Hi Mickey. I was just reading through your discussion about the air layering.
I’m quite new to the bonsai game 
and would be interested in an update on your tree.
Is it coming out of dormancy already?
Cheers
Martin
Thanks for showing interest in my hornbeam!
It’s still alive and kicking. We had a very mild winter and my cellar never got bellow freezing so it survived winter without any lost branches. I unfortunately had mice munching on my trees but fortunately they didn’t fancy hornbeam so all shoots were left intact on this tree.
It hasn’t leafed out yet, but neither has the parent plant. But the shoots are starting to show green and the air layered tree is just about to start opening the shoots. The parent plant has just started opening its shoots, so its a couple of days ahead of the air layer.
Here’s a two pictures of the tree and the shoots:
I will let it grow unrestricted this summer to gain strengths and grow roots. I will probably prune it compact in the fall and possible chop the trunk to start building taper. If growth is slow this season I will let it grow next year as well without any major reductions.
Good.
I was repotting… looked at a one year old airlayer of a hornbeam I have. Gently pulled it out to see the roots. Still only has the bulb calus forms. No roots. Has NOT pushed yet, I assume it is still alive… Parent tree is in same state.
.
All 5 of my small Korean hbs were eaten down to the roots two wniters ago. Have two medium hbs they didn’t touch. Probably European hornbeams? Less tasty…
.
Hope Springs eternal… Bonsai On!
Just to clarify, I decided to separate in the fall after a lot of thinking. I was afraid a cold winter outside would be worse than an early separation.
So after color change, just before the first freeze I put the saw on the air layer and stored it in my unheated cellar for the winter.
When I separated the layer I checked for roots and saw a few fleshy roots. Didn’t dig any deeper as not to damage the roots I found. So, I knew it had at least a few roots.
Now, I’m keeping it in semi shade to reduce evaporation until I know there are enough roots to support the foliage it’s pushing.
1 Like