buttress roots
buttress roots
I have picked up a second hand rainforest photo travel guide book for reference pictures to emulate etc...
buttress roots are one of they key things ,
are there any hardy plants which get buttress roots?
ways to fake it?
buttress roots are one of they key things ,
are there any hardy plants which get buttress roots?
ways to fake it?
Re: buttress roots
Sitka Spruce can develop buttress roots to a certain extent.
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Re: buttress roots
Not sure what size you are thinking, but buttress roots probably lead to killer of all damaging roots near buildings. Buttress roots are there to hold the tree up as it has shallow, wide spreading roots.
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Dave
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Re: buttress roots
They wouldn't be bad - the really damaging roots are deep ones which are able to get down below the building's foundations. Surface roots don't cause trouble to buildings (a different matter with driveways etc!).Dave Brown wrote:Not sure what size you are thinking, but buttress roots probably lead to killer of all damaging roots near buildings. Buttress roots are there to hold the tree up as it has shallow, wide spreading roots.
Re: buttress roots
it is just one of those jungle things that would be good to find a way to have in cold gardens I feel.
I was wondering if a version of the bonsai root over rocks could be done with a bigger sized plant to cheat an effect?
I was wondering if a version of the bonsai root over rocks could be done with a bigger sized plant to cheat an effect?
Re: buttress roots
Only found on very large trees, thoughMr List wrote:it is just one of those jungle things that would be good to find a way to have in cold gardens I feel.
Yep, that should work. Get a large boulder, cover it with a layer of soil 5-10 cm thick and plant a tree on the top; water regularly until you are sure the roots have got well into the main ground level soil. Gradually the soil covering the boulder will erode away, leaving exposed roots over the rock.Mr List wrote:I was wondering if a version of the bonsai root over rocks could be done with a bigger sized plant to cheat an effect?
Re: buttress roots
Root over rock, nice idea Mr L I have done that in the past with good effect but there are pitfalls. If you need any advice please ask. Also you can train the trunk and branches to good effect just like a giant bonsai. I am in the process of doing this with a Mulberry tree.
Re: buttress roots
Maybe you could try making a willow room but somehow in reverse to create the buttressed effect.
Instead of willow you could use mulberry or even Spanish laurel grown into long and unbranching plants, plant them in a circle and then weave them into shapes to resemble buttressed roots rising up to a main stem. Does the edible fig grow in your region? Figs are good because their stems and roots fuse together where they touch, even different plants so that could provide a nice effect as well...
Instead of willow you could use mulberry or even Spanish laurel grown into long and unbranching plants, plant them in a circle and then weave them into shapes to resemble buttressed roots rising up to a main stem. Does the edible fig grow in your region? Figs are good because their stems and roots fuse together where they touch, even different plants so that could provide a nice effect as well...
Re: buttress roots
Sean thats a great idea, plant 6 or 8 figs in a circle about a foot apart and then pull the tops together with twine and then wait, and wait and wait and wait and wait. I wish I had thought of that twenty years ago. Bit late for me I'm afraid.
Re: buttress roots
Actually Im trying to figure out a way of doing one for myself now as well
If I had a bigger piece of land to play with Id look at doing a large one made from Ficus. Some of the already buttressing Ficus like F. obliqua or F. benghalensis would be perfect for making a ficus room, somewhere cool and shady to retreat from the sun and look out over the garden from inside a green living room. If only...
If I had a bigger piece of land to play with Id look at doing a large one made from Ficus. Some of the already buttressing Ficus like F. obliqua or F. benghalensis would be perfect for making a ficus room, somewhere cool and shady to retreat from the sun and look out over the garden from inside a green living room. If only...
Re: buttress roots
Yes Ficus look really good for a jungle effect, with both buttress and hanging aerial roots. Pity we can't grow them here.
Re: buttress roots
The swamp /bald cypress has some pretty good buttress roots and in really wet conditions pushes up "snorkels" of vertical roots
Re: buttress roots
Gingko bilobae produces such roots called "chi-chi". If someone is patient and waits a few hundred years will have a nice jungle effect
Re: buttress roots
dawn redwood is the only hardy tree I can think of that has them.