Blue Atlas Seedlings

[backyardbonsai]

Hi all,

I have a bunch of blue atlas seedlings fattening up in the ground for a future group planting.

Just wondering when is best to do some root work to them, as i want to pull them up and plant a few of them together in small groups and also place them on a flatter surface to get some lateral roots forming.
Then they will be going back into the ground to continue growing fatter.

Also these were purchased as blue atlas cedar grown from seeds, so would they be true to type with all the characteristics of a Blue atlas Cedar?

[Ryceman3]

I have succesfully repotted regular Atlantic Cedar and C. deodara in late July/early August so I would imagine this timeframe would work for your trees. Might be other times that also work, I don't have any experience with them though.
Anything from seed will always have a natural variation in genetics. Cuttings and grafting are the only ways to truly maintain 100% of the characteristics of the parent tree. More than likely though I would think most seedlings will be quite similar.

[backyardbonsai]

Thanks for the info Ryceman3,

i wonder if they are just as strong on their own roots also?

dont think i seen to many blue atlas from seeds...

hopefully they not destined for a long term failure in the future being on their own roots, im finding it hard to keep all my bonsai alive over several years, as i try and figure out my climate at home to best suit my trees.

fingers crossed

I have succesfully repotted regular Atlantic Cedar and C. deodara in late July/early August so I would imagine this timeframe would work for your trees. Might be other times that also work, I don't have any experience with them though.
Anything from seed will always have a natural variation in genetics. Cuttings and grafting are the only ways to truly maintain 100% of the characteristics of the parent tree. More than likely though I would think most seedlings will be quite similar.

[shibui]

I'm confident blue atlas will grow well on their own roots. I have 3 I managed to germinate around 15 years ago that are still alive and strong.

A quick online search doesn't turn up much but I have the impression that the blue cedars are a natural variation that's been selected for cultivation. That should mean they originally grew naturally and should still do so.
There's usually 3 reasons trees are grafted:
1. to preserve the genetics - Seedlings may be slightly more or less blue than the parent but grafted will be exact copies.
2. the species is difficult to grow as cuttings. This is definitely true for Cedrus.
3. because grafting is what the growers know and trust. If they aren't set up to grow seedings it's easier just to graft everything and get a reliable result.

If these do fail it is much more likely a care problem rather than the trees. I think it is worth noting that we hear many reports of growers losing Cedars (not just blue atlantic) after repotting, so care is a factor with this whole genus rather than just this cultivar.
Good luck with the group.

[olicreighton]

I have succesfully repotted regular Atlantic Cedar and C. deodara in late July/early August so I would imagine this timeframe would work for your trees. Might be other times that also work, I don't have any experience with them though.

Hi R3, just noting your climate is different to my own, so I don't want to follow dates per-say. Are you repotting based strictly on that time of year, or are you starting to see bud start to open and wake up? Just curious as the trigger your use for repotting your cedars.

Cheers

Oli

[Ryceman3]

Hi R3, just noting your climate is different to my own, so I don't want to follow dates per-say. Are you repotting based strictly on that time of year, or are you starting to see bud start to open and wake up? Just curious as the trigger your use for repotting your cedars.

It's based on the premise that spring is just around the corner and the trees are getting ready to push out new growth. Basically that means that any cuts/wounds made to the roots are going to be healed as the tree becomes active, thus minimising the time of exposure to potential infection/rot etc. The tree won't heal nearly as efficiently in a dormant state, so you should adjust timing accordingly if you experience longer/shorter winter dormancy. This theoretical timeline for repotting is not exclusive to cedars, it's essentially the same theory for pretty much all trees.

[olicreighton]

Thanks R3, as Shibui said, there’s plenty of stories of cedars not making it after root pruning, so any experience shared is appreciated.