L polygalifolium tubestock questions

[Harshadg]

Hi all,

I got tubestock (5 plants) from my native plant nursery with the idea assembling a forest planting with the crazy twisty trunks as one might find in a windy coastal location.

My plan is to wire these up and put them in a grow box. Because this is tubestock the roots all point down and ideally I’d like to spread them out sooner rather than later to avoid issues later. I have questions re timing of the work.

Is now a good time or am I ahead to wait until autumn (?) to do this?

Are there downsides to growing it out as a forest or is it advisable to grow them individually and then assemble the forest?

Cheers and thanks!

[shibui]

I have not worked with L. poly but have plenty of experience with other Lepto sp.
Root prune now is fine, especially with very young seedlings. They do not need shade after but probably won't be really happy in blazing 42C sun for a couple of weeks. In fact it is likely they have been raised under some shade anyway?
For root pruning tubes I have just chopped off the lower 1/3 or 1/2 then opened the roots out to a flatter arrangement without further pruning before potting up.
Trees in their own pots will usually grow faster and better.
Trees grown together will slowly adapt to the forest shape - inner branches get weak, leaders tend to grow out and away, etc but those things can be managed with pruning if trees are grown apart.
The individual trees will change as they grow. One may grow faster and if you have not put that one at the focus a pre-formed group may need to be rearranged at some stage.
Personally I think I would grow them in individual pots for a year or 2 to set the shape and get some trunk thickness then decide on the group arrangement based on how the trees have developed by that stage.

[Harshadg]

Thanks for the advice. Wired and potted. Finger crossed.

Cheers, H