Gone Gardenin’ — Aid for creating braids

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 12/04/2018 (2725 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Creating a standard with a braided stem is an interesting ongoing project for an avid gardener or for anyone who wishes to try something quite different. Creating such a specimen is a long term endeavour that could take several years, depending on the plant you choose.

Basically, weaving plant stems involves taking three plants and beginning when the plants are small, braiding their stems together to make a single woven or braided stem. The end product is s unique standard with a bare trunk and a clump of foliage/bloom at the top.

For the indoor garden, a good way to experiment with this technique that doesn’t take too long is to use a fast growing house plant. Ordinary geraniums and lucky bamboo would be two good choices.

A few slower growing house plants such as schefflera, fig, dracaena and Chinese hibiscus are also excellent candidates for this treatment, but they will not give the quick results that faster growing plants will. If you wish to try this project in the outdoor garden, several shrubs and trees lend themselves to this treatment; ninebark, lilac and willow are some examples.

Whatever plant you choose must have relatively pliable stems, be able to withstand pruning, and have a single trunk or stem. The younger the plants you choose the more pliable the stems will be but the longer it will take to reach your goal of a nice sized standard with a woven trunk.

The first step in creating a braided trunked plant is to obtain the plants. Three is the usual number unless you want to create an unusually large specimen, but keep in mind that the more trunks that are used, the more difficult the process.

The plant stems should be pliable enough so that you can create a tight braid. Although the plants you obtain are probably going to be individually potted, you will need to plant them together in one container.

This process can be challenging, particularly with plants such as hibiscus, ficus and schefflera, because the plants you use will already be several years old and will already have substantial root balls. It may be necessary to gently tease the soil out of the roots so that some judicious root pruning can be done so that the plants can be planted close enough together in the desired container.

If you think the braiding process will not take long you might find it easier to braid before you plant the plants, but you should try to keep the roots covered and damp during the weaving process. The lower leaves should be removed from all of the stems (trunks) that are going to be braided.

The stems are gently manoeuvred so that they can be braided. The braiding process is simple enough if using three plants; simply lay a stem from one side over the other two then do the same thing with the one from the other side and continue to do this, alternating the side you bring the stem from each time.

Using four stems, you would follow the same procedure except two of the stems would be treated as one in the braiding process. If six stems are used, treat them in groups of two.

The stems are braided until you reach the foliage at the tops of the plants. Then stop and use a piece of soft twine or old pantyhose to tie the top of the braid to hold it in place.

The top of a braided standard will be maintained just like any other standard. How you will trim the tops and how much you will trim them will depend greatly on the plants you use. Dracaenas will not take kindly to trimming while ficus and schefflera tolerate pruning quite well.

Lucky bamboo can be clipped to make it branch out, while hibiscuss will need to be pruned to encourage the tops to bush out and then left to develop flowering stems.

An inexpensive and easy way to experiment with this whole procedure is to cut some willow stems about a meter tall from a ditch in early spring, plant them in groups of three in pots and let them root. During the summer you can braid them after you think they have rooted and start trimming the tops so they branch out and eventually form globes.

Choose straight willow stems that are small in diameter — this will ensure they are very pliable and cut the bottoms of the stems on a slant and dip them in a suitable rooting hormone before inserting them into the potting mix. Keep the soil consistently damp during the process.

Willows are fast growing and you will see the results of your efforts in a single growing season. Whether you retain the products of your experiment will be up to you — they didn’t cost you anything so if you dispose of them, you are not out of pocket.

In the indoor garden I have experimented braiding stems of geraniums for the same reason. Rather than cutting back all my geraniums in the fall I left three their full height, trimmed the lower leaves and branches off the stalks and braided them.

The lower stalks were not as pliable as I would have liked so the braided stems were not as tightly fused as would be using plants having more flexible stems. Using younger plants would provide more pliable stems but I was looking for quick results. My experiment was only somewhat successful; the stiff stemmed mature geraniums that I used were not the best choice of plant for this project.

Whether, like me, you experiment first with some plants that you already have or whether you go whole hog and purchase proper plants with which to create a specimen with a braided stem, this project is an interesting one and when successful, can produce a lovely standard with an interesting braided trunk.

Albert Parsons lives, writes, and gardens in Minnedosa.

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