Page 60 - BSAM 2015 Q1

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Air layering a thick casuarina in the forest
Air layering on a thick Casua- rina in a pot.
Newly harvested casuarinas under the shade cloth to reduce sunlight while they are recovering.
Casuarina sited in full sunlight and allowed to grow wild so that branches will thicken to the appropriate proportions before they are trimmed to the correct length.
The Discovery
It was around 1985 when bonsai lovers from East Java discovered a jungle of Casuarina equisetifolia in Lombang, a sea side area in East Madura. Madura is a small island in the east of Java. The condition in that island is hot and dry. The people over there were most- ly poor and used the casuarina for fire wood, cutting branches from the upper part of the living tree. This resulted in a lot of new shoots. Over and over people cut them down, making them very beautiful in shape. Growing wild in such a condition over many years made the shape of the plants extraordinarily beautiful as bonsai material.
When people first harvested them from the wild to grow them as bonsai, they used normal bonsai pot- ting mix that consisted of sand, humus and soil to grow them. Thousands of them died. Later on people found out that to grow a Casuarina from the wild, we have to use pure sand. We also have to cut off most of the leaves, then place the plants under shade or net to reduce the sunlight and spray the trunk and bonsai mix several times a day with water. Expect the tree to drop its needles because Casuarina is in fact a decidu- ous tree. Later on when it gets stronger you can move it to a more open area.
Growing Wild Casuarina
Casuarina can also be easily propagated by air-lay- ering. It can be done on a tree in the ground or a tree in the pot. It will usually take some two months to get the roots before the new plant can be cut off from the mother plant and potted.
Casuarina loves sun and wind, so place it in an open space with a lot of sun and air circulation. In conditions with less wind or less sun, the tree will be weak. Tiny bugs will easily come and kill some of the branches and eventually the tree itself will die.
The correct bonsai mix is very important thing to consider. Casuarina equisetifolia grows near the sea side. It needs sand and good drainage. In Indonesia we usually use volcanic sand, around 80%, and humus, around 20%, on established trees. This tree also toler- ate some soil, but it is better not to use it in a bonsai container. Anyhow, if there is no volcanic sand, we can use normal river sand mixed with humus. We usually add “Furadan,” an insecticide to kill any nematodes in the mix.
Organic fertilizer is better for Casuarina. Watering solution made with cow or goat manure will be very good especially if the bonsai is already mature and we want to make the needles thicker and greener. Some salt water will also be tolerated by the plant and it will be good for the growth of the tree. Though it is only needed once in a while.
Insecticide is a must for Casuarina equisetifolia. Spraying insecticide must be done regularly at least once every two weeks. There are two main enemies of the Casuarina bonsai. The first is the white bugs that are so tiny, so that they just looked like powder. They will stay on the leaves, so that the tree will gradually
58 | BCI | April/May/June 2015