Casuarina cunninghamiana in Sweden?

[Grant Bowie]

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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]

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 deal 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

[Per PF]

Hello Grant,
First off, I hope you are feeling better and staying healthy!
Secondly, thank you very much for the interest and care about my darling Casuarina!
I am fully on board with this plan and have ordered some Kyonal (from a local club member).
She's recovering slowly but surely. I will remove any obvious dead branches/leaves.
Here's some photos I took today:

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I placed a stone on the root ball after the repot to keep it in place - I alternate it around the pot.

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I envision a larger-medium bonsai so I'll go for about 6 cm when the time comes. I think with more size it will be a bit more robust and also easier to trim to scale with branches/leaves.

I had hoped to do an air-layering off the top (or a branch) since Casuarinas are few and far between over here. Do you think she will have the strength for it?

Very excited and humbled by all the help - lots to learn!
Sincerely,
Per

[Grant Bowie]

It might have enough strength by the end of year, its always worth a try.

Grant

[Grant Bowie]

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

[Grant Bowie]

I was out walking today and found a local subspecies of Casuarina here in Canberra. It’s most notable feature is the very small fruit which grow in big Clusters.

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They seem to grow the same size as the species and is being planted to stabilise river banks and replace some exotic deciduous trees.

Grant Bowie

[Per PF]

That's very cool, I like the look of it and always appreciate photos of Cassies in the wild

A question about the timing of the potential air-layering.
With only about six weeks of guaranteed warm summer here - is it already too late for an air-layer (and chop) this season? (Could she grow enough roots?)

Last year I thought she put on a lot of vascular tissue the last month she was out. I brought her inside on the 22nd of September.
(So I could get nine more weeks if I'm lucky and want her to experience the cooler air.)

Thanks heaps in advance!
Per

[Grant Bowie]

Re Arial Layer, I don’t know is the true answer. Maybe someone else can chime in with an answer. I have grown Casuarina eqisetifolia from cuttings very easily and reliably, so I suppose that is a good sign.

Give it a go as you’ve got nothing to lose. If it only sprouts a little during your summer it may keep producing while its inside.

I have never needed or attempted to layer a casuarina.

Cheers,

Grant

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The tree was not as root bound as I thought it might be

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Tree will not be trimmed for a few months to allow it to settle in quickly.

This will be a medium size bonsai eventually.

[Per PF]

I'm starting to think an air layer on my Cassy is a bad idea, and here's why:

1. She's recovering but not brimming with growth and the days are getting shorter here. It'll probably stay around 20+ the next month but after that..

2. An air layer stops the flow of nutrients to the roots and everything below the cut - which is really the part I want the strongest.

3. I need to reduce the crown/chop before she goes inside (limited space in grow tent) which is only five to seven weeks away.

Thoughts/comments are always welcome
Cheers,
/Per

[Per PF]

Daylight is shortening and we are going below 20+C towards the end of summer here. So I finally bit the bullet and cut my darling down hard..
Before:

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Tools (I used a branch cutter first and then followed up with the fine saw):

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Top:

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Chop immediately after (at about 6 cm from soil level):

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Chop about a minute later:

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Is the bubbling normal?

[Grant Bowie]

Hi Per, the application and outcome of the Kiyonal looks normal and OK to me. Good to see you take the next step on developing this future bonsai.

Grant

[Ryceman3]

The good news is you aren’t likely to run out of room in your indoor set up this winter!
From a bonsai perspective, I think you gave it a chance to become one by cutting. Not a lot of taper/interest in the trunk without the cut, so it’s a move in the right direction in my opinion. Don’t know your environment but hopefully enough time for the tree to bounce back and throw out some shoots before it really gets cold. I like your commitment to your project, keep going!

[Per PF]

The night temps have started to dip below 10+C now and it's getting darker so I took her inside today.
Like you said Ryceman3 - plenty of room

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I lowered the main light ramp quite a bit to get that lux up!

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No signs of buds yet, but she'll get there.

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I'll follow the same schedule as last season on the timers - 15h of light, and short periods of fan throughout the "day".

[Grant Bowie]

with the heat and light of the lamp the tree should start budding and burst into lots of growth soon. It can be a slow process to start but compounds quickly.

[Per PF]

I'm afraid it's looking grim guys... No signs of buds yet. She gets 15 hours of light and the soil is kept from drying out completely. Hindsight is 20-20... I think it was the emergency repot + not enough sun (and sun intensity) that weakened her.