AusBonsai

hey guys I realized last night I have a few decent sized African olives at the place im renting. I need to keep some of them for privacy but there is one in particular I'd like to get some stumps from, I know that its possible to cut the roots off an olive and get it to throw out new roots, but can I cut it up into multiple sections and get them all too root, so if I had a straight trunk that's 90cm long can I cut it into three 30cm sections and expect each one too root?? or is it only the very bottom piece that roots?? If I can root each separate section I should be able to get at least 15 or more stumps ranging from about 8 inch in diameter to an inch

Paul you should have a good strike rate at this time of year.
Shave a small 45 degree chamfer around the base with a very sharp blade to expose more of the cambium and pot up in pure course river sand. Warm place and plenty of water.

Good luck

Justin Hervey wrote:Paul you should have a good strike rate at this time of year.
Shave a small 45 degree chamfer around the base with a very sharp blade to expose more of the cambium and pot up in pure course river sand. Warm place and plenty of water.

Good luck

+1

. . . . and you can add some rooting hormone to up your success rate. Be sure the seal the tops of each section with wood glue (that white alcolin stuff works well) to prevent moisture loss while new roots are being established. Theoretically you can water with willow water (water in which you've soaked the branches of willow tree), or water with water that has an asprin dissolved in it.

All that said, I'd have to question the desirability of trunk sections like this for good bonsai stock. Are they really interesting with taper and movement, or are you gonna end up with rooted 'pipes'?

Cheers

thanks guys I appreciate your help.

Andrew there are some interesting bits up higher but the main truck is pretty straight and boring. I might just take a couple of fat pipes so I can practice carving, and get the 2 or 3 interesting parts up higher to keep as future stock.

either way im planning on taking a drive out to Camden this weekend to see if I can find some decent Olives to dig up

this what can be done with a olive its shot from the base nothing up top yet but is still suporting a live section right to the top tho so after all i just need one shoot

viewtopic.php?f=104&t=11460

You can just stick them in a bucket of water then plant them in a month and still get them to grow. Its the way I've done it before.