Prunus mume progress thread

[Trueblackpercula]

Flower buds (1,3) form on either side of the vegetative bud (2) in the fall. I don’t think those embryonic leaves indicate flower buds.
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Thank you for the response I was hoping they were but after seeing your detailed picture it sure seems doubtful. Well maybe next year as the tree is still young and from what I was told from the seller it was air layered. So I don’t have to wait a life time for flowers.
Michael

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

The way you can tell if your Ume is producing flower buds is easy: if the leaf is smooth and curls up like a taco shell in late summer, it has flower buds at its base. If the leaf is rough and stays flat, no flower bud.

A conversation with Enrique Castano on Ume

Have you ever heard the way to tell if an ume will bloom? The leaves of a blooming ume have smooth undersides, and the underside of leaves on an ume that isn’t going to bloom are rough.…

nebaribonsai.wordpress.com

 

[Trueblackpercula]

Thank you for the good read, well i will keep ya posted as late summer is a short time away.


Michael

 

[Trueblackpercula]

The way you can tell if your Ume is producing flower buds is easy: if the leaf is smooth and curls up like a taco shell in late summer, it has flower buds at its base. If the leaf is rough and stays flat, no flower bud.

A conversation with Enrique Castano on Ume

Have you ever heard the way to tell if an ume will bloom? The leaves of a blooming ume have smooth undersides, and the underside of leaves on an ume that isn’t going to bloom are rough.…

nebaribonsai.wordpress.com

Hey Brian

I took some pictures this morning to share with others what these little leaf buds look like at the start. I will say not every leaf has the same as there are only 8 or 9 of these buds. The rest just have leafs with no buds at all. Well maybe next year I will have better luck.
Thanks again
Michael

 

[Trueblackpercula]

Took some close ups this morning for future reference. It appears that a lot of the larger leaves are starting to look curled up but I am doubtful she will produce flowers. Again I am only posting these pictures to compare to next years (end of July) leaf production.
I didn’t realize how much joy this hobby would provided. It’s like it completely relaxes me

michael

 

[Trueblackpercula]

Well it’s been 6 months and I felt it was time to remove all the wire, tape and raffia to see how the tree healed from all the abuse I put her through. Below are several pictures of the out come.
These are the lessons learned
1) the bark underneath the raffia and tape were extremely moist and paper thin but healthy.
2) the bottom of the tree were I removed roots and peeled back the bark to remove deeper roots were sealed with cut past and to my surprise we’re completely healed with no visible signs of cuts. It was like the back grew perfectly of all the cutting I did. So what I learned was seeking with cut past and wrapping it with raffia and black tap worked perfectly.
3) the areas were I split the trunk even though it was wrapped and taped still showed signs of the scars. What I should have done but didn’t was put cut paste over the splitting. As it would have looked I think like the below were I did place it. I also noticed that a tiny shot grew right through the tape and will see how it progresses.

Hope this helps others

what I decided to do was place cut paste over the vertical splitting to see if the tree heals. I also put in place wire to pull the tree downwards for more movement until next season.
Below are pictures of the lessons learned.
Michael

 

[Trueblackpercula]

A few more after the cut paste has dried in.

 

[Trueblackpercula]

Finished until end of November/December as I will be taking two cuttings to see if I can propagate it.
Michael

 

[Trueblackpercula]

Came across this amazing prunus on Instagram and while admiring it I noticed the split branch. I wonder if this was done deliberately like mine.
Michael

 

[Trueblackpercula]

Noticed the wire I put in place start to slightly indent the branches so I removed the wire. Looks like perfect timing as it left hardly any visible signs of scaring. Looks like the tree is holding its new shape and the wire did what it was suppose to.
Michael

 

[Trueblackpercula]

Quick question to all. Seeing the leaves on my tree are looking crappie as the tree goes dormant do I clip the leaves off to promote better bud development. Or do I just let them fall off normally?
Michael

 

[Pitoon]

Let them fall off naturally.

They may look 'tired', but they are still doing their job....photosynthesis.

 

[Trueblackpercula]

Let them fall off naturally.

They may look 'tired', but they are still doing their job....photosynthesis.

Thank you. I like the way you put it. They look tired. They sure do and the reason I asked is because I have seen a few pictures on line from different sources and it appeared that the leaves where cut and I wasn’t sure if I should do the same. Thanks again for the advice as I think this winter is going to be super cold.
michael

 

[Trueblackpercula]

Well she’s all wrapped up for the fast approaching winter season. I re-wired and took 4 cuttings and placed them in the fridge and will pull them out in March. Let’s see how it goes as this is my first attempt at cuttings.
Michael

 

[Trueblackpercula]

First snow fall of the year hope the wrap I put on helps the tree to heal up as it’s going to be a cold winter. As you can see my daughters wisteria still has leaves.
Michael

 

[leatherback]

Happy to see this develop and stay healthy.

I think one lesson you did not learn was to not split the trunk. There really is no need. If you wrap the trunk as you did, you should have been able to bend without trouble. That would have left you without scar. The scar will remain with you. Wiring green branches is a lot easier though.

This tree will have lots of flowers, from what I can tell. Great!

 

[Trueblackpercula]

Checked on the four cuttings this morning to see if they were still alive and see if they needed a little water.
When I check the zip lock bag the soil/crushed akadama was still very wet and the cuttings looked green as the day I cut them. The only exception was the cut area seemed to be darker is this good or bad ?

michael

 

[River's Edge]

The discolouration is normal, what you are looking for though is callusing! The area that is dark now will look bumpy and swollen when it calluses. The soonest I would expect this is after one month of cold storage. Some cuttings will take longer to callus and some will fail to callus. Best of luck with these four.

 

[Trueblackpercula]

The discolouration is normal, what you are looking for though is callusing! The area that is dark now will look bumpy and swollen when it calluses. The soonest I would expect this is after one month of cold storage. Some cuttings will take longer to callus and some will fail to callus. Best of luck with these four.

I will check again in January thanks

 

[River's Edge]

I will check again in January thanks

If you cut any further scions for propagation, I would suggest sealing the top cut and applying rooting hormone to the bottom cut at the time of preparing the scion.
Some varieties require more care for better results than others. From the pictures on the thread it is not possible to see if theses steps were taken the first time,
The sealing prevents desiccation and helps to avoid fungal infection and or excessive die back on the top of the cutting. The rooting hormone often creates a stronger rooting response.
When you plant the cuttings, put them down in the soil mix fairly deep 2-3 inches. This makes a difference in keeping the bottom end moist and conditions stable for rooting. If you can provide a bottom heat mat that is beneficial but not required. Just a few suggestions for improved results.
best of luck