Collected Chinese Celtis

[Stewart_Toowoomba]

i like the angle you have planted the last V cut (last pic), that'll be the good one

fully agree to that Craig!

[BonsaiElmo]

These really are tough as nails.
I dug this up in April and had given up on it not long afterwards, I thought it might have gotten poisoned when it was chopped.
It has been raining here a fair bit lately and it has finally come away.

2011-09-09 Celtis (25).jpg

[BonsaiElmo]

Had a request for a photo update for growth with the warm weather and all. We did have a couple of hot weeks but then lately a turn for cooler weather again so has not been huge growth these last weeks.

Anyrate here are some pics

intended for broom style, very long way off

2011-10-03 Celtis (3).jpg

large slanted trunk I took the v section out of. It is shooting from everywhere except the 2 places I want it to. All the shoots are coming off the sides and none from the tops of, or anywhere near, the V.

2011-10-03 Celtis (6).jpg

mini slanted trunk

2011-10-03 Celtis (4).jpg

twin trunk, one trunk is shooting well, the other seems slow off the mark, maybe recovering from chop back.

2011-10-03 Celtis (10).jpg

odd right angle trunk

2011-10-03 Celtis (9).jpg

Quick question for anyone with celtis knowledge - Can I get away with a repot on these? I only ask as a lot of these are in straight Searles potting mix, it was all I had at the time, they do not drain well and I think they would do far better in some diatomite. I know they will survive, being the zombie undead of the plant world, but question is, is it worth the potential growth slow down this close to summer to repot?

Cheers
Ben

[BonsaiElmo]

Thought I'd post a quick update on a couple of these. I have been a bit neglectful let the grow without any care for too long, but finding time is always the issue.

Discarded quite a few celtis along the way, either to make room or they just refused to throw any growth where I wanted. Think I have 3 of the original lot I collected.

One of the original lot - need to hack back and start on some ramification - maybe in summer.

2013-05-23 celtis (30).jpg

Carved this out as it never properly healed over - not sure about it...

2013-05-23 celtis (32).jpg

Another from my first celtis collecting frenzy

2013-05-23 celtis (29).jpg

Another of the originals - was a lot smaller - and had three trunks.

24-05-2013 - celtis (1).jpg

Not sure if this is as old, think it may have been a later collection.

2013-05-23 celtis (8).jpg

Found this growing out from under a hedge like mass of celtis, loved the trunk, thinking a wind swept tree.

2013-05-23 celtis (14).jpg

2013-05-23 celtis (21).jpg

2013-05-23 celtis (18).jpg

Any rate they are the better photos I took the other day.

Cheers
Elmo

[Bougy Fan]

Hi BE have you had any trouble with the tops rotting if you don't seal them ? I have had to carve back some small trunks I collected due to water getting in between the bark and heartwood. I have found using an acrylic sealer works better than the cut paste and gets it to callous. Just wondering if anyone else has similar problems ?

[BonsaiElmo]

I used Kiyonal sealant on the first batch, and never had a great deal of success - Not sure it was the right thing for the job. It never really set with the humidity and wet weather here. Unless I got a really hot couple of dry days when i first applied it, it always was tacky, if not goopy.

I had some issues with rot in the bark and wood, though I never properly cut back and cleaned up the areas when I first made the chops. So was never sure if it was the paste or my sloppy prep.

Two of the more recent collects I have used the putty sealants - on small wounds I have had not had issues with the putty, but it does tend to crack pretty quickly - and I guess liquid could sit in those cracks and cause issues.

I have not tried PVA, though I have a tube of industrial strength stuff sitting around, so might give it a try.

Cheers
Elmo

[Paulneill]

Is it possible to take large hard wood cuttings on celtis late winter . I remember someone posting 2/3 inch stump looking very healthy and said It was a six month old cutting .

[BonsaiElmo]

I have never taken cuttings with celtis, they spring up all over the place here, noxious weed. But I have bare rooted a lot of them without any loses yet.

They are tough as nails. I have had prunings about an inch thick, left lying in an area which stays wet , throw out new shoots and keep growing vigorously for a month or two before I finally threw them in the bin (don't recall if there were many roots).

There might be issues with rot - as mentioned above, I've had some issues trying to prevent rot where I have cut away roots, and getting water inside the bark.

Though there are so many stumps with nice roots that I wonder why you would use a cutting, unless it was a particularly gnarly branch or stump?

Cheers
Elmo