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<\/a>Medusa Plant by Keith Taylor<\/p><\/div>\n
Taylor has been growing cacti and succulents for about twenty-seven years, with a previous background in bonsai cultivation. He has developed bonsai-related techniques for cultivating succulents, with an emphasis on caudiciform plants. Those are plants that develop a swollen trunk, stem or root\u2014called a caudex\u2014that stores moisture. These unusual plants are candidates for bonsai treatment and often favored by collectors.<\/p>\n
(Note: The specimen shown here is a Euphorbia, which is not a caudiciform.)<\/p>\n
Instead of repotting plants to encourage and accommodate growth, Taylor seeks to limit their size, promote larger and wider caudices, and stimulate compact top growth.<\/p>\n
In pursuit of these goals, Taylor\u2019s distinctive approach to repotting includes severe pruning of the plant\u2019s roots and top growth. Without hesitation, he would cut off a plant\u2019s taproot and close to all its fibrous roots to reduce the root ball to fit into a shallow bonsai pot. With some caudiciforms, he would cut the caudex literally in half, and wait for it to develop new roots.<\/p>\n
Top growth pruning was equally extensive with the same objective of constraining the plant\u2019s overall growth.<\/p>\n
The roomful of avid gardeners of cacti and succulents understood Taylor\u2019s bonsai pruning method, although this approach to gardening was unfamiliar them. These gardeners were familiar with limiting the size of their plants by keeping them in small containers with lean soil mixes and minimal moisture.<\/p>\n
At the same time, many were astonished by Taylor\u2019s relatively extreme pruning practices, which freely exceed the usual guideline to remove no more than one-third of a plant\u2019s roots or top growth. While Taylor admitted that some of his early trials of such pruning were unsuccessful, he has found that many plants tolerate this treatment and respond well in time.<\/p>\n
The gardeners in attendance learned that the one-third rule for pruning could be overly conservative and that more severe pruning could be effective in limiting plant growth. Bonsai-style pruning of cacti and succulents remains as a specialized form of container gardening and not everyone\u2019s preference we learned that extreme pruning does not necessarily kill a plant.<\/p>\n
Taylor\u2019s distinctive pruning practices are closely related to his work in creating containers for plants. Examples of his extraordinary ceramic pots can be viewed on his website<\/a>, \u00a0and his Facebook page<\/a>, where he is known as \u201cKitoi” (his childhood nickname).<\/p>\n Even when we know basic gardening methods, new knowledge is always ready for discovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" At a recent talk by a skillful gardener, I learned new techniques for repotting plants in containers. First, let\u2019s review the usual approach to this routine process. When a plant has outgrown its container, the goal for repotting is to … Continue reading