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Here is the foliage of the Casuarina in the wild in/on a river near me.
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Here is the foliage of a small Casuarina torulosa i am developing,Grant
Grant Bowie wrote: ↑July 5th, 2022, 7:49 pm Hi Per, I have been sick on and off for the last two weeks but I did get out to take some photos and I have been thinking a lot about your tree and the situation it is in now.
What has happened so far has been a bit of a set back but not a disaster and we collectively have learnt a bit.
I think I may have a program that you can follow for the next 2 to 4 years.
Year 1. Starting now. The tree has been repotted and is outside now with new growth starting but lots of damaged foliage.
Fertilizer as normal once tree is settled in and growing well. Do not cut off any foliage this year but do cut off any dead foliage or branches etc. This is just to reduce the sail effect. Our aim is to thicken the trunk and nothing else matters.
At the end of your growing season decide what size bonsai you eventually want and cut the trunk down completely to a stump.
About 2 to 3 cm for a shohin or medium bonsai or 4 to 6 cm for a larger medium bonsai.
Do a flat cut across the trunks with a sharp bonsai saw and seal with a soft sealant like Kiyonal rather than a paste.
This way the sun/lights will penetrate and induce new growth from the cambium layer whereas a putty would block growth there.
Put under your existing lights and heating winter home after a few days.
You will see lot of new growth start to emerge on the sides of the trunk at the top.
Let grow all winter and then about 6 weeks before you put it out for summer, cut it back again very hard above the original cuts. You will as such construct the basic trunk and lost of new growth wil start growing , You will in effect get 2 or 3 seasons every year an quickly get a photo bonsai .
Do this years 1 to 2 or 4 to build the trunk. When you are done growing the trunk you then start on growing and ratifying the branches . When it goes inside you will then need a lower intensity light to just maintain the growth as is and not force new growth too much over winter. You will need to learn or practice the pinching process for Casuarina which we refer to as grip and rip. I will show it in a later post.
Grant