I had seen the full video but this is one of the best bonsai tutorial shorts I’ve ever seen. Everything you always wanted to know about ground layering described in seconds. Thanks Dave, keep growing
Thanks Matt, really appreciate your great feedback. I'll be doing a few more of these short version tutorials- not yet sure how they'll go down .... cheers, keep growing too!
Thanks! in this case I wasn't scared, because I had air layered this tree two years before and I knew how vigorous it is. Elms are perfect for this. I just knew it would give me plenty of roots... but I hadn't anticipated how good the radial root spread would be. But I wouldn't try this on an old or valuable bonsai "just in case" ...
@@Obligate.Carnivore yes elms are very resilient in general, I've done this on English elms, Chinese elms and on Zelkova which is technically not an elm but very similar.
Had never tried ground layering before. About a month ago, before viewing this video, I wanted to address the massive problems with a Sharps Pygmy Maple. Dave DeGroot was at the Bonsai Retreat I attended and said the only thing was to ground layer. Next spring I hope to find a whole bunch of new roots. Great short and informative video. You’ve done it again.
Thanks again Jeff! I'd love to meet Dave DeGroot someday - love the videos where he's talking and I've read his Design book again and again. Btw did you use rooting hormone in your ground layer? I've found it gives a better spread of new roots than without. I will be super interested to hear how your maple project goes - hope you get great new roots!
@@BlueSkyBonsai rooting hormone ✔️. All around ✔️. He talks and designs a tree several times a year at our local Bonsai Club meetings. On occasion, once in a great while, he shows up at one of our workshops. He was at our 1st annual Bonsai Artist Retreats. We have two or three of his young trees, one is - I think - 4 or 5 years old. We are fortunate to also have Dan Robinson talk and give design ideas for a myriad of trees on a couple of occasions a year. The Bonsai Society of Portland (Oregon, USA) has them and several other renowned Bonsai Artisans at their meetings. Dave is a hoot. Very knowledgeable, and talks plain and straight, sort of like you. 😊
Sounds like a lot of fun! it's nice to be considered like David DeGroot although of course he's in a different league having spent most of his life dedicated to bonsai. Would love to meet him someday.
I really like the video. The narration and video editing are great! The result is also fantastic! However, in the theoretical part, you mixed up a few things. "Ground Layering" usually refers to the method of anchoring a branch in the soil so that it forms new roots there. What you did is essentially an "Air Layering" of the trunk using the ring method. It is important to remove the phloem so that the tree cannot transport nutrients from the leaves to the roots and instead develops new roots at that spot. The cambium can form new phloem and therefore needs to be removed as well. However, the xylem should be preserved as much as possible. It ensures that the leaves continue to receive water from the roots. Additionally, it's important to keep in mind that with this method, the root is completely disconnected from the leaf's nutrient supply, which can lead to the death of unhealthy trees without reserves in the root system. Nevertheless, it's a great video that inspired me to try it out myself!❤
Thanks for your thoughtful comments and feedback! I did a long form video of this with a lot more details, of course in a short video of less than a minute I had to cut a lot. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html Regarding the naming, I made a careful decision to call this a ground layer as distinct from air layer because naturally this carries more risk than an air layer, since here we're doing it on the whole tree. Perhaps it should be given a whole new name, like "Trunk ring layer"? Or something similar. A few years ago I did several tests on various elms and olives and found that the most successful rooting came from removing the xylem too. I know it seems counterintuitive since the xylem transports the water and nutrients up from the soil. But some of the ones where I left the xylem grew substantial callus tissue and made a much weeker root spread. In the end, each person who try this will need to experiment on a cheap or "practice tree" to see what they're comfortable with. I certainly wouldn't do this on any of my more valuable trees. Thanks again for your helpful comments!
By the way did you see the longer version of this with more details? Hopefully you'll like that too: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html
Welcome aboard! Here's three videos that will help you as you get started into this wonderful hobby. Pruning: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cOGAJ5iqWfk.html Bonsai health: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-a_vYCvQL5iE.html Watering: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-E2dBOrA7tOs.html
Dave I would definitely like to see more videos of yours my better half just drop one of my bonsai trees 35 40 years old and he broke it really really bad it's not a bonsai no more it makes me cry when I look at it😢
So sorry to hear about your bonsai. There is so much we can do to keep our trees alive and healthy but it's very difficult to protect them from human intervention. Is it still alive? You can always pot it in a bigger pot and pray!
In this video I showed how to take bonsai cuttings and grow them for free: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RnGfUeQC7r8.html This shows really how easy it is to get roots from the stems. Then in this video I took one of those rooted cuttings and potted it into a dirt-cheap bonsai pot: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bI1DpIVo_lQ.html I encourage you to try it! You've nothing to loose 🌳👍
This is probably a stupid question but : why not just plant it deeper, until the part you want to be the base is flush with the ground? This a dumb but real question. I don't know anything about bonsaï besides killing them xD Btw, the explanations are very clear and the result is beautiful. Great vidéo :)
@@Laura_la_pieuvre Thanks! Not a stupid question. If you bury the trunk deeper, more roots will emerge in their own time, at random heights and spaced haphazardly around the trunk. By doing a ground layer we force the new roots to push out quite quickly at the height of the upper cut line, and uniformly distributed around the trunk (especially if we use rooting hormone in the layer). In the future these roots will grow to be evenly spaced and well-proportioned nebari around the trunk base. Perhaps I should publish a book with all this information it, and how to keep a bonsai alive forever! ;)
Thanks! Trees that root easily like elms, olives have a much higher chance of surviving this. The key is the technique: make a clean cut, keep it moist, use rooting hormone and pack damp sphagnum moss on the whole ring. But I wouldn't do this on a valuable tree. More details in the full video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html
As far as I know if you also cut the xylem you will kill the tree, as it transports what the roots absorb, so it's the same as if you cut all the roots. Ground layers follow the same principle as air layers, where you let the water and nutrients flow upwards from the roots to feed the branches but not down,, that's why you cut the phloem but not the xylem,. Maybe there's something else going on here and I'm mistaken, but I don't think most trees can survive the lack of water for long enough to develop roots, at least without some really heavy pruning, and or defoliation, which I don't see in this video. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong
I had previously read what you say here - you need to strip off all the phloem and cambium and leave the xylem. But in some experiments a few years back I found that layers were more successful when you remove the xylem too. The issue is, if there is any cambium left on the surface of the xylem, the cambium creates scar tissue and tries to heal over the wound. So my experience is removing the xylem does not kill the tree, as long as you keep the damp sphagnum moss closely packed to the cut line. Also, my theory is the heartwood, (=dead xylem) is also staying wet from the soil and roots below, but I am yet to test that in a real layer.
Air layering technique is well addressed on RU-vid and horticultural resources. However, I’ve never seen this technique used to develop a different root/trunk base. Though the lack of videos on this technique does not prove the opposite (that this technique is not appropriate for development of a new root base) I can’t help thinking that air layering at the trunk base is somehow problematic. Any ideas?
Ground layering is a well-known technique in the bonsai world, atleast in Europe.. not sure about America. It can pose a risk to the tree if you get it wrong, like letting the sapwood dry before adding the sphagnum moss onto the layer. But some trees are much easier than others, like elms, and olives for example create new rootbase very easily. I wouldn't do it on a very valuable tree though.
I've been trying this for the last 3 years with my Kei Apple bonsai, but it just keeps callusing over the area I removed. Today, I removed the callus again and went way deeper than what I've done the previous three times. Hopefully, when I open it, there are new roots🥺
Did you see the long version of this video? It has a lot more details. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html Also, be sure to use rooting hormone - clonex gel or powder or whatever you cn get your hands on... it does help produce roots.
@@BlueSkyBonsai Thank you for sharing the link of the full video. I think it's because I'm not using rooting hormone. I will go buy some tomorrow and apply it. Thank you for taking the time to reply.
I get that. Agreed, it was beautiful before. But in bonsai we need to think long term, like 5 to 10 years, and yet small in size. And that sometimes means doing something that appears drastic, but has beautiful long-term benefits. If you're interested, the full video of this work is here, I explain in a lot more detail why it was worthwhile doing this work on this elm: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html Would be interested in your opinion!
@BlueSkyBonsai I watched it. Great production value there. So what was the point of getting rid of the inverse V taper? The video didn't tell me why it was such a bad thing. To a layman like me, it just looked like you put a lot of effort into something that didn't matter beyond aesthetics.
@@tnk4me4 that is a great question and I appreciate your taking the time to ask it. I'll approach it in a couple of different ways: In traditional bonsai there are twenty or more well-defined styles and they are all based on the miniature representation of real, old, mature trees that can be found in nature. In all but one of these styles, the trunk must taper from thick at the base to thin and twiggy at the top and the extremities. Inverse taper is considered a defect because it conflicts with the style, and breaks the illusion of a genuinely old tree. (The ony exception is the "hokidachi", or broom style, where it's common to have the trunk thicken upwards as it meets many branches protruding from the same height.) But let's forget traditional Japanese teachings, and consider only what looks like a natural tree in a small pot. When you have multiple branches emerging from one height, the consequence is that a large lump will gradually form at that part of the trunk. And maybe that is the natural form in a small, juvenile tree in nature, but not a mature old tree. The visual attractiveness can be totally subjective, it could be argued that the bulge (and inverse taper) looks natural and beautiful, or that ugly features give character to a tree. Arguably true, but ultimately these trunk bulges keep the tree looking more like a juvenile twig or large seedling, rather than a believable old tree. And worse, the longer you leave it, the more pronounced it gets; if you remove one or two of the branches early on, they can heal over believably, but the longer you leave it, the bigger the chop scars will be, and more "manmade" the plant will appear. In summary, what might look more natural to you today in inverse taper and taller tree, will in the long-term future be the feature that prevents your bonsai from appearing as a believable tree in nature.
@@tnk4me4 I don't have any videos showing what beginners can expect to spend, but it's a great idea for a video -thanks! Ultimately it's like any hobby, you *can* get into it for almost free and then as you get drawn in you somehow get the urge to spend more and more, and can always find ways to justify it! In this video I showed how to take bonsai cuttings and grow them for free: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RnGfUeQC7r8.html Then in this video I took one of those rooted cuttings and potted it into a dirt-cheap bonsai pot: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bI1DpIVo_lQ.html So far, spent almost nothing. But then you see the "mother tree" - a nice Wild Olive. I got it for about €100 six years ago; I got the new pot for around €40 and after my work over the last few years it's probably worth over €200. I would only sell it if soneone is prepared to pay double that, because it means more to me emotionally than its financial value. In this video you can see bonsai trees that are worth more than 10,000 euros here in Spain... ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE--XGcV3uiZJ8.html Did that answer your question?
My first Christmas after I graduated from college, my mother gave me the parts and tools for a pine bonzai. It was doing well until I wired it into three sections. The needles started falling off, so I took the whole set-up to a local (Berkeley) bonsai master. I will never forget standing in front of him holding out my tree, asking for help. A pine needle fell off as he's looking at it. He looked up at me and says, "Bonsai reflects the soul."
The bonsai master was probably good with trees, but evidently not good with people. You are brilliant, astonishing, extraordinary, don't ever forget it! What that "master" said was downright bullsh* - especially if you consider that most bonsai enthusiasts have many trees... what? does that mean we have multiple souls, one for each tree? No. A mature bonsai can get sold from grower to grower... so then, whose soul is reflected?? Everyone's? No. I invite you to completely ignore that "master", and confine his pathetic words to the trash can. Regarding pines, I also lost one last year - a Japanese black pine - it was just a sapling and I wired it too hard, I think I even ripped some of the roots. It took a few months to completely die... it was the 20th tree I have lost in the last 5 or 6 years. The fact is all bonsai growers lose trees, it's part of the game. I strongly encourage you to try again!! Try with a juniper, and an elm, and a ficus. These are much more resilient and easier to manage than a pine bonsai. Also, if you have multiple trees it's not such a big deal if one of them dies. At least your soul should not suffer anyway!
Xylem consists of thousands of tiny tubes, which transport up water (and any molecules dissolved in the water). So when we cut the xylem with a sharp clean knife, as long as we don't let the tubes get dry or infected, they can continue transporting water upwards. For this purpose we pack on sphagnum moss and make sure it doesn't get dry for a few months. Sphagnum has antiseptic properties and holds about 20-times its own weight of water. So the xylem tubes continue to transport up the water from the sphagnum on the upper cut line. More details in the full video of this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html
But regarding the position of the tree, take a look at these pictures of an air layer on this elm in a hedge behind a fence - 1. flic.kr/p/2ffv8cP 2. flic.kr/p/T7koiy 3. flic.kr/p/2g5JvGS Elm trees are very resilient and can take a full air layer on the trunk, as long as you do it in spring
Nice short, however I do not recommend the cut method for most popular conifers, especially big no no altogether with most white pines. With stronger conifers like Japanese black/red pine or juniper this can be done with tourniquet method, but expect it to take 3-5 years.
Totally agree - this is much safer with deciduous trees and some broadleafs like olive and ficus. I wouldn't risk this on a coniferous, I would tourniquet it like you said. Cheers!
Mid-spring! So, now is really your last chance, assuming you are in the northern hemisphere. If you do it in summer you risk the heat drying the leaves before it has a chance to grow new roots in the layer. Also, I wouldn't risk this on a valuable tree. Here is the more detailed version of this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html
@@BlueSkyBonsai I’m in north east PA. It’s around 70 degrees right now. I understand what you’re saying thank you. I wish there were nice Bonsai stores around. Closest one is around 1 1/2 to 2 hours away.
I have a 50-year-old native hornbeam in Pennsylvania it's my only tree and it is actually quite nice but I'm going to have to do this because the roots are so unbelievably unsightly. But the canopy layers are absolutely beautiful
@@starlynnsnyder5790 hornbeams are generally resilient if you do this in spring, (actually I did it this year to my hornbeam) But I would not do this procedure to an old and valuable tree. As a safer alternative, perhaps you could consider tying a thick wire tourniquet around the base above all the current roots, tight enough so it can't move but not so tight to cut off the sap flow. Then leave the tourniquet buried by a couple of inches for at least two years, maybe 3, then see how new roots have emerged from just above the tourniquet. If you do decide to do it either with a ground layer or a tourniquet, please let me know because I can give you a lot more details, tips and gotchas.
It just looks like the tree was planted deeper… I know I’m missing something but I can’t figure it out!! Will it eventually grow roots up out of the gravel that will look like the pics??
Yes, we're trying to achieve two things here - trunk flare at the base which makes a tree look older, and some attractive surface roots which also have the added benefit of accentuating the trunk flare. Btw I did a full long version of this video last year if you're interested: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html The surface roots can take several years to look mature, but we can give them a good start using this technique. This is how the trunk base looks now, it will take another 5 years before those surface roots start to look natural. flic.kr/p/2ovtqSD Btw, clearly a lot of bonsai trees don't need this technique because they already have a good enough trunk base.
I‘ve never used this technique to specifically make a ground layer, i just used it to get roots on a branch of a big tree to make a bonsai from it. If you‘re careful to not hurt the heartwood there‘s hardly a chance to kill the tree or branch in my case.
Thanks! Elms are very resilient, they can take a hammering and seem to survive whatever. Except drought! Watering is the one thing we must never neglect. If you're interested, I recommend you watch at least the first video in this playlist, it will help you to keep your container plants alive forever!! ru-vid.com/group/PLYoSjHfqA6g-39CCEjtTIGIMQNnE-Kaku
If you try it with an easy rooter like a Chinese elm, an olive or a banyan ficus, you can achieve good results without using synthetic rooting hormone. Auxins are natural hormones created in the branch tips, they move down stems and stimulate root growth. If you want to give it a try, see this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html
Not all bonsai trees are so resilient! Some species are more robust than others. Elms like this one are very resilient. But the real key is to do it right - use a clean sharp knife, use rooting hormone and sphagnum moss, to keep the cut site moist for several months. This is to ensure the vascular pathways keep transporting the water and hormones up and down the tree while it creates new roots.
Usually watching ppl hack bonsai trees doesn't make me wince. I'm sure you know what you are doing and the information seems good. But that is scarry to watch. Looks more like carving than cultivating.
Thanks for your comment! I would be interested to hear your opinion on the full video of this work, I tried to approach the project more sensitively. Maybe it's my editing in this YT Short that makes it look ruthless, but in the long version (it's
I know I can't change your perception, but it's really not at all violent. The key is to try it first on a small tree (preferably an elm) that's not valuable to you and you'll see it's a lot easier than you expected. There's a more friendly version of this story with a lot more details here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html
Have a maple orange dream and I'm thinking of doing this cos the tree is twin trunk but the split of trunks is a bit further up than I would like, so this looks like an option... When would you undertake this task in the UK... Thank you
I would do it in early spring just after the new leaves have opened and started photosynthesising. Before you do it, my advice is don't do this if your tree is valuable to you, just in case. The ground layer should work fine on deciduous trees but if it doesn't work then you could lose the tree. Here is the detailed video I did on it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html And if you really want a lot more details and decisions, here is a 90 minute film of the work on Patreon: www.patreon.com/checkout/blueskybonsai?redirect_uri=%2Fposts%2Fhow-to-do-ground-66327356
@@BlueSkyBonsai well the tree is just garden centre material which cost me 10quid I think so certainly not a valuable tree to lose if it went wrong, that said I've been working on it for 5 yrs or so and it's looking quite good so it's not something I want to lose but I just think it would look better if I could do the task that you've demonstrated in your fantastic video... I have also seen another vid of someone doin a tourniquet method just a piece of wire applied tightly around the trunk and buried beneath the soil surface.. Thank for your reply and info Dave👍
You already saw the nebari video. And here is the full version of the ground layer video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html But I wouldn't do a ground layer umless your trunk base has terrible inverse taper. HTH
In theory, yes, we leave the xylem layer so that it keeps transporting water up the tree. In practice, it's difficult to see where the cambium stops and the xylem starts. And the problem is, if you leave any cambium on there, the layer won't produce roots, the cambium will start to create callus tissue and try to heal over the wound. So I found that you can remove the xylem too because the heartwood keeps moist, and the damp sphagnum ensures that water is still supplied to the xylem above the layer. I did a more detailed video about it here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html
I get that. In bonsai we need to think long term, like 5 to 10 years, and yet small in size. And sometimes that means doing something that appears drastic, but has beautiful long-term benefits. If you're interested, the full video of this work is here, I explain in a lot more detail why it was worthwhile doing this work on this elm: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html Would be interested in your opinion!
Yes this can be done on a trident maple. It must be vigorous and healthy to start with. The layer packet / sphagnum must never get dry. Make sure to use a known rooting hormone like Clonex to ensure a good root spead. Use a clean sharp knife and cut a straight line - avoid jagged edges. Here's the full video of this elm project for more details: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html And here is a guy who did it on a trident maple: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html
Did you consider moving the root base up the tree? Blue Sky Bonsai had a great video for scarification of the trunk and burying the tree in a deeper pot. Blue Sky Bonsai: "How and why to ground layer your #bonsai". You could do that even now or wait a year. Deep pot. Back of the garden for 2 years. Pull it out and work on the new root base. That solves the branch placement problem and the naked lower trunk. You don't love the tree and have ignored it anyway! What if that worked?
How do you keep the rest of the tree from dying at that time? Do you strip the foliage? Is the water supply cut off if you scrape away the cambium? I’m very intrigued.
Air layering is a well known technique for bonsai growers, and this ground layer is just an extreme version of the same. You need to wrap the cut tightly with damp sphagnum moss to keep the cut moist and free of infection. Full details in this longer video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html The leaves are required, to keep photosynthesizing and sending down sugars and auxin needed to grow the new roots.
Thanks! Sorry - I can't say whether it would work on most species. It has worked for me on deciduous trees: elms, oaks, hornbeam, maple, crab apple. It has worked on broadleaf evergreens: Ficus, olives, Sageretia. I have not tried it on coniferous species so I cannot say from personal experience whether it would work. Pines, apparently, can work but they take longer to root so you might need to wait over a year to get enough roots. I did a longer video with more details on this here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html In any case, don't try this on a valuable bonsai because if it fails for some reason, you lose the tree. If possible, try it first on an elm or an olive, to practice the technique. Good luck!
Yes definitely, it's basically the ring-bark method with sphagnum to force new roots above the cut. Same as air layering. I would also say, I would not do this on any valuable bonsai "just in case", and I wouldn't risk it on a coniferous tree nor on any unhealthy or less vigorous tree. But elms can take it fine. Several other common species too, like olives, several tropicals, many fruiters like apple and pomegranate.
Evergreen is too broad a category to give a general guideline. But the most common evergreens in bonsai can take an air layer or ground layer Ok. Tropical broadleaf evergreens like Ficus- no problem. Temperate broadleaf evergreens like Olive - no problem. Coniferous evergreens - some yes, some not so easy. Junipers are generally ok. Pines can take 2 years to root sufficiently. In any case, I wouldn't do this on a tree that's really valuable to me, "just in case". HTH.
I recommend you start by watching the first few videos on this list, then you'll be in a good position to keep them alive and healthy! ru-vid.com/group/PLYoSjHfqA6g-39CCEjtTIGIMQNnE-Kaku
You need to put it where it will be absorbed. The best place is just around the upper cut line. Anything on the bark won't get absorbed. For info, I did this in a fuller video if you're interested: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html
Do you think this technique would work with a Pseudobombax ellipticum? You can root its hardwood cuttings in moist sand so I think it would work just not with the akadama and moss. I only ask because don't want to cut mine back year after year to make the caudex fatter faster I want to have a 1/10 scale canopy tree and because of how fast it grows I'm worried it'll need a support pole if I don't do this.
@@BlueSkyBonsai I think I'll buy a few seedlings to test some of these techniques on, I don't want to accidentally kill my mine. Thank you for answering
It's much less risky on deciduous trees than conifers. But it also works successfully on some broadleaf evergreens, like olives which root very easily. In any case, don't do this on a valuable tree. Do it on an experimental tree the first year to be sure you've got the technique right.
@@vincepena6308 yes late winter or early spring just after the first leaves start to unfurl. Did you see the full video of this? There are much more details: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html
There is another way you could do this that's safer than a ground layer, and virtually no risk to the plant, but it takes a lot longer. You could tie a wire tourniquet around the trunk base just above the current root spread. It should be tight enough to touch the bark all the way around, but not digging in so it doesn't yet restrict sap flow. Use a wire that's thick enough to avoid callusing from growing over it; wrap it round at least twice and twist the ends together securely so it won't come undone as the trunk thickens. Bury the trunk /tourniquet at least an inch under the soil, or deeper, to ensure that new roots can grow above the tourniquet. Then leave it for about 2 years to let the new roots grow around the new trunk base, above the tourniquet. The old roots supply the water and fert to the plant, and when the trunk starts thickening, the sap flow slowly becomes limited so the plant needs to push out new roots above the tourniquet. Let me know if you decide to give it a try!
@@Brian-qn2mx spring is the safest time because you do it as part of a repot. But on the other hand, if it's already in a deep enough pot, you could do it now because you won't touch the existing root system at all. As long as you can bury the touniquet deep enough, otherwise it goes wrong. So, either now or early Spring, but don't risk it in autumn/winter...
In some ways, the sooner you start the better because the new nebari will take many years before it starts looking like the same bark texture as your trunk.
Yes it's like an air layer, in some ways a ground layer is easier because the connection with the base soil means you don't have to seal the layer closed, it keeps it naturally damp with fresh water and doesn't risk root-rot within the layer. On the other hand it feels more risky because if the layer fails you could lose your tree...
In a way, yes. We're forcing it to grow new roots. But the old roots below continue to grow, and they try to push up new shoots elsewhere in the soil. Did you see the full video of this work? It has a lot more details and you can see how the old roots stayed alive... until I chopped them off: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html It's not that risky for an elm, as long as the layer package stays moist all summer. I wouldn't risk it for a coniferous tree though.
Yes exactly right! If you're interested I did a full video of this work with more details here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.htmlsi=EF8CXB22DcE7tjyv
Yes! But do it first on a tree that's not so valuable to you, because unlike an air layer, if this layer fails you risk losing the tree. Also, wait for spring (assuming you're in USA?)
Thanks! Be sure to try it on a tree that's not valuable to you, "just in case". Elms and olives respond well to this treatment but I wouldn't try it on a valuable pine for example.
Good question. The heartwood still holds a lot of water and via simple capillary action it brings up water from the old roots. You can see that there is a lot of foliage on this tree and all those leaves transpire water into the air, in exchange for carbon dioxide. While the water is delivered up to the leaves via the xylem tubes, these are in close contact with the heartwood. If you cut off the old roots at the start of the process, the stump might try to heal over and stop sucking in water from below. I wouldn't risk it, but if I did try it as an experiment I would cover the entire foliage mass with a clear plastic bag to keep humidity at 100% inside, to almost completely stop the transpiration from drying the leaves with less water available in the heartwood. This works for small cuttings, but like I said I wouldn't risk it for an entire tree.
I get that. In bonsai we sometimes need to something that appears drastic, but has beautiful long-term benefits. If you're interested, the full video of this work is here, I explain in a lot more detail why it was worthwhile doing this work on this elm: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-c1nasUQCRiM.html Would be interested in your opinion!
You could have a first try on a small tree with not much value to you. If it dies, nothing lost. But if it survives then it will suddenly become very valuable to you.
