TRex (Tetrapanax papyrifer 'Rex') Sasa Palmata in disguise

[simon]

I had a look at my (Kev Spence clone) Trex in the back garden last night and it looks like the growing point has survived on this one for the first time since I have had it and it has started pushing out new growth. I have put it down to the fact that the extra bulk from the flower stems has given some additional protection. Ironically the Carolpz clone in the front, which has been undamaged in the past, has some rotted growing points and is yet show signs of movement.

What is also unusual with the Kev Spence one is that although it doesn't normally sucker, it has now produced a single stocky looking pup right in the middle of my basjoo clump. Lucky that the basjoo was cut to the ground or I might not have noticed it .

[Dave Brown]

That's interesting Simon, as my Carolpz one the growth points have not rotted off but are very wobbly and are also showing no signs of growth. However there are about 10 or so shoots growing small leaves from lower down the stem. I'd say that the top growth points are gonnas.

Also in line with the it's Pseudosasa tendancies I found 2 more pups this morning. one about 3" tall is right next to my Brahea armata which spear pulled a week ago, and it was not there then so is pretty fast. This pup is a further 3 feet to one side of the underground trunk like root. The second pup is next to my Dicksonia antarctica trunk, so I am beginning to think that the pups occur in broken up improved soil which is watered well. I have no pups on the heavy clay side of the parent plant, only on the improved soil, watered side. Your pup in the basjoo clump tends to corroborate this

[DiCasS]

I was a bit worried when growth had already started on most, so I went and checked mine. The top growth was crispy and came off in my hand I checked the stem and that is still alive, but I have no idea where this is going to sprout from now, whether it will be along the stem or try from the top Hopefully it will soon make it's mind up and start growing from somewhere.

Di

[weve]

These recent T rex threads are great! Very informative. Learning alot about the various habits and different idiosyncracies of our different plants/clones. Interesting observations about pups & undisturbed clay too.

Dave, apologies for stating the absolute obvious here (but i (stupidly!) didn't think of it with mine at the time, at least until immediately afterwards when it was too late, so I thought i'd just mention it). As you now have 10 (or more........) growth points, by being very selective when rubbing some off you can "choose" the shape of the rex.You may well want to keep them all, (I felt i couldn't when I had 13 because my barriered and therefore root restriicted rex might not be able to support that many!) I rubbed off all but three, casually and more or less at random, In retrospect i should have given the "choices" a little more thought so I got a better shape.

BTW still no suckers................
cheers

[simon]

Weve, when you had 13 new growth points were they each from different old leaf axils down the stem or all around the old flower bud?

[Dave Brown]

Mine is from each leaf base, but not from last year's, that is not woody yet.

[weve]

Simon
It was last year when I didn't have any flowers. My main growing point looked to be fine, but from almost every leaf base immediately below it (so from that year's growth) I had a new bud ! (wish I'd taken a photo now, but in my innocence thought this may be "normal" for a 2 year old rex!). So I actually had 14 growing points counting what I thought to be the main one. All started to develop (the ones closest to the top seemed the strongest) and it was then i decided to remove most of them.

Despite appearances, I can only assume i lost my growing point. That January (2009) I had one week of very cold continuous sub zero daytime temps with two consecutive nights 0f -8.5c (-far worse than anything this year regarding temps, but it was short and sharp and relatively mild otherwise and not such a prolonged cold like this year)

EDIT
Went out, for curiosity, to get a pic, but I see there is little evidence of the "rubbed off" buds now. The whole area seems to have become "compressed" somewhat. The branch going off to the right was one of the lower buds.

[simon]

Weve, last year when I lost the growing point of mine it had shoots all the way up the stem. I just let it do it's own thing and only one of them prevailed while the others just aborted and shrivelled up.

[Dave Brown]

Mine had some tiny sprouts in old wood before, but this year they seem to be a bit more advanced. I took some pics earlier.

This is the growing point with the old flowering point rotted.

This is the view down the trunk. You can see the new wood at the top with the barked wood below. All the small growth points are in old (ripe) wood, only two at the top of the unripe wood.

This is a close up of one of the sprouts

[Darlo Mark]

I've just bought a small rex and was going to plant it out soon. I am a bit worried about the t-rex lawn affect in a few years time! would a rhizome barrier stop this? How deep would it have to be?

[Dave Brown]

I've just bought a small rex and was going to plant it out soon. I am a bit worried about the t-rex lawn affect in a few years time! would a rhizome barrier stop this? How deep would it have to be?

Mark, the pups I have removed have all been from roots under 6 inches deep. Also one pup I kicked by mistake knocking the top off has not grown back. We are on a learning curve on this, as only recently been introduced, so I can't give you a definative answer.

This may only produce a thick root when pups are left in place for some time. Certainly not in the same league as bamboo in terms if digging out. Maybe I'll have to change the topic title as was a bit sensationalist

The roots the pups were from are only 1/4inch (5mm) diameter and easily snapped. If it is a problem it will be more along the lines of bellbine than bamboo

[metalhammer]

This will only become a problem if you don't keep on top of removing the suckers as they appear.A near neighbour used to have a Sumach tree in his garden,& they are notorious for producing suckers,all he used to do to keep it check was when he mowed his lawn weekly,he mowed off the suckers,any suckers that appeared in the borders were removed with his spade when he saw them.David Crampton said the same thing about bamboo runners when I questioned him about it,he said,'leave it for a couple of years & your going to have a real problem,chop them off every 6 months & they never get away from you'.His opinion was it was lazy gardeners who had issues with running bamboos.His words,not mine!!!!.He used to run a bamboo nursery here & has written a book on bamboo's in the UK.





metalhammer.

[weve]

Simon Can't say if many of mine would have aborted, they all seemed to be developing quite well at the time, hence the "rub-off"

Dave, the bud below the flower stalk on your first pic looks just like the way mine is now branching into two on each branch, except mine might be slightly more advanced. I have definitely no other buds after my close look today.

Darlo. I barriered mine, but i hate invasive plants (probably fringing on a phobia ), but more logically, mine is planted quite close to my boundary (with my neighbour) and I also can be away from home working for months at a time so thought it wise. I bought standard plastic barrier (for bamboos I suppose) which is perhaps 3ft or a metre deep (see pic). The barriered area is about 4' diameter and despite this restriction my rex seems to do fine. Don't know how deep it actually needs to be to offer protection. I just did it to the depth of the supplied barrier (with about 2" proud of the soil surface)

If you decide to use a barrier, one tip. When in full leaf, the canopy now totally covers and shelters the entire soil surface within my barrier so little rain gets to it naturally. Better to dig a more oblong hole and plant towards one end so some of the area will at least be out from under the canopy.

All I can say is the barrier has worked (so far!) having had two pups come up right up against it (both of which were promptly eaten by snails as it happens!).

Rhizome barrier unrolled before planting rex

[Darlo Mark]

thanks everyone- that has reassured me! think i will put a barrier in just in case

[simon]

thanks everyone- that has reassured me! think i will put a barrier in just in case

That sounds like somebody still worried rather than reassured.