Should I pull up my hedge?

[Jason Crump]

I have this hedge in my yard and I'm looking for an ID. I've been looking for a place to get some trees in the ground to grow em up and this hedge area is a good candidate.

The hedge has nice small leaves and a number of nice trunks. I think they have been in ground about 20-30 years.

Should I dig em up and put them in a pot?

 

[f1pt4]

Myrtus communis?

Does it have a very fragrant smell when leaves break, or rub your hand over the foliage?

Assuming it is a Greek Myrtle, it's a nice species for bonsai. Back bud well. Nice flowers. Fragrant. Small leaves.

Cuttings also root fairly easily.

 

[Jason Crump]

Myrtus communis?

Does it have a very fragrant smell when leaves break, or rub your hand over the foliage?

Assuming it is a Greek Myrtle, it's a nice species for bonsai. Back bud well. Nice flowers. Fragrant. Small leaves.

Cuttings also root fairly easily.

The leaves are fragrant and I looked up some examples. Looks like you are right. Thanks! Now to decide on best strategy to maximize the harvest. Maybe airlayers first then dig them out. Hopefully some of them have a good trunk.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Lay down on ground and see what is there. Bonsai are not viewed from above.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I would go slow. As Pot said, get down on hands and knees, pick one with a good trunk line you can see, dig it up. Practice, see how it responds. I've killed a few myrtle over the years, they do have quirks. Learn their horticulture. If you dig them up all at once, you risk killing many before you get the horticulture down.

White ''fuzz ball''' flowers are typical of myrtle. The flowers are all pistils and stamens, petals are insignificant.

 

[Jason Crump]

There was really only one choice on which to pull out. I wanted to start from the end near the back of the house. Took me a couple of hours to get it out of the ground and who knows if it will live but here it is.

It is really too busy up top but the trunk has some character I think.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

There was really only one choice on which to pull out. I wanted to start from the end near the back of the house. Took me a couple of hours to get it out of the ground and who knows if it will live but here it is.

It is really too busy up top but the trunk has some character I think.

What top? Looks like you chopped it off. I'm a myrtle murderer, so I won't say that it's good or bad, if it were an elm, total defoliation chop when collected works great, not sure how myrtle take it.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Meant to say, great trunk, I could do a number of styles out of that
Many good options there.

 

[JudyB]

good luck with it, that is a nice trunk.

 

[Jason Crump]

There are two live branches with some foliage on the top. It'll either live or not. I don't have high hopes for success on this one but I would love to be surprised. I've decided the hedges have to come out regardless.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

If half the trunks in that hedge are as good as this one, you have a gold mine. Don't be in a rush if you don't have to rush. Up to you, just saying, that trunk is nice and myrtle does have a track record of being great exhibition quality bonsai for those in climates it does well in, which seems to include your location.

 

[Jason Crump]

If half the trunks in that hedge are as good as this one, you have a gold mine. Don't be in a rush if you don't have to rush. Up to you, just saying, that trunk is nice and myrtle does have a track record of being great exhibition quality bonsai for those in climates it does well in, which seems to include your location.

I have time. Would it makes sense to cut them way back without digging them out to let them back bud then dig out later?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I have time. Would it makes sense to cut them way back without digging them out to let them back bud then dig out later?

I don't know, I have killed every myrtle I have owned. Best not to take horticultural advise from me on this one. Hopefully someone from California, or Greece or Italy will respond, they have more experience with myrtle.

 

[Jason Crump]

I'm not very confident the first one is going to make it, the roots were very sparse. I decided to air layer/ground layer the next one.

Feel free to critique if there is something I should of done differently. I have 8 more to work on after this one. (One per year is my current plan if air layer works.)

My first air layer,. I hope it works out!