Can I grow a new tree from partial root?

samkaski

Hello!

I am a beginner with bonsai's and unfortunately my first bonsai died on me because of wrong soil

It dried out during the long and dry winter in Finland.

I couldn't get my hands on proper bonsai soil before march this year and by that time the whole tree had dried out. I still waited a month to see whether it would grow some leaves or become moist with the proper bonsai soil, well it didn't.

Now my question is: can I plant just part of the root (which seems moist and healthy) and grow myself a new bonsai? I couldn't find any FAQ or question on this topic or then simply the language barrier was too high. Thanks in advance.

BTW, I don't know what my bonsai was but I have attached a picture of it while it was at it's best.

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TreeBay

Yes Ulmus, and Chinese Elm like the one you have here specifically, can be started from root cuttings. The cutting should be large enough to have a bit of white center to it, so it would need to be a couple years old, maybe 1/2" or more or at least 1/4" across. You can cover the root top with a dab of cut paste and plant it just 1/4 to 1/2 inch above the surface of the soil. Maybe drop a little sphagnum moss around it to keep it from drying out too much. Within a few months it should issue some leaves.

This also works well with persimmon cuttings. Unfortunately it appears not to work well with Japanese Maple roots, unless you also graft in a bit of foliage at the time you plant the cutting.

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