Restyling an old Casuarina..first stage done.

[bodhidharma]

Hi ya Jan, long time no hear from. You analyzed the process well . After preparing the branch for grafting by taking off all the foliage and drilling the hole, The hole was very small by the way, i scored the cambium with a dentists pick (a very handy tool) and inserted the thread. i then held it in place with a tooth pick and sealed it with some wound sealant. The graft has been in place about three months.

Your tree has inspired me;

Happy to hear that and make lots of noise to scare those tigers and browns off. I live on a property and run into them regularly.

[Hornet]

Happy to hear that and make lots of noise to scare those tigers and browns off. I live on a property and run into them regularly.

You guys have all the luck

[Dario]

Hey bodhi, how is this old cas doing? Did the graft take? Is it still growing slowly? How are the carved areas holding up?
Cheers, Dario.

[bodhidharma]

Hi Dario it is doing well. I am letting it do its thing, growing on and watching. This summer i will get stuck into it but they respond slowly in our colder climate. The thread graft seems to be doing well but i will leave it for a while longer yet before severing it from the parent branch. Healing wounds, well, you could watch paint dry and that would be more entertaining. in one word, SLOW. The branching is becoming substantial and will require secondary and tertiary selection soon.

[Josh]

WOW That is looking great. So the grafts took ok then. Any advise on anything you would do or wouldn't do with these trees. The are great looking trees and bark up well. You said earlier they don't heal real well. How is the scare. going. Did you seal the wound or leave it bear. Is there any sign of rot in the cut. Hope you don't mind the questions. Got my eye on a couple of trees but don't want to dig till I have a better understanding. There is one damaged by a recent fire so waiting for it to rehsoot if it does and it will have some nice natural scaring/shari.

Josh

[Dario]

Thanks a lot for the update bodhi
Impressive cas,good to see it is doing well on all counts!
Cheers, Dario.

[bodhidharma]

Any advise on anything you would do or wouldn't do with these trees.

Good time to collect now but try not to damage the bark. It takes ages to come back. No rot in the tree but scarring is very slow to heal. Try and not damage it when you dig.

Thanks a lot for the update bodhi

Glad i could help Dario.

[cre8ivbonsai]

Hey Bodhi,

I have been browsing thru the Casuarina posts & came across this one of yours...

Any chance of an update? Would love to know which way you went.

Matt

me too Bodhi, is it still in development? any pics?

viewtopic.php?f=62&t=3978 found it, I gather this tree is one and the same? still kick'n on then? no major work over summer?

[bodhidharma]

Hi ya Ryan I pruned it hard over summer and cut off the exposed roots but that is about it. I missed my window to repot so i will just keep on feeding and pruning until next Summer. When i catch up with all the chores i will post up a picture for you.

[dansai]

Hi Bodhi.

Awesome tree!!

I am playing with one myself as I've posted here, and it was suggested I could thread graft to get some branches lower down. So I was wondering how yours is going and whether it is surviving on its own yet.

[Neli]

Bodhi, have you got an idea if you trunk chop a casuarina, with no branches bellow the trunk chop what will happen? Can it die? Will it back bud?
I was told casuarina is sensitive to root reduction. How much can one reduce, and what is the best time to do that? My climate is like Darwin.
I have seen one casuarina by Bobi or Budi??? that has the inner part of the tree totally rotten...only cambium left...so I am scared of exposed wood.
Thank You for the fantastic thread.

[bodhidharma]

So I was wondering how yours is going and whether it is surviving on its own yet.

I am not confident that it has taken yet Dansai and i will keep an eye on it till next Summer.

Bodhi, have you got an idea if you trunk chop a casuarina, with no branches bellow the trunk chop what will happen? Can it die? Will it back bud?
I was told casuarina is sensitive to root reduction. How much can one reduce, and what is the best time to do that? My climate is like Darwin.

Hi Neli, it should backbud and have experienced that with smaller specimens. I have root pruned mine three times in Spring without it missing a beat. I dont know about your climate for root pruning Sorry

[Webos]

G'day bodhidharma, this is the info I've been looking for. I'm about to dig one. How much root did you get when you dug it out? What was your aftercare method? What kind of soil/feeding do you recommend?

Thanks

Adam

[bodhidharma]

G'day bodhidharma, this is the info I've been looking for. I'm about to dig one. How much root did you get when you dug it out? What was your aftercare method? What kind of soil/feeding do you recommend?

Hi Adam, hows things in Geelong? I dug this in early Spring as i did not know a lot about Natives. (still dont know a lot) I did prep it in Autumn though and spaded around it and then backfilled in readiness. Straight into my potting mixture after flat bottoming and shortening the rootball by about a third. I didnt bare root it until the next repot. I water a lot and also feed it growbetter organic fertiliser heavily.

[Webos]

Thanks a lot mate. Geelongs great! Knowing what you know now, when would you dig it? The one I've been offered is a beauty. I've dug one once before and it didn't last long. That's why I want to be a little more informed before I jump into this one.

Thanks

Adam