Preserving a Piece of Family History

[TurboFork]

Hi Everyone,

After a trip to the National Bonsai Museum in DC I have been inspired enough to give this hobby a try! I've read a couple books and done a fair bit of research, but haven't actually purchased my first trees yet. My local Bonsai society is having their auction in a couple weeks, and I will probably grab a couple of trees there.

That being said! I have already been struck with a bit of inspiration. My family has lived on a farm for nearly 100 years. We have been there so long that the road is named after us! A staple piece of the family farm is a large and old ash tree in our backyard. It's persevered through a lot of adversity, but is now beginning to die. Similar to the tree, our family's time on the old farm is starting to draw to a close as well. I want to preserve both the tree, and the family history it represents, in bonsai form as best I can through cutting and propagation while I still have a shot.

Now I realize I am as beginner as it gets. From what I have read, propagating an ash tree is a difficult task for someone advanced, so doing this is probably a pretty bad idea. I'm going to try it anyway. I was hoping you guys could help me increase my odds of success with some tips and tricks for beginners when propagating! Bonus points if you have worked with Ash before. A couple specific questions I have:

1. What should I look for on the tree that tells me I should create a cutting from that specific portion?
2. Is there a specific strength rooting powder I should use? I was looking at Hormex #8
3. What are some of the biggest keys, beyond lots of praying, to give these cuttings a chance at rooting?

Thank you all for helping a beginner out!

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Welcome Aboard BonsaiNut!

You should be interested to know this is not an unusual situation. Without seeing the tree, there are likely still living parts, sounds like the best path would be to take an 2-4 (jic) air layers of the tree. Done properly, this will allow you to have at least one or more trees to carry on the family heritage…. Without the time it takes to grow from cuttings!

Keep in mind these air layers will need to be watered to keep moist. Having a good amount of sphagnum helps retain moisture.

These can be done successfully right now.

Here’s a great thread on the topic by our own @Bonsai Nut !

Please post images on this thread and tell us how you are progressing. There are a lot of experienced air layer folks on the site.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[TurboFork]

Welcome Aboard BonsaiNut!

You should be interested to know this is not an unusual situation. Without seeing the tree, there are likely still living parts, sounds like the best path would be to take an 2-4 (jic) air layers of the tree. Done properly, this will allow you to have at least one or more trees to carry on the family heritage…. Without the time it takes to grow from cuttings!

Keep in mind these air layers will need to be watered to keep moist. Having a good amount of sphagnum helps retain moisture.

These can be done successfully right now.

Here’s a great thread on the topic by our own @Bonsai Nut !

Please post images on this thread and tell us how you are progressing. There are a lot of experienced air layer folks on the site.

Cheers
DSD sends

Thank you! I appreciate this. Hadn't ever heard of this method before. I'll do some more research and probably give both this air layering and clippings a try if for no other reason than learning both methods.

Any recommendations on tools? Didn't sound like it was overly precise. I'll probably just use some normal knives and other standard hardware to get the job done. Thanks for the tip on Sphagnum I can snag some of that too!

 

[rockm]

Your location is important. Please list country/state in your avatar to the left of this page.

It’s getting late into the growing season and this may have to wait until next spring.

As for the preserving something from your family’s farm, I did much the same a while back with a tree on my family’s place in Texas. I dug up an elm from the back 40 of their place and have been developing it for the last six or seven years

Good luck with the ash. Personally I’d find another easier species in the land.

 

[michaelj]

With respect to the cuttings, I find a lot of success by doing the following:

1. Use very sharp scissors to make the cut. Cut just below the start of a segment.
2. Use any root hormone. Gel, powder, it makes little difference. Any commercial product is going to help.
3. Use a loose substrate. I prefer Perlite or Diatomaceous Earth (oil dry).
4. Wet the pot and make an indent with a stick so that the root hormone doesn't scrape off when you place the cutting
5. Leave the cutting along the north side of the house, so that it only gets morning sun, or put it under a tree or shade cloth
6. Put a moisture dome over the top unless it's very hot (you don't want to steam it) and/or mist it frequently.

My setup uses plastic shelves along the north wall of my house.
The mister lines come off my sprinkler heads, so that if I am too busy, they still get misted at least 1-2 times a day.
The top shelf is empty because I just potted up about 40 rooted cuttings.



For general advice as a beginner, one of our fellow Nuts, Jelle, just uploaded a very good short but comprehensive video with tips for beginners:

 

[BrianBay9]

Preserving a piece of your family history by air layering that ash tree is great. But you might want to separate that from you early bonsai attempts. Go to your club auction and look at the trees. Talk with the members. You're not likely to find an example of an ash bonsai.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

All that said…. Here’s a thread on ash.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[RoadManDenDron]

I think this is a great idea, I would definitely recommend some airlayers

Ash can be a tricky species to bonsai due to compound leaf structure,

I'd also suggest taking a picture of the tree or making a sketch of the tree how you visualise it

And maybe creating the same image with an easier to handle species such as perhaps Chinese elm or privet

These will be infinitely easier to handle and still hopefully provide a representation of your farm tree in miniature

 

[hemmy]

family has lived on a farm for nearly 100 years. We have been there so long that the road is named after us!

You might also look along fence lines for repeatedly cut back shrubs or trees that could be dug. Mulberry is one that the birds drop and it grows like a weed. If your land was grazed or you know other landowners with pasture you might find cattle grazed trees/shrubs that are naturally stunted.

 

[baldone]

Having a local club is great. The closes one to me is 2 hours away and I don't like to drive far.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Good luck with the ash. Personally I’d find another easier species in the land.

Welcome to the site! I agree with @rockm about ash not being an good species for a beginner due to having large compound leaves. They are not particularly long-lived trees in the wild, and if your tree lived 100 years it is older than most.

Perhaps there is another tree from your property that could be used for your bonsai start? Or simply embrace the art form with the easiest trees to learn with(?)

 

[rockm]

If you’re in Pittsburgh you should make a trip to Natures Way bonsai nursery just outside of Harrisburg. Jim Doyle the owner is a long time American bonsai veteran. He has excellent stuff from beginner to expert. One or two of his trees are at the National Bonsai And Penjing Museum. Also at your bonsai society auction will likely turn up some decent easier stock trees like trident maple Chinese elm. Both are forgiving of mistakes in watering pruning etc.

Ash will not be as forgiving. Also ash is done best with large to very large size stock. Its growth habit is not tight and it has very large compound leaves (which means its leaves are made up of rows of tiny leaflets. Those kinds leaves do not reduce much if at all under bonsai cultivation. They are large and will act like sails on smaller trees pullling them over etc. and by large I mean trunks as big as your arm.

Have you thought about digging up a larger trunked ash that is an offspring of the big tree?

Nature's Way Nursery

nature's way nursery bonsai suiseki tools horticulture classes trees plants linglestown harrisburg pennsylvania interiorscape interiorscaping landscape landscaping

www.natureswaybonsai.com

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

I absolutely understand and can relate to your situation. My grandfather's farm just sold a couple months ago. I dug up an elm and a couple of currants back on Thanksgiving weekend after my grandmother's funeral.
I don't know the first thing about ash, but if some of our veterans are suggesting other species, I would heed their advice. I'm sure you could find some saplings or stunted/mangled small trees that may work better as bonsai. Welcome to the obsession!

 

[TurboFork]

If you’re in Pittsburgh you should make a trip to Natures Way bonsai nursery just outside of Harrisburg. Jim Doyle the owner is a long time American bonsai veteran. He has excellent stuff from beginner to expert. One or two of his trees are at the National Bonsai And Penjing Museum. Also at your bonsai society auction will likely turn up some decent easier stock trees like trident maple Chinese elm. Both are forgiving of mistakes in watering pruning etc.

Ash will not be as forgiving. Also ash is done best with large to very large size stock. Its growth habit is not tight and it has very large compound leaves (which means its leaves are made up of rows of tiny leaflets. Those kinds leaves do not reduce much if at all under bonsai cultivation. They are large and will act like sails on smaller trees pullling them over etc. and by large I mean trunks as big as your arm.

Have you thought about digging up a larger trunked ash that is an offspring of the big tree?

Nature's Way Nursery

nature's way nursery bonsai suiseki tools horticulture classes trees plants linglestown harrisburg pennsylvania interiorscape interiorscaping landscape landscaping

www.natureswaybonsai.com

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome and all the great advice. This has been a way better thread than I could have hoped. Honestly have not given much thought into searching for offspring thats a great idea! This won't be easy I know that but i'm excited to start the process with the knowledge you all have helped give me!

 

[TrimmyWhimmy]

Ash trees take easily from cuttings in my experience. Keep them in a humid environment like most cuttings.

 

[TurboFork]

Hey all, update time! Today I took some cuttings and did some air layering on both the main ash tree and one of its offspring nearby. I now have 3 air layers going and 16 cuttings. Wish me luck!

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

Fwiw, if nothing else, you could dig one (or a few) of the saplings this winter, and you could even grow one as a landscape tree if you have the space. Then you can enjoy your pet trees in the cool shade of a legacy tree from your farm.