Portulacaria Afra trimming

They recover amazingly. The wound is probably dry already. Depending on if you left a nub or not, the new growth will either come out at angle or straight. If you did leave a nub, cut it off after new growth is at least a 1/4 inch and the new growth will roll over in a few weeks.

If you don't remove the nub you usually stay at approximately 45 degree angle in my experience.
 
just.wing.it said:
Dang that's nice one to have...
Have you been trimming it to that shape?
Click to expand...

First shot is maybe a year or two after I bought it at Bonsai West. Picture with the cracked nursery pot was taken as a reminder. Super windy Columbus day wiped out a bench via pool umbrella.....:(
Out here on the ranch it's referred to as the "Columbus Day Massacre" and on a more sublime level, "The Mary Poppins' Incident".....


Thanks for the "atta' boy".....;):D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
 
Cool semi cascade!

I have a cascade that is just starting. Not yet in training as much as it is naturally growing that way. I think it fell over shortly after potting and healed itself. Or I picked it like that. Totally forget! Still need to thicken up the main trunk before we get into training mode when I chop back the lengthening nodes to promote branching. The upward branches can be trained to make it a semicascade that sits lower than yours.
 

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KingJades said:
Cool semi cascade!

I have a cascade that is just starting. Not yet in training as much as it is naturally growing that way. I think it fell over shortly after potting and healed itself. Or I picked it like that. Totally forget! Still need to thicken up the main trunk before we get into training mode when I chop back the lengthening nodes to promote branching. The upward branches can be trained to make it a semicascade that sits lower than yours.
Click to expand...
Good start there, I'd say... more than what I started with....and instantly cooler.
 
Lobaeux said:
Okay, I went ahead and sliced off one of the vertical growing branches. I'll leave it to dry out for about a week and then pot it in this little square pot.

And a pic of the Jade missing the branch. The wound will heal over just fine, eh?
Click to expand...

For sure eh. No doot aboot it!

Don't even sweat the one week period with those little guys. Just plant them in a inorganic mix and don't water for a couple weeks. The leaves will shrivel up but then by the end of September it'll bounce back. Don't over water or they'll rot. Don't panic if most of the existing leaves will fall off.

When I take port clippings and they sit under lights, after the 2 week period I water once a week. But once again, I use a 100% inorganic mix. If you don't and use a cactus soil mix, you could probably get away with once every two-three weeks. When you see new growth popping like its hot, I water them normally like established portucalarias.

Some people say no direct light, keep em in the dark etc etc. Maybe out of laziness I keep them under full light and everything grows just fine.

Patience and they'll bounce back.
 
image.jpeg


Here's some of my cuttings. I'm gonna be taking cuttings of my cuttings soon because some won't fit under my lights.

You can see in this post:

http://www.bonsainut.com/threads/some-of-my-butcherings.20629/page-4

What roots on a 4 month old cutting could look like.

And like lance said. Clip clip clip
 
Since we're on the topic of sharing portulacaria pics and advice, I think I could some advice!

I posted a picture of one of my ports that already had a pretty cool thick trunk when I got it. The problem is that the main trunk is a little on the short side and the two main branches are doing the thing where they come out at a 45 degree angle due to that nub being there so long. Here's a photo from a few weeks ago after I repotted it. In case you're wondering, the tree is now a lush green and the roots are already growing out the bottom of the pot! I've now removed the nub and the two main branches are inching toward each other as the wound heals.

@just.wing.it suggested pruning at these locations, and I think he's mostly right when I'm ready to start design pruning but right now I'm looking for growth in height and thickness.

downloadfile_1-jpg.112836



Here's an image of the overall tree for context.

image-jpeg.112834


Here's my question: I'd like to extend the height of the tree to allow it to be taller and I would also like to continue developing the trunk to be thicker. It seems like there are two options.

1. Wire the long branch to the left upwards to vertical and run it as a new leader adding some height and taper. The branch on the right continues to be a side branch adding thickness until it's time to design prune.
2. Make the following cut to use the first secondary branch that this already vertical as new trunk, introducing both taper a little movement as the trunk line shifts to the left.
I'd probably also cut down the vertical branch to allow me to grow the new nodes a lot closer than they are right now. It would be pretty drastic at first until my trunk is about 2-2.5x as thick as it is currently.

leader port prune.png

Here's a rough vert showing how the new trunk would come through:
leader port virt.png

I'm definitely new when it comes to styling so I wanted to collect thoughts and ideas for the best way to approach this. I'm not sure if either of those options are possible or would work!
 
For cuttings up to through finger and thumb size I don't bother with drying out. Just stick them in some well draining soil and go. Last year I dumped some cuttings on top of an old planter and they are going gangbusters: survived our (rather mild) winter and all.
 
In the wild the branches are being torn off by the animals. As they drop to the ground, they lay there on hard dry soil until its time for them to sprout roots. They grow little roots into that rock hard soil without any moisture. They are born survivors. We fuss to much over them. Easy plant to kill with to much love....:p
 
fredman said:
In the wild the branches are being torn off by the animals. As they drop to the ground, they lay there on hard dry soil until its time for them to sprout roots. They grow little roots into that rock hard soil without any moisture. They are born survivors. We fuss to much over them. Easy plant to kill with to much love....:p
Click to expand...
They like the neglect!
It is very cool that way....different...
 
just.wing.it said:
They like the neglect
Click to expand...
Yeah they seem to thrive on neglect.... or rather what we perceive as neglect....:) Whenever I want the fastest growth from a particular one, I put the pot sunken in the ground and forget about it. Don't feed it and don't water it. I do that on purpose. Just leave it out there so it fends for itself. I've seen it time and time again....that plant really don't miss me....;)
 
fredman said:
Yeah they seem to thrive on neglect.... or rather what we perceive as neglect....:) Whenever I want the fastest growth from a particular one, I put the pot sunken in the ground and forget about it. Don't feed it and don't water it. I do that on purpose. Just leave it out there so it fends for itself. I've seen it time and time again....that plant really don't miss me....;)
Click to expand...
That's interesting...
I was reading some stuff saying that it's good to throw as much fertilizer as you can at them, and let it dry out between each dose...
 
Yeah that is most probably true. A good fertilising regime can only bring good results.
 
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