Extended season starting trees indoors

cmeg1

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Getting green
Starting to get a lot of green.
Room for more though!
Upped the Nitrogen a tad again.Pines will like it.The fresh air layers needed it too I noticed today.Fresh airlayers start to get a bit yellow in bottom leaves.I believe a little extra nitrogen should do it.Roots will grow very fast though.B001B3C3-8ED5-4F58-A879-971130DBBAD1.jpegF6A817B5-A96B-40A9-BCD8-CF34F1F29819.jpeg
 

cmeg1

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Zelkova have lots of buds.

I am digging all the buds on branches only 3” long.Clear back to the trunk.Having the whole tree in light will help now too.They should perk up in a week.
 

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szelelaci

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making clump/multi-trunk seedling layers

I can do about 5 of these per evening.Definately got to get them done and into more open space.They look really good.Some are 15” already!
Zelkova Seedling Air-Layer......9day’s!

Alright! A personal best for me.This makes me happy.Half the time it usually takes.Roots grew much more vigorous this way.
1 qt. Rootpouch pots with bottom half a grade#3 perlite.Giving a starter formula to grow the roots for two or three weeks.They will stabilize better.
Kind of makes me want to make a tiny tree.I want to see if I can get these budding everywhere.That would be neat.
Awesome results! They would make so perfect mames! Are you thinking about have a few mother plant with small leaves, like Tiny Tim, or Suzu Kaze, and train cuttings from them for mames for few years? Would be funny doing it, and would pay off too big time.
The jbps would be great mames too
 

szelelaci

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Getting green
Starting to get a lot of green.
Room for more though!
Upped the Nitrogen a tad again.Pines will like it.The fresh air layers needed it too I noticed today.Fresh airlayers start to get a bit yellow in bottom leaves.I believe a little extra nitrogen should do it.Roots will grow very fast though.View attachment 272241View attachment 272242
Beautiful
 

cmeg1

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Awesome results! They would make so perfect mames! Are you thinking about have a few mother plant with small leaves, like Tiny Tim, or Suzu Kaze, and train cuttings from them for mames for few years? Would be funny doing it, and would pay off too big time.
The jbps would be great mames too
Ha!,yea.That would be fun.I very much like to start from seeds,I always buy WAY more than needed.
Essentially rolling the dice of genetics!
 

szelelaci

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Your method is impressive, the results speak for themself! You brought this to a very high level!
What would be your advice for most of us, who doesn't have a grow room, lights, and CO2, just simply want to sow couple of dozens of seeds to have healthy seedlings to play with in the following years. I am about to start something you were doing in your Zelkova broom thread, just boost the process with a simplified version of your current feeding regime. How would you treat a small batch of Zelkova and JBP seedling outdoors if you would sowing them now? And what would be the growing media at the start (jiffy or perlite), and after first transplant?
 

cmeg1

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Your method is impressive, the results speak for themself! You brought this to a very high level!
What would be your advice for most of us, who doesn't have a grow room, lights, and CO2, just simply want to sow couple of dozens of seeds to have healthy seedlings to play with in the following years. I am about to start something you were doing in your Zelkova broom thread, just boost the process with a simplified version of your current feeding regime. How would you treat a small batch of Zelkova and JBP seedling outdoors if you would sowing them now? And what would be the growing media at the start (jiffy or perlite), and after first transplant?
Thank you!
If using perlite...it IS hydroponic....even outdoors! It is essential to ph nutrient solution...Very easy to do.Can use drops or buy a quality meter( meters are better with cloudy nutrient solutions).ph 5.8-6.4. Keeps all nutrients available to plant.
I have used 50/50 perlite and orchid bark outdoors to good effect with just a covering of orchid spahgnum on top to conserve moisture.Water once or twice a day.

Open substrate works best. Perlit /lava/pumice or whatever else.The only organic I would use is a quality orchid bark 1/4”-3/8”. No more than 50%.

If only adding one supplement,It would be KELP.Great stuff!
Make sure you have calcium! If you can source L amino acids with L glycine and L glutamate ,calcium uptake increases by 1000’s of times.VERY good.
Fulvic Acid is also EXTREMELY good with every nutrient feed.Increases nutrient uptake and can use LESS fertilizer ,so there is more water than salt.......especially in hot weather.......Also I like less nitrogen and more supplements so all energy is not wasted on assimilating nitrogen! with large,weak and thin cell walls.Instead the plant leaves will produce stored energy through photosynthesis that strengthens plant and roots,with more and smaller and stronger cell walls...increase the Brix content(sugar in sap).



Or like you say,the SIMPLIFIED version is to AT LEAST ph your nutrient with a meter.Hydro ph is lower than soil ph.5.8-6.4 (meters are better than drops,especially in cloudy nutrients)
Also an EC meter is VERY nice,so you can see strength of nutrient solution(explanation in articles).Your water may naturally have a high EC and you end up over fertilizing.

Here are pictures and articles.Harly Smith is very informative.
 

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cmeg1

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different seedling air-layer technique.

Sometimes this way is much more convenient.We’ll see how it goes.I can probably remove stone wool with tweezers after completed.
 

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cmeg1

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nice seedling air-layer

The branching is amazing at only 6” tall!
Kinda’ makes me want a Zelkova Christmas tree.
I hope aftercare works out good.This is my first go around hydroponically.
This is only 6 weeks from seed!!:)
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cmeg1

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good rooting on the seedling air-layers

Seems better to let roots get a tad bigger before removing.Definately more rootmass on these than I ever had for such small plants.Must be lots of natural rooting harmones produced in the plant itself.
E711DC58-FFE8-49C8-86FE-34F904EC82E4.jpeg
 

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TyroTinker

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good rooting on the seedling air-layers

Seems better to let roots get a tad bigger before removing.Definately more rootmass on these than I ever had for such small plants.Must be lots of natural rooting harmones produced in the plant itself.
View attachment 272798
Wow. I wonder if it’s to early to do any experiments with getting better Nebari.
With how well these are rooting and branching if you started training the roots to one (or mostly one) layer this early, what kind of spread do you think the roots would put on?
 

cmeg1

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Wow. I wonder if it’s to early to do any experiments with getting better Nebari.
With how well these are rooting and branching if you started training the roots to one (or mostly one) layer this early, what kind of spread do you think the roots would put on?
Thanks!
I thought that too.Seems now is best time to build the biggest ,heaviest root system I can in the Rootpouches early on. This dramatically increases the vigor of the tree and its ability to absorb the bio-stimulants and build a good vascular system in the young plants early on.Nice big root system is the way to go,in my opinion.With young trees.
Later at transplants I can proceed with Nebari.
 

Gary McCarthy

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good rooting on the seedling air-layers

Seems better to let roots get a tad bigger before removing.Definately more rootmass on these than I ever had for such small plants.Must be lots of natural rooting harmones produced in the plant itself.
View attachment 272798
WOW.....................that's really impressive!!!
 

cmeg1

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old photos comparison

Just impressed at the difference from my first attempt at indoor trees and this years attempt.
Like night and day!

First attempt a pine at 6 months old last year.It grew,but not at it’s full potential.
74CE7FB5-01B1-481C-957D-A01D95BDEEFF.jpeg





second picture is this years attempt at only 3 months!
DD21644C-B9B7-4D3E-A8C8-6FD0C9C4229E.jpeg
 

cmeg1

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Zelkova Seedling Layers

Made six of these tonight.Abundant roots is good.
 

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TyroTinker

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Wow are you going to start shaping with wire soon? I know most will get cut off in those trees life as a bonsai... But, some shape couldn’t hurt right?
 

cmeg1

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Wow are you going to start shaping with wire soon? I know most will get cut off in those trees life as a bonsai... But, some shape couldn’t hurt right?
Thanks!
Yea,will have to shape before branches get too solid.I still have time.I got to get rootball more stable in the pots or they would greatly suffer from me flexing them all around.They are getting a starter fertilizer now with a pinch of mono-ammonium phosphate added.That should really increase rootmass in 2-3 weeks then they will get more nitrogen afterwards.These are all destined for very small Bonsai just start training right away.They shape up quite quickly in good conditions.May very well be defoliating this upcoming grow season!
 
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