank.
I was keen to see what lay beneath those root grafts I attempted last winter. The good news was that even the grafted seedling that wilted away had hung around for long enough to merge it's roots with the base, leaving a nice, healthy looking root just where I wanted it. If anything, I think the other graft candidate had grown too well. For sure it is grafted soundly, but the root/junction has thickened and swollen maybe a tad too much. I have cut the top off and blended it to the nebari as best I could, we'll see how it sorts itself as it ages. All in all I am very happy with the way these grafts went - would definitely do this again, I may even look to add a few more to this tree next year.
I also thought I would upgrade the pot situation from black plastic to a ceramic one I had waiting for a tree... I think it's an improvement!

This is the last of the deciduous I have to repot (I think) this year so thought I'd put up some pics for the progression. Slowly going forward ... I thought not much had really happened until I looked back at the earlier pics, that's the beauty of keeping a record I guess, it helps to keep me motivated!

Starting to look nice and powerful Ryceman!

There something really unique and beautiful about that tree - the strong, smooth and flowing trunk base is a highlight.


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MJL wrote: ↑July 22nd, 2020, 9:42 pm There something really unique and beautiful about that tree - the strong, smooth and flowing trunk base is a highlight.

Boics wrote: ↑July 22nd, 2020, 6:16 pm Starting to look nice and powerful Ryceman!

Yeah, I agree... there is a ‘sinuous’ feeling in the trunk I’m trying to make the most of with this one, hence the slight change in angle that I think helps emphasise this. Hopefully as that big scar heals over it becomes even more pronounced, we’ll see... the overall movement is quite subtle, but works for me, I like it.

The documentation on the root graft is most interesting, thanks for the effort. Tree progressing well and is showing the benefit of your effort.
Thanks