allocasuarina torulosa2

[anttal63]

what a good morning for it. time to debunk the notion that you cant bare root a cassa in autumn. as stated in previous threads all my cassa's were first bare rooted and repotted 3 years ago. 2 of them which i successfully did for a 2nd time last spring. however most people are afraid to repot natives this late let alone bare root them.......NOT ME! NOW HAVING SAID THAT... this is melbourne 4 seasons in a day something for everything.

[anttal63]

i dont know what that weed is called but its a son of a bitch once it sets in. it like carpet my sister in law said while weeding some trees the other day. this method was the the least damaging to rid it. the roots of this weed form like a web that gets in all around the roots and i believe inhibits root growth. so to my way of thinking barerooting is doing the tree a favour. like setting it free. carefully loosening, prying off, soaking and rinsing, finally i get to the roots. once there i need to get my metal scribe out out and with the 90deg end i carefully seperate finer roots and drag this web off the trunk and roots. a little more rinsing and its much better now. it is almost impossible to rid it all without pulling finer roots off so have to be happy with this and keep a vigilant eye for any new weed coming up. as dave sais its easier to get them when they first appear.

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[FlyBri]

what a good morning for it. time to debunk the notion that you cant bare root a cassa in autumn. as stated in previous threads all my cassa's were first bare rooted and repotted 3 years ago. 2 of them which i successfully did for a 2nd time last spring. however most people are afraid to repot natives this late let alone bare root them.......NOT ME! NOW HAVING SAID THAT... this is melbourne 4 seasons in a day something for everything.

Go Antonio!

No guts, no glory!!!

Fly.

PS: If it dies, can I have your polystyrene box of weeds?

[anttal63]

now out with an orchid pot and lets try a new mix on my cass. i have purchased all 3 grades of diatamite. fine graded composted pine bark for orchids by aus grow.
using the course diatamite for drainage is easier with the large holes of the orchid pot. then mixing the orchid mix 50/50 with the medium grade diatamite, i put a layer over the top of the drainage layer.

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[anttal63]

i then take potting mix for natives and mix it 50/50 with scoria. i put 1/3 of this mix to 2/3 of the orchid mix and fill the rest of the pot, careful to tap in to all the crook's and cranny's. and wela here it is.

[anttal63]

now after all that waffling, if i can bust some low branches to fatten the 1st quarter of the trunk there could be a future for this tree. if not it might just make a decent literate down the track. what do you guys think? this one's for the rippin pull it apart to your hearts content. oh BTW this tree will survive no question about that!

[Kelv]

Looking good Ant! If you say so that its gonna live then im gonna get going on my cassas!

So we just be terribly brutal yea?

[Steven]

G'day Antonio,
Great progression you have started to put together. From my experience with She-Oaks you should have no problems getting it to pop branches from the second quarter. With more taper it will definitely have a future.
Regards,
Steven

[anttal63]

ok its like this boomy, the first time ( in autumn )i was extremely brutal and it, sooked a little but survived no prob. this time i didnt need to cut anything because i was rewarded with a good spread and would have had more if that weed hadnt taken such a strangle hold. so i can only stand behind what i do. but hey dont do them all if your concerned. leave some for late spring and see yourself the results. i come from an attitude thats bad luck if i lose it, tomorrow's another day another tree .

[anttal63]

thanks steven i think your right about the poppn.

[anttal63]

first styling into windswept.

[teejay]

I love these Cass'. Well done Ant, I reckon the windswept looks great!

I posed this question on another thread but do you reckon now is too late to remove an Allocass Torulosa from the ground? No bare-rooting or major root work at all, just removal. A mate wants some gone from a new house he's bought and some of them would make great bonsai but he's impatient.

I know winter is a no no for native root work but I intend to mess with the roots as little as possible.

[anttal63]

hey tee it sounds like if you dont you're gonna loose them any way so if you reckon you can get them out with lots of roots attached i say go for it. nurse them and keepm out of the wind and frost. $100 bucks says they survive.

[anttal63]

up date; the wire recently came off and was allowed to have a growing spell. i thinned out and cut back the top half still hoping to break buds lower down on the trunk. the bottom halfs lack of taper bothers me no end. if it doesn't pull its finger out, THE HACK!

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[teejay]

Sure Ant, the taper's a tad problematic but I really like this one. I think it has great movement for one and it's given me ideas for a torulosa I'm 'trunk pumping' at the moment.

It looks creepy and sort of mystical. Well done!