AusBonsai

Hi all!

I bought this swamp cypress back in December and it looked healthy and green when I bought it over the summer and has been healthy since then. I haven't had a swampy before this and am only going off various readings but took a bit of a gamble as I went to repot him today. He stands around 1.7m tall currently but I've been wanting to air layer the top portion just above the the bend in the trunk since I bought him.

First off does anyone have any recommendations on season and any tips for airlayer of a swampy? I've done an airlayer on a japanese maple but it was very thin, around 1/3 the diameter of this swamp trunk. Anyways, carrying on. So the repot was a big tasks. Trying to tilt the swampy on his side to rake out the roots was a mission and there was a lot of bloody roots. I had him planted in what is essentially an oversized saucer, I transferred him in there as soon as I bought it cause the old pot he was, was not actually any form of a pot and the base was newspaper. I didn't think the base of the old 'pot' would last a year so I transferred it quickly before the end of summer hit. The training pot/container I'm repotting him into is around 1/3 the size of the the previous one, but for the diameter of the trunk at the base it looks a good fit. The roots were huge and circling the old pot so I'm happy with the time to repot.

As I was raking the root and part way through the trimming I saw what looks like a taproot portion. Can anyone confirm is a taproot and does that mean it was grown from seed? If so how old could it be? I was a little cautious with the bulk of the root but it was sticking downward more than the other large roots and if it was going to be planted in a bonsai pot someday then the root needed to be dealt with. I took a gamble after remembering a post I read that the taproot isn't necessary after fibrous roots are developed, so I cut him. After all the trimming and cutting of the roots I positioned it into the new container I potted him up. I didnt have enough daylight to get a good photo of the final pot so will update tomorrow.

I had a few big roots that I thought could potentially grow so I separated them into other containers and potted them up as well. I had 3 good looking ones but Im doing a little experiment with them by putting 2 in a container that can hold water to keep them wet and 1 without to be free draining. Does anyone know if swampy roots will sprout this way? Should I put a cover on them to help with humidity?

Cheers,
K

Hi Kyle,
Your swampy looks well on the way to achieving a good tree.
Time of year is good for root pruning this species so it should go well after. I have cut some of mine back even harder than you have. They seem to be quite resilient trees.
Even though many people talk about tap root I don't really believe there is such a thing. Sure some trees put down one or more deep roots to help them find moisture in dry weather but those roots can be directly under the tree or out to the sides. Many species do not even bother with a large deep root, they just make do with lots of long laterals to collect nutrients and water. take a close look at trees that have blown over in storms and you'll see what I mean.
That vertical root could mean that it was once a seedling but sometimes cuttings also grow one or more strong vertical roots so a tap root is not really definitive for seed grown.

I haven't layered a swampy but assume that spring/summer would be the best time while they are actively growing like most other species. Thicker branches and trunks are actually easier to layer than thin ones. Sometimes peeling off the bark can kill a thin trunk.

I am not aware of Swamp cypress growing from root cuttings. You can be the one to test that.

Hi Kyle,
Further to shibui's comments on tap roots and grown from seed; a year and a half ago I collected and planted some acorns. They grew well and a few days ago I repotted some of the seedlings. The trunks (if you can call them that ), were less than 10 mm in diameter, but the main roots were twice as thick and curled round in all sorts of directions. Some had a couple of main roots as well as the fibrous roots. I cut all the main roots to try and stimulate the trees to grow the smaller roots into some nice nebari.
Cheers, Frank.

shibui wrote: ↑August 7th, 2019, 6:42 pm
Time of year is good for root pruning this species so it should go well after. I have cut some of mine back even harder than you have. They seem to be quite resilient trees.

I'm hoping so, I really enjoy the look of swampy bonsai and I'm super keen to develop it. I have heard putting in a tub of water for most of the year also helps with trunk development and growth. Do you know what seasons I should soak him and which ones to take out from his new tub as the 'dry season'?

Here is his new training container. I used guy wires to keep tension on the trunk where it bends, which I had on previously. After the repot I added the wires on the corners of the plant pot which started to bend and shift all the soil and tree. So I removed those and put the guy wires on the water container which is a lot stronger. I added a little wire to the pot edge to bring back the rectangle shape, bit tacky but it works.

Here is the final look at the moment and the new root cuttings that will hopefully take.

Do you think I should try and keep the humidity high around the root cuttings?

This is the view I like the best and think it will make a good front when he develops a bit more. The trunk line is also curved in the upper half and shoots off where I want to airlayer the old trunk line to make a new plant.

After the airlayer or if I just cut off the top trunk.

The root cuttings will grow or not. No need to bother with humidity as far as I know.

I'm pretty sure these trees stand in water all year round in their natural everglades habitat but they do seem to be quite happy to grow without extra water. Just don't let it dry out which means the most important season for water is summer or dry season. Down here people stand them in a tub over summer and just keep well watered in winter.

shibui wrote: ↑August 8th, 2019, 7:05 pm The root cuttings will grow or not. No need to bother with humidity as far as I know.

I'm pretty sure these trees stand in water all year round in their natural everglades habitat but they do seem to be quite happy to grow without extra water. Just don't let it dry out which means the most important season for water is summer or dry season. Down here people stand them in a tub over summer and just keep well watered in winter.

When do you recommend to use dynamic lifter and fertiliser after doing a major root prune like this on swampys?

Whats the best way to feed while they are standing in water? Currently I only have liquid feed, would something else be better? I've seen the solid feed applied to top soil with little mesh bags. Would that be the way to go out just straight use liquid during one of my routine watering sessions?

Normally fertilise when it has new leaves. By then the roots should have started to grow again and can take in some nutrients.
You can still fertilise trees in water bath with liquid fert same as any other tree. You may find that the water explodes with algae with the extra nutrients - just change the water (use it to water other trees rather than wasting those valuable nutrients or polluting nearby waterways with the runoff)

You will probably find you'll need to change the water every few weeks anyway to keep it clean and prevent mosquito breeding.

So I took a gamble and it paid off!
As I posted previously I was thinking of air layering the swampy just above half way since the taper was too long and thin. This was my first attempt at a decent sized air layer and also first time using a clear plastic.
There is 2 distinct colours of the leaves from the original base that is sitting in water, and the new top section that only gets water from the airlayer and leaf watering. I loosened the top airlayer tie about a month ago to allow a bit of water to enter the airlayer pocket when I water since it has been super hot and dry out where I live (Toowoomba).
One morning out watering I noticed a root in the plastic at the base of the airlayer. A few days later the root was twice as visible. These photos were about 2 weeks ago. I was planning on leaving the airlayer on until end of Jan and planting the new top end swampy into a pot and have it resting in water the same as the original base.

Should I put it straight in water after the airlayer removal from main trunk? Or pot it up and give it a few weeks of standard watering before resting in water?