air layering a mallee gum

[peterb]

Hi all
thought I would show a mallee gum I air layered earlier this year. I did the layer on Jan 23rd , the reason I decided to layer it was 1) it was free in my yard and was going to be dug up anyway as missus decided she didn't like it ( to straggly ) , 2) it had this big lingo tuber just under the ground and I thought that would make a nice flare at the bottom if I could layer it there and 3) I just wanted to see if I could successfully layer a gum . I would have done a ground layer but we were going away for 2 weeks just after I layered it and I wasn't sure if the neighbour would water it ok, so I air layered it . I separated it now because the branch I left after I cut it back was getting a lot of scale and seemed to be struggling so for better or worse I cut off all foliage and potted it up
regards
peterb

[peterb]

Hi all
apologies the photos go from bottom to top
peterb

[Boics]

Thanks for documenting this Peter.

Good to see you have had some success.
I've read up a little on layering gums and understood that it can be very difficult.
Great to have some results to prove it can be done!

[peterb]

Hi everyone
Alas I think my mallee gum has gone to the great mallee plain in the sky, it hasn't given even one shoot so far and when i scratched the bark at the top it is brown and dry. Further down it still seems like it's got some life, so I'm hoping maybe a sucker might grow. So the lessons I've learnt so far from this adventure is gums can be layered successfully , when you separate the layer the timing is critical , it would possibly seem that it to should have been done when the weather was warmer as for repotting natives, and that even though the foliage looked sickly it was still keeping the tree alive and maybe I should have tried to treat the problem rather than rush the separation. I think I should also have fed seasol a lot more. Well hopefully others can benefit from my mistakes
Peterb

[Ryceman3]

Hi peterb,
Thanks for updating - even if the news isn't the best, but where there's green there's hope! You could be right re: timing etc but you never know it might decide to fire up with the weather warming up. I just pulled some layers off a melaleuca and am a bit worried about my timing too (although I had no choice, the tree's owner had his chainsaw out - he wanted to prune!)
Fingers crossed for yours...

[shibui]

I've had a number of Eucs die back to the lignotuber after pruning or to the trunk when branches are pruned. Mostly they do sprout somewhere but on their terms not mine
Certainly don't give up on this one for a while yet. Dying back and sprouting from the lignotuber is how malle species have survived stressful periods for thousands of years.

[peterb]

Thanks Shibui, I'll just keep watering with the rest then. Should I keep it in the dappled shade or full sun Shibui , what would you do for care.
peterb

[shibui]

Personally I would have it in full sun and treat it like all the others.

[peterb]

Thanks Shibui, will do
peterb

[peterb]

Alas the news is not good , I scratched the bark today and it just came away and was all brown and rotten so pulled the tree out the ground and all the roots were rotten . However it is not all doom and gloom I've learnt a lot along the way of this adventure, and should i have the chance to do another layer on a gum or other native I can use experience gained here . I think something else I've learnt with this layer is to try remove as much of the spag moss as possible, as I think it holds to much moisture when planted in the ground. I think this is only relevant to species that don't like to be to wet such as i guess a mallee gum would be.
peterb