murry river red over rock sujestion

[Petra]

Hi, This is my first attempt. Lets call it a baby step.I bought this gum from the local forrests nursery. its a tuber stock,with very tight roots. I just want to know if i have did the right thing at tying the roots over the rock.I will be planting this in a larger pot for the first few seasons,rather than planting it out.This picture of the tree in question,standing at 68cm.

[Petra]

cal gum 3.jpg

cal gum 2.jpg

they are both from the centre. now the centre isnt so crowded made slipping the rock in easier. I tied first with cotton binding to hold then with the wire to finnish. i did leave the binding on as it will break down anyway. Was that ok to do? i didnt trim the tree but i did turn the branches downand lightly wrapped around the tree.Any advise is welcomed, please.

[bodhidharma]

Hi Petra,
Well you have gone this far now so you cant stop. My experience with gums is that if you bareroot them they usually die. I hope this is not the case with yours. When you put it back into soil make sure the soil is the same level as it was before on the trunk line. Hope it goes well for you.

[EdwardH]

Hi Petra,

Most eucalypts prefer to be root pruned in mid summer when they are having their dormant period. It is normally safe to bare root at this time so long as you keep them in the shade for a couple of weeks and keep them moist. The late winter early spring routine is primarily for trees originating from the northern hemispere though it also works well for many of our natives. The main point is that root pruning is done as the buds are about to open. Eucalyptus grow throughout winter in most areas, at least on the east coast and their dormant period is mid summer. Who knows, this euc may suprise us and grow very well.