Can a branch be turned into a root ?

[Paulneill]

Hi

I have a chinese elm that has some very low branches i was wondering if it is possible to bury them in the soil leaving the foliage sticking out and when it has thickened enough and developed roots remove foliage .

I don't think it would work myself im just asking in-case someone has tried it .

[Philippe Tot]

Yes without question. Its one of the many diff methods which can be used to create roots.

When you feel it is ready you can either leave it or remove as a seperate tree.

To get better results sooner but in saying this elms grow so fast you dont really need to bother..
You can open the cambian layer in the branch down portion, Just a small portion. And use a stimulant on the newly open wound. Hormone or even some willow water, or campher water. etc...

Have fun in the process.

Philippe Tot

[Joel]

Paul, do you mean to keep attached to the tree permanently without any foliage on it at all? If so then no. It may root initially, but without foliage it will die.

What Mr Tot is describing is "layering". This definitely works.

Joel

[Paulneill]

Thanks guys.

I don't mean layering
I mean using a branch to help build a nabari by getting it to grow roots instead of foliage.

[Bretts]

Paul, do you mean to keep attached to the tree permanently without any foliage on it at all? If so then no. It may root initially, but without foliage it will die.

What Mr Tot is describing is "layering". This definitely works.

Joel

Are you sure about this Joel it sure sounds feasible to me?

[Handy Mick]

Ok what you need to do then is get some starting stock or cuttings going and approach graft these to the side where you need the extra roots to better the nebrai.

Mick

Do a search for approach graft, roots.

[siddhar]

Yes without question. Its one of the many diff methods which can be used to create roots.

When you feel it is ready you can either leave it or remove as a seperate tree.

To get better results sooner but in saying this elms grow so fast you dont really need to bother..
You can open the cambian layer in the branch down portion, Just a small portion. And use a stimulant on the newly open wound. Hormone or even some willow water, or campher water. etc...

Have fun in the process.

Philippe Tot

This has happened to a handful of Satsuki azalea's I have growing in the garden, without any intervention(i.e hormones etc) just a natural phenomenon. Very feasible with Elms I would assume?

[Joel]

Brett, the xylem can only transport nutrients in ONE direction. In layering, the roots that form supply water and nutrients to the foliage on the other side of the layer. If this was done as suggested by Paulneil, the roots that would initially form would not benefit the tree due to the inability to transport the water/nutrients in the opposite direction back towards the tree. Suckers may form as a way of keeping that alive. If they were left, you would have a ground layer. If they were cut off, that branch that was bent under the tree would be terminated by the tree as it is no longer necessary.

Joel

[nealweb]

Damn is that true!?! I pegged some basal shoots down a year and a half ago and was hoping to chop the tops off and have some new nebari next repot. I was told it would work. Bugger

[Bretts]

Did a little bit of a google search Joel and I think I understand there is something about wax in the cells that help with the upward motion of water and nutrients. I guess this is something like a one way valve type arrangement to help work against gravity.
Yet I am not convinced that as the roots grew it would not find a new path for the water and nutrients back to the main tree. I still don't think it is inconceivable for a mature rooted branch to continue surviving even if the foliage was eventually removed.
Of Course I am not schooled enough in this to know for sure. Is there anything you could show me to back up what you have been taught that would directly relate what what is being proposed?

[nealweb]

Guess I have to seperate the layered shoots and reuse them as thread grafts to get new roots then...

[Joel]

Reasonable request Brett.

The xylem transports in one direction only because a) that is all that is required (unlike phloem) and b) that is the only way it is capable of transporting. This is because the way water is transported through a plant. A plant does not ACTIVELY transport water through the xylem. This means the plant isn't physically moving water to achieve the transport of the water/ions. What is happening is mainly two things. One, the roots absorb water (they have high concentrations of ions and osmosis dictates that the water will flood in to dilute the solution) and this increases the pressure, forcing the water up through the passive transport system that is the xylem. Two, water gets pulled up the xylem by a siphoning like effect when evapotranspiration occurs. The section in the ground does not have anywhere for the water to go to.... no leaves to support. If water could travel both directions passively, a plant would never be able to overcome gravity and the leaves would not receive water.

The following list of sites came up on the first page of google. They all mention that the xylem is only capable of transporting in one direction:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_some ... and_phloem
http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cac ... aDVOEpZA7A
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=UCU ... on&f=false
http://www.ehow.com/info_8670059_differ ... xylem.html

Enjoy some light reading!
Joel

[Bretts]

Thanks Joel, they are great articles and show alot.
Not sure ya got what I meant though.
I get that Xylem is known to only go in one direction but what I was after was something that stated it could not change direction if the pull came from a new direction because of something like roots growing on a branch. It took me a while but I finally found an article that hints at what I am suggesting. (I tried to draw a diagram but that was a lost cause
http://www.jstor.org/pss/55647

xylem.JPG

In no way suggesting this proves anything but hopefully it will give an idea of what I am asking to be proved

[Zyggy R]

Very interesting reading and deserves more.
I found a 1 metre tall ficus standard made from 3 interwoven stems, it was near death so I cut the top off so no brances or leaf at all.
I laid it on its side half buried in soil and removed the exposed root mass. 6 months later I had 13 new trunks forming and a very good root system along the length of the "raft".
So the original question is answered, yes you can.
So from what is being said if I removed the roots form the original "bottom" for say half the length of the raft all of the trunks above this area would die as the roots still at the original top end would not be able to feed back down what was the trunk?
Sounds logical.

Zyggy.