Page 58 - BSAM 2015 Q3

Top right; Anchoring the newly-assembled plant into the pot. The back of the root ball will be covered with soil, using muck and moss if necessary to keep the soil in place.
Middle; Putting lime sulfur on first and then wood hardener leaves a yellow cast from
the wood hardener. Putting the lime sulfur on last makes
it hard to penetrate the
wood and get the color of a weathered dead branch. Photo G shows how it looks applied over the wood hardener.
E
bougainvillea, would only leave a dead spot. Bougain- villea do not heal well. I will have to follow the natural lines of the dead stump.
D. Removing the Orange King from the growing pot reveals a root ball that is loose and larger than the stump will accommodate. While Eitan the Apprentice held the stump, I trimmed the root ball so it would fit inside the stump and in the spaces between the sides of the pot and the expected placement of the stump.
Keeping it moist with water from a spray bottle, we put it in the cavity, set the stump with bougainvillea down in the pot, and wired it in. With rare exceptions, I anchor all my plants to the pot with wire. In the case of the bougainvillea, it is especially important to keep the tree stable while new roots are being developed.
E. In the wiring photo, looking at the back of the plant, you can see the back of the root ball that will be covered with soil, using muck and moss if necessary to keep the soil in place.
F. The Orange King had several low branches which could be fitted into natural grooves. They were fitted in one at a time, tied in place until the whole plant was tied in, and then excess twine was cut off. The main trunk of the tree continued the slant of the stump. Neither leaves nor bracts on the plant can be trimmed to a perfect outline. It will have to be enjoyed for what it is, an unruly but very pretty flowering plant.
G. In the past, lime sulfur has been used on dead wood to control rot. Either or both lime sulfur and wood hardener can be used on a dead tree. Putting lime sulfur on first and then wood hardener leaves a yellow cast from the wood hardener. Putting the lime sulfur on last makes it hard to penetrate the wood and get the color of a weathered dead branch. I ordered lime sulfur but it did not arrive in time to put it on first. Here’s how it looks applied over the wood hardener.
Only part of the tree was covered; it would be a glaring white if it were completely covered. Decide for yourself whether you like it better with or without lime sulfur.
With a rot-resistant juniper, just drill holes in the base and run wires from the bottom of the pot to hold it in the position you want. As an alternative, make a loop of copper wire not quite large enough to slip be- low the widest part of the dead tree and bring the wires from the bottom of the pot up through the loop. Pull them tight and then bend them down over the outside of the loop to hold the trunk in place. This technique can be used with any tree being wired in a pot.
F
Neither leaves nor bracts on the plant can be trimmed to a perfect outline. It will have to be enjoyed for what it is, an unruly but very pretty flowering plant.
G
56 | BCI | July/August/September 2015
Bottom; the plant photographed July 7, 2015.