AusBonsai

I’m just beginning with my first swampy. I don’t think it will need re-potting this year (it was done last season) but it does have branch issues.

I want to shorten back a stiff branch that I’m pretty sure would break if I tried to reposition it; it is far too long with too little taper so I thought I’d chop it and start rebuilding.

Rather than waste the branch I was wondering if I could air layer the top off? If so, when would be the right time? Would it be better to take it as a cutting? As I’m a swampy novice any advice is welcome,

Jan

Hi Jan , everything i take off my Swampy i use as a cutting ,it works well . I just dip it in Hormone powder and pot in into sharp sand .This is then placed into a wet sand bed and left to its own device .Without any aftercare i usually get a strike rate of 9out of 10 .I have taken the tops out of trainers 20mm thick and get a good result . I get the same result from the Dawn Redwoods .If an air layer i tackled brace the upper part of the tree , i had one snap off in the wind .It then became a cutting and worked out well .Cheers Alpine

Cuttings it is, Alpine. This branch (maybe cut in two?) and any other prunings will go into one of my “no fuss propagators”.

Glad that you mentioned Dawn Redwoods as cuttings. I’ll have to have a serious look at the Swampy and Dawn Redwood I’ve planted in the front paddock (on and near a spring, now taller than me) for potential material.

Thanks,

Jan

hi mate,

Alpines advice is right, swampy are easy to propagate and they grow very quickly. you will find when you remove the branch/es you will get a plethora of new buds open and quickly regrow.

jamie.

On the other hand,if you really want to bend a heavy branch and not start with a new shoot you can bend and almost never break a swampy branch!

You can easilly dislocate the branch and almost tear it half way through where the branch leaves the trunk to get it into an extreme angle! It will open up and then it will fill up with callous during the growing season and lock it into place by the end of the season.

grant.

Thanks for the info, Grant.

I didn't realise they healed so well; can this "filling with callous" be used to cut and spread the base of a rooted cutting to quickly create taper in the base? Now I really will have to check the paddock trees for cutting material. Do Dawn Redwood callous quickly too?

While some prunings will certainly go in as cuttings I will have to have a look at that and see what styling options repositioning opens up for all or part of that long straight branch. If I break it I can always revert to the cutting option.

Jan

Jan wrote:Thanks for the info, Grant.

I didn't realise they healed so well; can this "filling with callous" be used to cut and spread the base of a rooted cutting to quickly create taper in the base? Now I really will have to check the paddock trees for cutting material. Do Dawn Redwood callous quickly too?

While some prunings will certainly go in as cuttings I will have to have a look at that and see what styling options repositioning opens up for all or part of that long straight branch. If I break it I can always revert to the cutting option.

Jan

Search the other treads for advice on spreading the base. There is ;ots already written

Dawn Redwood behave very similarly yo Taxodium. Yhey do however have what is called deciduous branches where some thinner branchlets/pieces can fall off in autumn as they didn't get big enough; not a problem but just be aware.

You can strike some large cuttings as well.

Grant