Mulberry Advice

[Lane]

G'day,

I dug up this mulberry a little over a month ago, it wasted no time in pushing out new shoots from the visible nodes.

My question is, would it be a bit too early to trunk chop it to that bottom shoot to start the quest for more taper?

And can the top section be planted for another specimen if dipped in honey or something similar? I will try anyway cause these are pretty hardy species.



Many thanks.

Chris.



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[longd_au]

I would wait for the lower branch to get bigger before chopping. There is no hurry. I would do the chop next season.
As for the upper branch, you can air layer to create a second plant which may yield a better nebari.

[gerald randall]

I fully agree with the above advice.

[Lane]

I forgot about an air layer!

Gives me a chance to learn the technique on what I hope will be a an easy species for a first attempt.

Cheers.

[Sammy D]

Definitely an air layer candidate

[Phoenix238]

I'd go with air layer too, I had a lot of trouble getting cuttings to take, but once they do they're bullet proof. One of mine got chewed up by some stray cattle in winter and I thought it was lost, but it started shooting out at the end of spring, just after I'd decided it was a lost cause.

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[Jason]

I'd let it settle before jumping into the air layer, those shoots could just be stored energy being used, so would leave it for a bit longer before doing any work on it, just to make sure its rooted and growing strong

[Neli]

Why did you dig it out so early. I would hve fattened it in the ground more before digging it.
Here is one of mine I planted as 1cm cutting in the ground. I dug it out in Sept 2015 after 2.5 years in the ground.
it is a good idea if you leave the lower part of the trunk longer and you layer it after digging it to remove the huge roots it gets.

[Neli]

Now the trun is over 16 cm diameter.

[Lane]

I would have loved to leave it in the ground however we cleared some dense areas of the yard and it was going whether I wanted it to or not.

[Lane]

And I'm moving house next week.

[longd_au]

Even field grown stock benefits from being dug up every few years to correct the nebari.
It will slow growth but you will get a much nicer bonsai in the long run.

Dig field grown stocks up late winter, trunk chop all the thicker stocks and pruned all downward roots and replant in the field.
For those planted over a tile or rock, check the root spread and for those that has large roots, shorten them almost back to the trunk.

Repeat this several times before potting for training. I estimate this will be a 5- 10 yrs exercise.
You will be rewarded with excellent taper and very nice nebari stocks.

[Neli]

Good idea but the way things grow here I almost never use roots from the ground. I ground layer them all.