AusBonsai

Thanks for the replies guys. I am an impatient little so and so, according to my mum, and my wife, and my daughter and my sister...

Andrew F wrote:X2. If you are like me and in the habit of checking everyday, they wont budge. The moment you take your eyes and thoughts off them, they shoot.

What's that old wives tale, something about a watched pot or something.

And listen to your Mum mate, she knows.

It is with great sadness that I have to say this tree never fired a shot, . It now resides in the bin. Pulled it up yesterday and there was no visible signs of roots, so into the big green coffin it went

I would appreciate some advice regarding what I may/may not have done right/wrong.
My second one is also not looking good. Dug in October, it has one tiny shoot near the soil line.

Raymond wrote:I would appreciate some advice regarding what I may/may not have done right/wrong.
My second one is also not looking good. Dug in October, it has one tiny shoot near the soil line.

Raymond wrote:It is with great sadness that I have to say this tree never fired a shot, . It now resides in the bin. Pulled it up yesterday and there was no visible signs of roots, so into the big green coffin it went

I had a corky bark oak that sat for 9 months without a shoot. The branches died back (crispy so they were dead). I had given up on it when suddenly it popped buds right along its entire trunk. Couldn't believe it. 9 months it sat for with nothing st all. It now has shoots going crazy all over it.
Was the trunk still green under the bark??

Josh.

Josh wrote:

Raymond wrote:I would appreciate some advice regarding what I may/may not have done right/wrong.
My second one is also not looking good. Dug in October, it has one tiny shoot near the soil line.

Raymond wrote:It is with great sadness that I have to say this tree never fired a shot, . It now resides in the bin. Pulled it up yesterday and there was no visible signs of roots, so into the big green coffin it went

I had a corky bark oak that sat for 9 months without a shoot. The branches died back (crispy so they were dead). I had given up on it when suddenly it popped buds right along its entire trunk. Couldn't believe it. 9 months it sat for with nothing st all. It now has shoots going crazy all over it.
Was the trunk still green under the bark??

Josh.

No, used my branch cutters to make an cut and found nothing but hard wood.

Hi Raymond.
Just browsed through this thread.
If I may say so I was shocked at how much of the original root system you cut away from the 1st pic compared to the 5th one.
I never ever bare root yamadori I collect let alone take all and every root away as you did. Bad enough that a big tree after such a shock removal has to get over, I'm afraid they need a bit better odds in your favour than what you gave it. Hope your second one makes it.
Always keep as many fine roots as you can so long as it fits the recovery box. They should start shooting back from bare wood in 2 months.
Have included 2 pics of one I collected in mid 2009 compared with this weeks pic prior to carving the front. Looks like it was a similar size to yours. As the saying goes. 'A watched pot never boils'.

Alan Peck wrote:Hi Raymond.
Just browsed through this thread.
If I may say so I was shocked at how much of the original root system you cut away from the 1st pic compared to the 5th one.
I never ever bare root yamadori I collect let alone take all and every root away as you did. Bad enough that a big tree after such a shock removal has to get over, I'm afraid they need a bit better odds in your favour than what you gave it. Hope your second one makes it.
Always keep as many fine roots as you can so long as it fits the recovery box. They should start shooting back from bare wood in 2 months.
Have included 2 pics of one I collected in mid 2009 compared with this weeks pic prior to carving the front. Looks like it was a similar size to yours.

Ian pics 174.jpg

P1010694.JPG

As the saying goes. 'A watched pot never boils'.

Thanks for the reply Alan. I was told to cut flat by others who have used this method. Large photos mate, your tree is definitely bigger than mine was. The second tree I collected was flat bottomed also.

Alan, click here:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9058

I have tried numerous Olives and flat cutting or keeping roots makes no difference. I have only ever had suces by layering them

Call me failure with olives!

Ken

Raymond wrote:Alan, click here:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9058

Hi Raymond,

That's my trees in the link, so ley me shed a little light on it. First, what did you pot them into? I use plain large particle river sand or a gravel and pine bark mix when doing this. you can let your tree's base sty too wet - it's a cutting so it's best to think of it in terms of humidity, not water. You need to keep it humid as it must not get rot.

Another thing is timing. Here where I am Olives have two growing periods. I'm of the belief that you need to dig them about 2 to 3 weeks before the longer of these for best results. The tree you dug in October is already in prime growing season and it may actually slow down just as it wants to recover (if you know what I mean) It's like getting your sun tan lotion ready for winter. Just as it wants to grow your natural cycle stop you. I'm wondering whether you are digging a bit late.

All that said, I've had mixed success with this method. Probably 70% success, and I find it is better on bigger trees as they have more stored energy. I think on smaller trees we need to have more root to have a high success rate.

Finally, try adding a little bit of fungicide in weak solution to keep rot away, and perhaps some rooting hormone as well. I paint fairly strong rooting hormone onto mine when the cut is fresh. Another thing you can try is to get a big bucket/bath and fill it with water to half way. Throw in some English Willow cuttings, mine are about 3cms across. This leaches salicylic acid (a root growth promoter) into the water. The willow will root and grow very happily in there. I'll do a more photographic post on my stuff during the week, so watch that link.

Cheers,

Andrew

g'day Raymond, sorry to hear about the loss of your tree! I've seen so many good results from this method and can't understand what happened. Maybe the comments on timing is something to be considered closely. Im now thinking about my recent dig (Another olive near a Highway!) and considering I could have done the dig earlier before all the new growth around at the time rather then in the middle of it. I suppose its all a learning curve, bloody frustrating wait though. You'll just have to grab another one early spring. Wouldn't mind heading your way for a look around then too!

Hi there,

I love how people create refined bonsai in no time at all. This olive looks like it likes you and you can enjoy the fruit.

Cheers,

Brad Jackson.

Raymond wrote:Alan, click here:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9058

Ray,

I think it is important for me to point out that any roots you can keep are gold. As Alan rightly points out! Once you get to the old olives they often have a huge root bole or bulb, with nothing but wrist thick roots . . maybe five or six of them. These you obviously can't keep, so treating the tree like a massive cutting is all one can do. But then, remember to treat it like a cutting, and not like a bonsai! In future if you dig, keep any roots you can. You can always remove them later if needs be once the tree is growing again.

Cheers,

Andrew

Thanks for explaining Andrew, that answered a few of my questions that I'd been sitting on