[Taxacom] Help with old Dragon's Blood Tree

[Jim Croft]

That is really sad.  One of my favourite trees.

But all is not lost:
. chop off each branch
. stick them in the ground
. water
. come back in 2108.  Instead of one you will have hundreds,

Please ship one full grown tree to Canberra - my great great grandson
will take delivery...   or alternatively you can send a branch now and
we will have a new tree for you in 2108...

jim

On Mon, May 5, 2008 at 4:42 PM, Wilson Karen
<Karen.Wilson at rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au> wrote:
> This is marginal to most TAXACOM contributors, but I am hoping that some
>  TAXACOMer has experience with caring for old Dracaena draco plants or
>  knows someone who has that experience.
>
>  Our magnificent old plant (more than a century old and with a 10 m diam.
>  canopy) toppled sideways last week - possibly from a combination of age
>  and a very long drought here in Sydney followed by quite a lot of rain
>  in recent months. There's a picture of it at
>  http://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/whats_new/_nocache
>
>  We are hopeful that we can save it, with a thinned-out canopy to reduce
>  the weight, since only about 25% of the trunk is torn (just above ground
>  level). Or, if that is not possible, that the underground parts may have
>  the capacity to send out a new side shoot.
>
>  We haven't had this problem before, so we are hoping to find someone out
>  there who has experience with this species and knows (1) what is likely
>  to happen and (2) what we can do to give the plant its best chance at
>  survival. For example, what is the best way to reduce the chance of rot
>  setting in at the 'wounded' area?  And does thinning the canopy help
>  this species to survive? Is this species known to put out side shoots if
>  this old trunk succumbs?
>
>  We're contacting a few other bot. gardens as well but, given the wide
>  coverage of TAXACOM, I am hoping that someone can give us advice or
>  refer us to a knowledgeable source.
>
>  Regards
>  Karen Wilson
>
>  ****************************************
>  Karen L. Wilson
>  Acting Manager Plant Diversity Section
>  National Herbarium of NSW
>  Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney
>  Mrs Macquaries Road
>  SYDNEY NSW 2000, AUSTRALIA
>
>  Phone: +61 2 9231 8137
>  Fax: +61 2 9241 2797
>  Email: karen.wilson at rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au
>  Website: www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au
>
>  The Botanic Gardens Trust is part of the Department of Environment and
>  Climate Change (NSW).
>
>
>
>
>
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-- 
_________________
Jim Croft
jim.croft at gmail.com