Ground Growing Stock

[Jeremy]

As we are reaching the end of Winter down under, its time to rip some trees out of the ground and pay attention to the roots. These have all been in the grow bed for 2-3 years, maybe another 3-5 years they will be ready for pots. I don't have much space so these occupy one end of a raised vegie garden. Soil is just cheap landscaping dirt, I add composted cow manure every year after lifting the trees for a root prune, then add a thick layer of sugar cane or Lucerne mulch. They are watered throughout the growing season but not to any strict schedule. No other fert or special treatment, borderline neglected compared to the trees in pots.
There are 3 Bald Cypress, 2 Tridents, and 2 Corkbark Elms.
All were nursery stock with no prior root work, except the Elms which I suspect were root cuttings and had a moderately good flair. I realise after taking photos I didn't go hard enough on the roots so most were reduced further and then sawed flat at the base. No real styling has been done or thought of, apart from the taller Elm which I spent last growing season clipping back the upper branches. It will be a nice tree but I need more flair at the base to add taper. I also got rid of the thicker trunk on the slingshot Elm after the photos.
Lets see what another 12 months will bring.

The Baldies:

 

[Jeremy]

Tridents:

 

[Jeremy]

Elms:

 

[MichaelS]

They seem to be going along nicely Jeremy.

 

[fredman]

Agreed. Moving along with the necessary movement...

 

[MichaelS]

Agreed. Moving along with the necessary movement...

Yes, nothing like moving with the necessary movement!

 

[YukiShiro]

NICE!! wouldn't you put them back in the ground to heal those big scars faster?

loving the trunk profiles

best regards
Herman

 

[Jeremy]

Thanks fellas, they are getting there slowly but surely. I do have a little more room but it's taken up mostly by Figs, and a crepe myrtle, Callistemon, clerodendrum, and a leptospermum laevigatum. Hopefully one day I will move a little further south with acreage. Would be nice to start of with younger stock and get even more movement into the bottom portions. For now, this little patch adds a bit of diversity and gives me more things to work on at different times. A few more years will hopefully give me more knowledge in developing killer nebari, I've learnt a lot by just looking at your trees @MichaelS

 

[Jeremy]

NICE!! wouldn't you put them back in the ground to heal those big scars faster?

loving the trunk profiles

best regards
Herman

Yep, everything is back in the ground. Partly because they need more time and partly because there's no room on my benches for them just yet lol. Most will probably end up as larger trees but I'm taking the long route, top and bottom pruning yearly to find interesting lines and strive for flat, spreading nebari.

 

[Jeremy]

Finished off today with the crepe myrtle, this was a pencil thick cutting with bad roots 3 years ago. Starting to take shape, once the chop is healed it will be into a pot to begin training. I will update the thread with some figs in 2-3 months time.

 

[Saizan]

Nice lines on the baldies! Quite different of the typical style that are design.

 

[Jeremy]

Nice lines on the baldies! Quite different of the typical style that are design.

I've only seen a handful of mature specimens in botanical gardens so don't have any inclination to style them how they grow in their native habitat. Time will tell, they need a few more years to really bulk up and soften the angular pruning.

 

[Jeremy]

Another year down, only minor changes really. The Crepe Myrtle really needs a more severe root pruning, and perhaps growing a lot taller. Trident just got fatter and uglier, may have to start again. Cork bark elm had one trunk sawed off, beginning to head in A direction.

 

[Jeremy]

I decided not to dig up the Bald Cypress this year as they did not grow too well last summer. I did however, pot up the following Trident and Cork Bark Elm. I think these 2 had most potential of the D trees in the grow beds

 

[barrosinc]

cool stuff! I hope to get some land to ground grow some trees soon.

 

[Jeremy]

Definitely worth the time, I wish I could start more of these but only have limited room. I made sure to follow @Smoke advice and take some interesting root cuttings, I will get some more photos when they are potted up.

 

[Jeremy]

Probably should've taken photos prior to potting, oh well. Mostly small cuttings which were wrapped with wire below the soil to expose at a later date. Hoping for some interesting curves to play around with

 

[Jeremy]

One year out of the ground and the Cork Bark Elm gets a cheap training pot. I'm hoping in time the thick bark will grow back at the base, though I don't know how long exactly that will take.

 

[Jeremy]

We are in the thick of summer right now so its a good time to get into the non deciduous grow bed. These plants have been in the bed 2 years with minimal pruning, today was the big cutback and a look under the soil to see what we have. Nebari development wasn't great (but its a start), hence the aggressive chops. Everything chopped back for taper/angle changes, back into the bed for a few more years until I feel inspired.
First up, 3 Green Island Figs and a Port Jackson Fig. The GI's were cuttings taken a few years ago and the original roots that grew became too bulbous and needed removal. Looks like harsh treatment but they will be fine. The Port Jackson is a low branch I cut off today that had rooted, may as well give it a shot to see what develops.

 

[Jeremy]

Next up are 3 butt ugly Willow Leaf Figs and a Dwarf Bougy. The Willow Leaf's are all root cuttings, growth rate has been poor, largely due to being shaded by the 12ft Clero's and my neglect. The Bougy has put on some nice girth and could be an interesting spreading triple trunk. All need more time