Page 57 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2015Q3

The stump was turned upside down and wood
hardener poured into the cavity.
As an alternative, the cavity could be filled with auto
body putty. The roots will be adequate for tying the
stump in the pot. I could put brass eyehole screws in
the harder parts of the stump and attach the wires to
the eyeholes.
B. Chose a pot big enough to accommodate both
the stump and the live tree. You can take the live tree
out of its growing pot, spray the roots, and put them
in a plastic bag. Use the bagged tree to test both the fit
to the dead wood and the space in the pot.
C. California junipers (Juniperus californica) are
a much harder, rot resistant variety. They grow very
slowly in the dry desert air and various estimates are
made of their ages. The piece I cut off to balance a
tree had 30 growth rings to the inch, measuring from
the center out. An incomplete section measured 2 1/2
inches across.
If I used this dead tree, I would carve a channel for
the live plant. When ready for the permanent connec-
tion, some of cambium from a juniper scion (this is a
Phoenix graft, therefore scion is appropriate) would
be removed to stimulate the cambium to further
growth. Carefully done, with a close fit, the growing
cambium would fill in any gaps and eventually roll
over the edges of the grove and give the impression
that the scion was growing out of the tree.
The bougainvillea stump is far too soft for that
to work and damaging the cambium on a live B

Facing page; San Diego Red
Bougainvillea that died in 2014
from an overdose of fertilizer.

Top right; The dead trunk and
an Orange King Bougainvillea
that will be combined in a
Phoenix Graft.
Middle left; Treating the stump
with wood hardener.
Bottom left; Deadwood
from a California Juniper as
a comparison to the softer
A bougainvillea wood.
Bottom right; Orange King
prepared for transplanting.

C D

July/August/September 2015 | BCI | 55