Digging a big Portulacaria afra on Monday

[Josh]

Found a property having their garden redone and wanted plants removed so volunteered my services. Not much there really but they did have a Portulacaria afra (believe that's what it is) I know them as money trees. It's about 3-4 foot tall and about a foot alor so across the base. I'll be digging it on Monday. Never grown one before (mum had one when i was a kid) any advice welcome.
What are there roots like?
Do you need a big rootball when collecting?
How hard can it be pruned at collecting? Gotta cut it back to get in the car.
How well do they heal over on big scars?
Any special aftercare?

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Any help/advice welcome.

Josh.

[matty-j]

Hey Josh

I have one in my collection, its a cascade and are surprisingly fun to work on.
I did have a few good long chats about them at the school of bonsai, you should treat it like a tropical plant, major work should be done in the warmer months.

large cuts do heal over very well and VERY FAST! when you make a cut, look at the branch or trunk and find a node, cut in-between the 2 nodes slightly on the high side. The tree will seal off at the lower node, the part you left above the node will dry out and fall off and the tree will have nearly already sealed by this stage, in the warmer months when the tree is powering away this process can only take a few weeks depending on the size of the cut.

The roots on this type of tree take a very long time to thicken and a very long time to look mature, so when it is time to select a nebari and roots to keep be selective and think about what your removing

As for the root ball my advice would be bigger the better, being this time of year, (This is a cautious approach, success rate will be much higher i have no doubt someone with more experience would hack this out no problems at this time of year) I wouldn't fully bare root now i would only remove the outer sides of the garden soil so you can get something more free draining in and pot up so drainage is OK then in summer i would defoliate, repot bare root and hack the roots up and you will be good to go!

they respond well to defoliating, the leaves need to be cut, plucking can cause damage it your not careful. you can also wire these in the conventional way branches take a little longer to set but are very flexible! when doing large bends near a node it can split at the joint so watch for this when making bends.

I don't think they need Special aftercare, keep them damp but not too wet they do store a lot of water in there trunks and can last a long time between waterings
Treat them like any other bonsai and you will be fine!

Post up your progress I would love to see it, Happy digging!

Cheers
Matt

[lackhand]

I've only had mine for not quite a year, but the people at the club here say they're pretty bulletproof and you can take a cutting of nearly any size and root it. Because of that, I would think you could get away with being pretty hard on the roots, but I haven't had mine long enough to do much with. I've actually considered just hacking one off at the base and trying to root it (parks service wouldn't miss it, right? ) but my parents raised me better than that.

Let us know how you go, I put mine in the ground to get nice and fat, so I'll need the advice when it's my turn to dig.

[kcpoole]

Like matty says, Slow to put on girth so try not cut too much and lose what might be beneficial later.
They grow easily and thus you should have not trouble with recovery no matter how much root you get, but like always the more the merrier:-).

anything you cut off, put in as cutting

[Neli]

Good luck digging it...Nice find!
It is winter now...so listen to Matty. It is like baobab...dont water it much in winter or it will rot.
If you want to wire branches dont water it for few days and the branches become easier to bend.
Surprisingly enough being a succulent it likes water in summer like any other bonsai.
There is thread on Bnut, today about creating a nebari on them.

[Josh]

Hey Josh

I have one in my collection, its a cascade and are surprisingly fun to work on.
I did have a few good long chats about them at the school of bonsai, you should treat it like a tropical plant, major work should be done in the warmer months.

large cuts do heal over very well and VERY FAST! when you make a cut, look at the branch or trunk and find a node, cut in-between the 2 nodes slightly on the high side. The tree will seal off at the lower node, the part you left above the node will dry out and fall off and the tree will have nearly already sealed by this stage, in the warmer months when the tree is powering away this process can only take a few weeks depending on the size of the cut.

The roots on this type of tree take a very long time to thicken and a very long time to look mature, so when it is time to select a nebari and roots to keep be selective and think about what your removing

As for the root ball my advice would be bigger the better, being this time of year, (This is a cautious approach, success rate will be much higher i have no doubt someone with more experience would hack this out no problems at this time of year) I wouldn't fully bare root now i would only remove the outer sides of the garden soil so you can get something more free draining in and pot up so drainage is OK then in summer i would defoliate, repot bare root and hack the roots up and you will be good to go!

they respond well to defoliating, the leaves need to be cut, plucking can cause damage it your not careful. you can also wire these in the conventional way branches take a little longer to set but are very flexible! when doing large bends near a node it can split at the joint so watch for this when making bends.

I don't think they need Special aftercare, keep them damp but not too wet they do store a lot of water in there trunks and can last a long time between waterings
Treat them like any other bonsai and you will be fine!

Post up your progress I would love to see it, Happy digging!

Cheers
Matt

Thanks Matt.
Appreciate the info and time taken. Some good info there. Will post when dug.

I've only had mine for not quite a year, but the people at the club here say they're pretty bulletproof and you can take a cutting of nearly any size and root it. Because of that, I would think you could get away with being pretty hard on the roots, but I haven't had mine long enough to do much with. I've actually considered just hacking one off at the base and trying to root it (parks service wouldn't miss it, right? ) but my parents raised me better than that.

Let us know how you go, I put mine in the ground to get nice and fat, so I'll need the advice when it's my turn to dig.

Have you posted pics on here of your lackland?

Like matty says, Slow to put on girth so try not cut too much and lose what might be beneficial later.
They grow easily and thus you should have not trouble with recovery no matter how much root you get, but like always the more the merrier:-).

anything you cut off, put in as cutting

Thanks Ken for the heads up on slow root growth. Will be careful to keep as many roots as I can.

Good luck digging it...Nice find!
It is winter now...so listen to Matty. It is like baobab...dont water it much in winter or it will rot.
If you want to wire branches dont water it for few days and the branches become easier to bend.
Surprisingly enough being a succulent it likes water in summer like any other bonsai.
There is thread on Bnut, today about creating a nebari on them.

Thanks Neli, thanks for the heads up on wiring.

Looking forward to digging on Monday. Will post pics of the results.

Again thanks for the info.
Josh

[lackhand]

Have you posted pics on here of your lackland?

No, I picked it up as a finger sized cutting about 8 months back - not much to show really. It was doing well in a pot, but I wanted it to be much bigger (like the one you're digging) so I put it in the ground. I'm also aiming to get some good cuttings off it as it grows, so hopefully several trees from one.

[Mount Nasura]

It sounds like all points are covered here,I can attest to their rooting properties... I have cut large branches off and put them straight in the ground or potted them up and they never failed. Even the leaves that fall off during handling start dropping roots and I found an off cut in the garden just lying there months later growing! Looks like a biggon you've got there!

[mugen]

Lovely stock!
I'm my experience they are bullet proof. Use a free draining mix put them in a hot house over winter if you have one. If not don't worry it will still survive just won't get the growth. These trees are a absolute pleasure to style. When wiring let them dry out completely until the branches get all flexible once bent to shape water and the branches will stiffen.

https://www.plantzafrica.com/plantnop/portulacarafra.htm
Some good info to get you started above .

viewtopic.php?f=133&t=16831
Some shots of my trees in thread above.
Regards Jac

[Josh]

Lovely stock!
I'm my experience they are bullet proof. Use a free draining mix put them in a hot house over winter if you have one. If not don't worry it will still survive just won't get the growth. These trees are a absolute pleasure to style. When wiring let them dry out completely until the branches get all flexible once bent to shape water and the branches will stiffen.

https://www.plantzafrica.com/plantnop/portulacarafra.htm
Some good info to get you started above .

viewtopic.php?f=133&t=16831
Some shots of my trees in thread above.
Regards Jac

Thanks Jac,
Seeing your tree was what made me think I should dig this tree but it will need a lot of work so might be picking your brains from time to time. Thanks for the info. I will try to post pics later today as I've been a bit snowed under potting collected trees (work keeps getting in the way). It was against a fence so fairly limited for branching on one side. Again thanks for the inspiration.

Josh

[GavinG]

You might find that the side that's got few branches might be a good front, as there's not a lot between the tree and the viewer. Just a thought. Looks to be a good score. They're certainly tough as. I'll be interested to see how much you take off - there's a lot of foliage to deal with.

Gavin

[Josh]

So I got it dug but been flat out. It is currently sitting at home waiting for me to find the time to pot it, after I work out what to do with it. This thing is heavy.

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If I chop it hard, will it throw new branches on the old trunk/wood.
Any suggestions welcome.

Josh

[kcpoole]

Yes it will readily backbud on old wood.

Did you put the cuttings in to root?
If you take off the next section be sure to keep it too

Ken

[Josh]

Yes it will readily backbud on old wood.

Did you put the cuttings in to root?
If you take off the next section be sure to keep it too

Ken

Everything is laying in my backyard. Had one of those weeks Ken. I head off tomorrow and back Monday. Next week is my last week at work so trying to wrap everything up. Will get them planted some time and plan on keeping everything for now.

Josh.

[Jason]

Yes it will readily backbud on old wood.

Did you put the cuttings in to root?
If you take off the next section be sure to keep it too

Ken

Everything is laying in my backyard. Had one of those weeks Ken. I head off tomorrow and back Monday. Next week is my last week at work so trying to wrap everything up. Will get them planted some time and plan on keeping everything for now.

Josh.

I dropped a cutting on the driveway of my Dad's place (after I raided his Portrulaca), and it is still growing today also have a couple in my yard that have taken off where I have dropped them while working Worst comes to worst mate, just stick them in the ground anywhere and they'll probably grow

Look forward to seeing this one, have a couple of these that I could probably get permission to dig, but its lack of space that stopping me from doing it at the moment