Nigel - serissa roots - the search for

Well Nigel,

here is a project started in 2010 or so. The pot is a plastic umbrella stand for those days when it is raining and you have to put the brolly somewhere to drip.

I got a small serissa and planted it in a coarse soil and just let it grow, cutting back when it flowered, about twice a year.
The objective was roots with personality.

Today, I took a look at what had grown.

[1] I should have done this as a single trunk [ going for the 3 to 5" [ 7.5 to 12.5 cm ] ]

[2] The roots only grew down to 2/3 of the stand.

[3] The roots were wiggled and had lots of movement, but only 1/4" [ 6 mm ] at maximum thickness, still I took out several to see what would grow as new plants.

So I cut the upper section to just two branches and buried the lower section a bit deeper. Even if the wounds rot, new roots should form above the cuts and I can continue on as a double trunked tree.

Theory - next time leave alone for 5 years. So I may do a recheck in say 2015.

The cuttings and roots were set in a large pot and I will let you know in about 4 months or so, just what happened.
Later.
Khaimraj

Umbrella pot - placement is full sun, by the way and this is the Chinese type serissa.



Coarse soil, cuttings and roots.