This is another one of my little projects. It was part of a hedge that was ordered and never planted.
It was too tall, had reverse taper and the nebari was pretty ugly. I decided this spring to do an experiment. I ringed the bark, put rooting hormone on the would, and buried the whole tree. Then put the top of a plastic cup around the top so the soil wouldn't erode too much. I let it grow until a few days ago, then I clipped a few branches to start shaping it. Like most of my trees,it has a long way to go, but I think it's coming along nicely.

nice start P. you are well on your way. the one thing i have noticed with srub species is that they like to shoot out long thick branches with large leaves and then sprout from the same spot a bud of smaller leaves. these smaller leaves are the ones you will want to nurture as your branches, at least more toward the top so all your branches are not the same thickness.you can leave the larger branches to feed the growing root system but they will most likely be sacraficed in the future.just a thought

Hi Pinkham,

It *is* coming along very nicely! If I may clarify so I can better understand your process...you buried the whole length of the origanal trunk?...in a much deeper pot I assume? And the prior ringing and application of rooting hormone, now beneath the soil's surface, is where the tree will grow a new set of roots...is that correct? How far below the two main branches did you ring the bark? How long will this have to sit until it's next repotting? Will you then remove the lower portion of the old trunk and roots during it's next repotting? I hope you don't mind all my questions.....I find this really fascinating and educational! Thanks for sharing.

Leslie

I must admit, like Leslie I am also confused as to your methods. It was too tall, so you hacked the top off. The surface roots were bad, so you air-layered... underground? Your radical methods confound me!

Hi Hannah,

How I understand Pinkham's process is she didn't cut anything off to begin with. If you look at the first photo you can see that the trunk is too long and, it tapers from thin at the bottom to thick at the top. To remedy this condition she has gone up the trunk to just below the first major branches and ringed the bark then applied the rooting hormone to the exposed wood in the ring. At this point she doesn't need to air-layer it because it will be buried under the soil's surface...the soil acting as a natural wrap creating the ideal conditions for the ring to begin to develope it's own root system. Then I believe Pinkham buried the whole trunk and roots of the tree making sure the ringed bark is also below the soil's surface. The branches that were at the top of the trunk are now sitting just above soil level. Then she prunes these branches. So the original length of trunk and root system are still attached at this point...it's just now below the soil's surface.

Once the new set of roots have developed at the point of the ring she will eventually be able to take the whole thing out of it's pot, cut just below the new root system thereby removing the old, original length of trunk and roots below that.

As I said previously, I *think* this is the process she is describing and I was asking for clarification. If I'm wrong about this, I hope Pinkham will correct me so I can learn from this. Hope I haven't confused you even more!

Leslie

You are right. I didn't cut anything off, I just cut a ring about 2 inches long in the bark, dusted it with rooting hormone and planted it in a deep pot so the ring was buried. The bottom 2/3 of this tree is basically useless as a bonsai so If it doesn't work I haven't lost anything
It's not quite air layering or ground layering. I don't know what it's called. I read about it last year and wanted to try it.
I will let it grow until next spring, if it has rooted I'll cut the top off just below the new roots and plant the top in a smaller shallow pot where I will continue training it.
By the way....I'm a man
thanks for reading my posts,
Lance

Hi Lance!

I'm sooo sorry for the 'gender' mix up
Thanks so much for clarifying your process. I think your experiment is just brilliant. It stands to reason that the original trunk and roots should continue to feed the top portion of your tree until the new root system has developed. It will be interesting to see if it is capable of supporting both the growth of the upper tree and the developement of the new root system at the same time. Wow! This is so cool! I'm really looking forward to following the progression of your experiment. I'm *rootin'* for it! Please keep us posted!

Leslie

I'm pretty sure this will work, since privets root easily.
This is the lowest branch from the privet. I cut it off knowing it wouldn't survive in the pot buried all year. I put rooting hormone on it and stuck it in a pot.It seems to be doing well so far. For some reason I can't throw cuttings away if there is a chance they might root.

Nice material especially the first picture post the third one, that will make a great shohin in the future. I also try to root some branches I cut off when styling my trees, maybe they'll root, if they don't it was good to have tried

Nope, that cleared it up nicely! That's a great technique; I may have to try it sometime. *eyes out the window at a particular tree* Sorry about not replying, but I was a camp counselor at church camp for a week and I just got back. I got some first-hand knowledge of trees in the wild, and had to force myself not to dig some up and bring them back with me. (Our camp leader related that the owner said specifically not to dig up any trees; I wonder why? ) I totally agree about rooting branches; I'm currently rooting a willow and a texas ebony branch. Good luck Lance!