zelkova sport? forked leafs

theelmboy

hello all

i have a couple zelkova seedlings that were offered for free a couple months ago at one of my bonsai club meetings. so i picked up around 4 zelkovas and i think 3 pine seedlings. so i left some of my trees at some freinds homes while on vacation in costa rica for a while. and when i came back i noticed odd growth on 2 of the 4 zelkovas. the odd forked leaf growth is only on the upper half of the seedling and grew while i was on vacation. the bottom half has typical shaped leafs that you would expect. now both seedlings are around 17'' tall. i dont know what did it or if it is totally normal for this specie. i would hope it were a "sport" that i could propagate but for now i think it is to early to tell as it has not gone dormant and leafed out with the forked leafs so i am not sure.

my question is:

is this normal for zelkova or is this something unusual?

Attached Images

IMG_4409.jpg (50.6 KB, 78 views)

Advertisement

jow4040

definately not normal...... try to make a cutting from that branch?

rockm

It is not a "sport." It is simply abnormal growth. Might be due to some kind of stress the plant was placed under. Such glitches in growth are pretty common in alot of fast growing trees. They are not a new cultivar.

zen

That looks pretty distinct for a glitch. I'd wait and see what the new leaves look like in spring. For all we know it could be something sporty.

__________________
"Although profoundly "inconsequential," the Zen experience has consequences in the sense that it may be applied in any direction, to any conceivable human activity, and that wherever it is so applied it lends an unmistakable quality to the work."

~ Alan Watts (1915-1973)

http://www.bonsaiswap.com/

OakLad

Whether usual or not that's quite bizarre! haha I liked it though

rockm

"That looks pretty distinct for a glitch."

No it's not distinct. It happens alot. Plants produce leaves that have weird, or at least unnusual shapes sometimes. Happens quite alot. Look at the variation in Acer Palmatum leaves, etc. Stress, changing light levels, pruning, too much fertlizer, insects, etc can all produce unnusual foliage.

Saying this is some kind of new cultivar is quite a reach.

Vance Wood

Saying that it is not is a reach as well. There is a glitch that happens quite often with Pines known as a Witch's Broom that for one reason or another a branch or portion of a tree will produce odd growth. This may be due to some pathogen or infestation or infection but for what reason it is there. In some cases this oddity can be reproduced through cuttings or grafting passing on the oddity to another generation. Sometimes a Witch's Broom is the result of a genetic hicup that causes the anomaly.

Sometimes it is the case with a Witch's Broom that the condition or oddity will clear up once the issue that caused it has been relieved. Whether or not this is the case with this Zelkova cannot for certain be determined until next year if the same anomaly occurs again. Until that time there is no reason to jump up and down and run in circles about a new cultivar.

__________________
The only finished bonsai is a dead one; me 1992 MABA Des Moines Iowa

Repotter

The Ficus Toolittle is originally from a witches broom. It occured on a Ficus Benjamina.

It is patented and is being grown from tissue culture in Florida.

One of my suppliers is the one who discovered it and holds the patent on it.

__________________
http://www.tellys.com

http://www.Fourseasonsbonsai.com
The original Four Seasons Bonsai Club of Michigan.
Our guest master in August is Pedro Morales.
Tellys Greenhouse, 3301 John R road, Troy Mi. 48083

Four Seasons Bonsai Club meetings monthly.
Troy, Michigan

"Anything is possible when you don't know what you are doing"................someone famous I think.