AusBonsai

Hi all,
My first posting.....

Has anyone ever or has seen the flowering dogwood as a bonsai?
I pick up a three saplings(seedlings) today at the ABC Gardening Show in Sydney.
Thinking about planting the three in one pot or doing a 'Holy Ron' with them.
Any thoughts...

Ripley

See http://www.bonsai4me.com/SpeciesGuide/Cornus.html

Hi Ripley , i collected a few self sown seedlings 2 years ago and they are progressing very slowly .Nice foliage colours but they must be trimmed to stop the leggy growth .I am considering placing them into a grow bed for a year or two to get some thickness into them .Google Bonsai Dogwood and you will get a few results .Cheers Alpineart

Cheers Alpineart,

I really had no idea what to do with them, so I just placed the three trees in an 8 inch pot, and then them them grow for a season or two & repot them in late winter next year.
One thing that surprised me, was when i potted them up, the trees looked so healthy, so I assumed that the trees would be fine. I looked at them yesterday and the top couple of centimeters or so have whithered up. Water has been kept up to them & also Sealsol'd when they were planted. Maybe they will turn around.
It's all abit baffling.

Cheers
Ripley

Ripley,
did you put them in a shady spot after you replanted them.
Sydney has been warmer than usual there lately.And maybe
the saplings were kept indoors for a few days or under shelter before you
received them. Just a thought!

Hi Ripley , i just repotted mine and in 1 season they were pot bound in 150mm pots .I have root pruned them reducing the root mass by 75% to slow the leggy growth down a bit .As Petra said even mine are kept under dappled shade as they do get die back when burnt even at 20-25 degrees they can whither .I think 3 in a pot is going to slow any growth down as the will entangle each others root space and the soft white roots they have damage and fall off in clump if treated rough .I lifted 1 loosened plant out of the pot by the trunk and all the root ball was left behind , very very soft in the roots .With age i hope this issue disappears as i'm not the gentle type when it comes to re-potting .Cheers Alpineart

I lifted a pretty mature dogwood this autumn and it had pretty healthy roots. They didn't seem to come away as easily as you described at least alpineart, so yes, maybe with aging they toughen up? Hoping so anyway, I plan to airlayer this one soon

Hello All,

I checked my three dogwoods today & they seem to be past the whithering stage. There seems to be healthy bud burst. I have taken the advice offered & placed the trees under a sheltered dappled light. I have also decided that I will keep the three trees in the one pot, till at least late summer. I am rather delicate when I re-pot my trees so I think I will take the punt and trust my cautious way of repotting trees.

I thankyou all for your advice & feedback.

Cheers
Ripley