One becomes two

[Redwood Ryan]

Hi all,



Decided to finally separate one of my Willow Leaf today. It's an '89, my only one. I initially wanted to fuse the two trunks, but gave up after realizing how long that'd take, and just thought it'd be better to get two trees from one. They were connected by a thick root at the back of the tree, so I had to saw through that in order to separate them.

Here's the tree before the split. You'll notice that it lacks roots in this picture. That's because (a few months ago) I decided I'd try to separate them, but couldn't figure out how, so I chopped them back and dusted with hormone. They bounced back with lots of roots though:



I had to saw through this root in order to separate them:

 

[Redwood Ryan]

So today I finally got around to actually separating them:







Hey, they're ugly, but they'll get there one day

 

[Poink88]

I definitely prefer them separated.

Curious...how do you identify an '89? What's the difference? Any advantage over the regular nerifolia?

Thanks!

 

[Redwood Ryan]

I definitely prefer them separated.

Curious...how do you identify an '89? What's the difference? Any advantage over the regular nerifolia?

Thanks!

Thanks, I think I do too, even if they are fugly

'89 has a much larger/wider leaf than your regular salicaria. For that reason the growth rate is said to be faster (I haven't noticed though). I'll see if I can find a comparison leaf picture..

 

[Redwood Ryan]

And here you go, '89 vs. regular:

 

[Poink88]

Thanks.

I'll compare these to mine and see if I can positively ID them. Looks like mine have leaves somewhere in between those 2 so it won't be easy.

 

[tmmason10]

I think fugly is usually a good look for bonsai. I like the two separated as well. I may have to be myself a little willow leaf, I had trades my larger one in last fall. The smaller trees are easier for overwintering I have found.

 

[Poink88]

The smaller trees are easier for overwintering I have found.

I can relate. I am already dreading winter because of the bigger tropical trees I need to shuffle and more importantly, the space they require. I actually plan on selling a couple logwood just to reduce the number of trees I'll have to cram in my tiny indoor space.