AusBonsai

Thanks Watto. it’s coming along nicely but there’s no rushing these plants.

I might plant out some of the cuttings in the garden to see what ground growing does, but I’m just enjoying the process with these plants

TimS wrote: ↑April 4th, 2021, 11:08 am I might plant out some of the cuttings in the garden to see what ground growing does, but I’m just enjoying the process with these plants

What sort of strike rate on the red did you end up getting ?

Sno wrote: ↑April 4th, 2021, 1:01 pm

TimS wrote: ↑April 4th, 2021, 11:08 am I might plant out some of the cuttings in the garden to see what ground growing does, but I’m just enjoying the process with these plants

What sort of strike rate on the red did you end up getting ?

I’d say 50-75% succcess with the red and 80%+ with white. Using root suckers is much easier though

TimS wrote:

Sno wrote: ↑April 4th, 2021, 1:01 pm

TimS wrote: ↑April 4th, 2021, 11:08 am I might plant out some of the cuttings in the garden to see what ground growing does, but I’m just enjoying the process with these plants

What sort of strike rate on the red did you end up getting ?

I’d say 50-75% succcess with the red and 80%+ with white. Using root suckers is much easier though

Did you take cuttings at the end of spring? I'm going to try propagate mine this year.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk

I’ve been doing them all through from end of Spring to end of Summer. Each new flush would run 20cm, cut it back and turn it into cuttings.

The red seems to always fully defoliate as a cutting, give it a couple of weeks and new leaves push out. The white doesn’t defoliate

Ground growing definitely improves trunk growth with red chojubai. I have not yet dug mine but they have thickened way more than the ones in pots over 2 or maybe 3? years in the grow beds. Still slow though so keep weeds and other competition at bay so they get a go. I think i will dig mine this winter and see what the trunks really look like now.
Stem cuttings often defoliate here too. Success rate varies from 10 through to 90% but I have not worked out if there are any parameters that influence those rates yet. Suckers are definitely quicker and more reliable if your tree produces them.

Looking fantastic Tim, very jealous.

longd_au wrote: ↑December 12th, 2020, 11:02 pm I think you have to balance the energy of the tree by not letting extensions get too long if you have trunks that does not extend.

MIne has a stronger trunk where most of the foliage is, so this certainly could be a possibility. I have put an air layer on this trunk so I can separate it from the rest of the clump. Will see if that helps.

Will concur with the stem cuttings defoliating. 0/5 for me. I did get some some buds start to grow but they didn't root. Will keep trying until I figure it out.

For some inspiration, I thought I'd just add a few Chojubai photo's I took from Master Suzuki's Bonsai Nursery in Japan. Anyone that has seen the old Choju's in Japan would know how impressive they can be when they're 100+ years old..!!
I've been watching this thread for awhile now. I too have a clump that's similar and I too have lost a little stem here and there that has needed to be cut out. I've thought about why this may be and thought that possibly re-potting too late in the season might have an effect. ie, traditionally I did them in late Winter/Spring, when possibly should be late Autumn, as they're going dormant rather then waking up...

They are absolutely amazing Rob, sadly not enough years for me to get mine looking like that!

I did repot this in Autumn and lost trunks so I’m not sure. Maybe being a block of roots I was harder on those two trunks unknowingly?

I also randomly lost a branch, and I hadn't repotted.. it just didn't grow leaves again after winter. Although I think I could have fertilised more, so maybe that had something to do with it?

I have a question.. mine needs repotting, quite desperately I think (I'm still a newbie!) and it seems now is a good time being Autumn.
But mine has been flowering for about a month now and insisting on growing fruit (have been removing them), so I'm wondering if it's not a good idea to repot if it's flowering?
And maybe I could just slip pot it this year?

Any suggestions would be most welcome!

I repotted this clump in Autumn and lost trunks. All the books say autumn repotting for these, but it’s no guarantee you won’t have issues

Yes I understand any season to repot is a risk. I was just wondering if it's ok to repot if it's flowering.. but maybe I'll just chicken out and slip pot it for this year.. lol

TimS wondering how you went with your cuttings?

They went well, I’ve got a dozen or so of each that rooted out. They are pretty small still but come spring hopefully the all grow on well

The clump has been flowering pretty much constantly since the April post I made, so I’ve been enjoying seeing it on my benches

Great to see all the chojubai love in this thread, I'd say I'm also part of the fanclub for this species.

Thought I'd give some of my experience in regards to propagation. I've had been playing around with propagating Chojubai since 2019. Using an aeroponics cloner I managed to get a 90% success rate for red chojubai, with the cuttings taken pretty much throughout the entire growing season (Sep-Mar). They are incredibly quick to root as well, with the quickest having roots within 2 weeks. Typically they'll develop callus tissue within 2-3 weeks.

Aeroponics cloner is definitely the way to go, also tried them as traditional cuttings in the greenhouse with less success (only 50% success). Can also attest that they always defoliate when taken as cutting.