AusBonsai

Hi guys

i layered this large branch from a purple leaf plum .

It was removed 2 weeks ago . i was concerned (still am) that it might not grow being removed with no foliage so late in the season .
the tree it was removed from looked healthy but not long after i applying the layer it dropped all its leaves (mid summer) but continued to produce a heap of roots on the layer site . it is now budding well and i know the roots are growing i saw a couple of large white roots near the surface of the pot after disturbing the surface soil.

if all goes well i am planning on removing thinner one of the 2 trunks and try to blend it in and get it to callous over

i am aware that there is a chance of die back if i remove one trunk. i don't want that and i remember reading there is a certain time of year thats best for hard pruning on plums. any comments or info on the subject would be great thanks.

Hi Paul,

The only thing I know about plums is that they are a deciduous broadleaf so you will be lucky if you get budding from the last store of energy in autumn before dormancy. If I was you I wouldn't prune your plant until spring. This will give it a rest and allow the new roots to settle in and enjoy autumn before winter. The only exception to this is if there is a danger of one of the new trunks rotting otherwise I would leave it alone for a few months.

Congratulations on the success of your layering.

Cheers,

Brad75.

Thanks brad yea I might even give this a full year to recover and get real healthy before I remove one trunk and shorten the other . I think maybe if a promote growth low down around and below were I intend to remove the trunk there will be less chance of die back on that side .

Hi Paul,

That's the spirit

Cheers

Brad75.

Last three years the purple leaf plums here have been affected by Fungus which causes them to mostly defoliate by mid Summer. The trees do not re-foliate for the season but seem to mostly stay in good health. My guess is this purple leaf is affected in the same way. Check under any leaves that are left on the tree for rust coloured spots.
Not much you can do for the layer but keep out of harsh conditions and pray that it leafs out next spring.A good dose or two of lime sulfur over Winter might help stop the issue next season.
The full size trees are not so easy to treat I have been hoping that the issue would sought itself out over the last couple of years.

That's very intresting betts . The tree Im talking about did flush out again but only at the tips of branches. And I do remember the leaves looks very scrappy but is was getting cooked with full sun all day it was also flowering randomly durning summer in parts. I think this layer is about to throw out growth now hope it does so it can get a little stronger.

Do u own one with this problem ? Also what have you tried to cure the problem . Any success ?

I have a nice one in the front yard that is affected but not as bad as others around the town that defoliated more and earlier. None as bad as the first year it hit though.
Well it was nice before the wife took some low branches off, one that I had been eyeing of for a layer for a couple of years I also have a very ugly ex-feature tree in the growing area that is meant to be for cuttings now but i haven't done any in the last few years. It is affected but not as bad as the one out the front.

I also have a small cutting from a few years back that was good most of the growing season but has now dropped many leaves.

It would be surprising to see a purple leaf plum get leaf burn when growing strong in the ground. I would think we get hotter dryer Summers than Sydney and I have never seen it.

I reckon it would be better if the air layer just slept for the Winter now. All the parent trees I have seen have had no problem going to sleep early and I reckon the air-layer would only be behind in energy by the time winter was here if it leafed out again now.

Thanks bretts.

That tree is identical to the one I layered.
Thanks for the advice I will keep u posted on how it goes .

Here is an update on this plum tree. It is now in Ireland and I have a bonsai legend looking after it for me. It did end up dieing back down one side of the trunk and it has rotted up through the base from the layer site . It is very light because of this. My legend mate just recently discovered the dieback and did some carving work chasing the dead wood back to live tissue.

Photos will follow.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the up-date. Please tell us the story of how a plum from Sydney gets to Ireland.

They are pretty tough Red Plums.
My layer had a a few hiccups initially as I cut it too early and had too much foliage for root % but I cut back hard 6months ago and apart from a bit of heat stroke with leaves drying out (I just defoliated all the dry leaves) it is going great guns...even had a single flower during mid summer.
Pot is now full of roots and even some larger ones are just below or even with the soil.

Regards Steve.