AusBonsai

I rescued this jacaranda this morning from a soon-to-be-gutted front yard. It's just under 2m tall and was growing about 2m from a slightly larger (3m?) tree. It had a thick tap root, about the same thickness as the trunk - so maybe a sucker rather than a seedling? I broke the tap root off when pulling it out of the ground and unfortunately not too many small roots came with it.

There's some decent movement at the base of the trunk, and some scarring further up where it looks like it's been hit with a whipper snipper more than one.

I've cut it back a bit and stuck it in a pot. Any advice on where / how hard to cut this back would be very much appreciated. Ken's jacaranda (viewtopic.php?f=129&t=5621) is an obvious source of inspiration.

Higher res photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/RQDJjUSWhVZA1wzv5

Would cutting it back like this be too much?

I've dug up and potted up Jacaranda from very dense heavy soils without loss....pretty sure I've cut all the foliage off too. Just keep it out of the heat til you see new shoots. By heat I mean up here in Brisbane we're copping strong dry winds and over 35° every day. It's a little chancy doing any repotting or severe root cutting at this time of year with these conditions. It might be much milder where you are.

melbrackstone wrote: ↑November 20th, 2019, 12:41 pm It might be much milder where you are.

Thanks Mel, currently it's 42 degrees, dry and windy so not so much on the mild! I've got it inside at the moment and there's a cool change coming tomorrow so hopefully it survives the transplant.

Good luck, we've been waiting for a cool change for two weeks now, maybe even longer! I don't remember it ever being this hot, dry and windy at this time of year before.

I would cut it back as hard as you've indicated with the red lines Greg. There are hardly any roots to take up moisture that is lost due to transpiration through the leaves if you leave a lot of greenery on the tree. If you then keep the water up to it hopefully it will produce more roots and then new foliage from dormant buds.
Cheers, Frank

Thanks mate, I did notice it was looking a little sad so I've given it a quick chop. I'll stop fiddling now and will leave it to recover.

Buds!

Those bus look promising, well done and good luck! Keen to see this tree in s year or two!

This guy seems to be loving life. I wish all my collected trees bounced back this quickly.

Any updates Greg? How's this little tree doing?

legoman_iac wrote: ↑December 2nd, 2020, 10:25 am Any updates Greg? How's this little tree doing?

This one's powering on well - grows quick and buds back like crazy when chopped. it's in R3's time capsule competition so I can't be any more specific than that until 2023!

Ahhh had to google what the R3 comp is, was lead back here to the forum, what a great initiative! Good luck!!!

Another rescued jacaranda. Bit of an ugly duckling - it looks like someone's gone over it a few times with a whipper snipper. I grabbed this a couple of weeks ago, and there are a few buds popping out here and there. It was collected at the same time of year as my other jacaranda, and probably has more roots, so I'm pretty sure it'll survive.

This one sat quietly for a little while but is now pushing out growth.



Yesterday I happened upon yet another jacaranda in need of rescuing - a bit bigger than the last one.



These things are seriously easy to transplant, and (at least here in Adelaide) seem to self-seed very easily. Keep an eye on any empty blocks along jacaranda-lined streets.