They may have meant this. Here is Stuarts version

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3759660/has-anyone-tried-this-yet?n=57

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3455951/i-will-try-this-method-to-propagate-from-cuttings?n=44

Yes, I'm familiar with air layering. I have been reading that originally many commercial adenium growers used to produce their stock from cuttings, before seed became widely used. So a huge number of older plants were started from cuttings. I -think- they refer to these as 'branch grown' but that's what I am trying to verify.

It is fascinating research. Here is one of the several websites I have been finding information on - it's years out of date but all the more interesting because it /is/ and tells us about how things were like years ago in the industry. Scroll on down near the bottom for information on cutting propagation:

http://www.tropicanursery.com/adenium/propagation.htm

Here's a folder I am working to build of 'branch grown' adenium samples as bonsai:
https://www.pinterest.com/ornerypony/branch-grown-adenium-bonsai/

Do not mean to tell you something you do not already know, but whether it is air-layered or a cutting. They are one and the same.

The branch grown, is exactly what you where assuming, Hyn. A branch of an Adenium started by either of the above methods. Many use this form of propagation to achieve a tall straight trunk (caudex) and a canopy of branches forming at the top.

Rick

I bet the whole "branch-grown vs rooted-cutting" business is one of those "thru vs through" things.

Someday, I'll have a plant I can try this with.

Pagan

While both are cuttings, air layering and simply taking a cutting to root are very different techniques. Obviously someone who knows how to do one may not practice the other. *shrugs* Taking the roots off of a plant to 'root train' it by growing all new roots would really be a cutting too, though that's not what people call it.

Oh! The individual terms imply technique. Very good to learn. Kind of like the difference between beheading and decapitation. I'm keen to try branch-growing, I just haven't a plant suitable for it. I want that thick Y form.

And I looked at that Pinterest thingie. I wish there were some indications on how long such projects take from start to finish. I'll be 60 in ten years, I want to plan these things.

P

Haha, well, I'm the one trying to learn here myself and understand the nuances - in the case of 'branch grown' so I needed to verify that in Asia that did indeed mean adeniums grown from cuttings. I now do have that verified.

As for how long, I want to know too! Some of those photographed are around 10 years old, others a lot more than that. 'Tony Bonsai' on Facebook assures me it doesn't really take long - though I assume that may vary on what results you are seeking. Merely good roots, no, not very long. But a thickened, tapered trunk or something of a caudex? May take a long time, unless you do it like the 'root training' method where only the lower caudex roots are removed, such as done to arabicums. So I'm trying to find out. To me it gives a more refined 'Japanese' look to the bonsai, especially if also pruned for fine branching and wired.

Fantastic, Stuart! I am impressed! Those are great starts! Thank you for sharing them. ;)

Yes, very different techniques, P. Layering, whether done in the 'air' and bagged or whether done by pinning a branch down into the soil, produces roots on the stem while the branch is still attached to the 'mother' plant. It isn't cut off and removed until after the roots are formed - and it tends to leave a thick 'stem' down through the center of the new roots that were formed. That can be parred down later and removed but it also removes a lot of the roots you were trying to make.

Where as a regular cutting is just that - taken from the mother plant and /then/ roots are attempted to be grown. Which depending on the kind of plant and how it's done, could make roots come out of the sides of the stem or out around the bottom edge for a flat base. Layering is more likely to succeed but can be cumbersome and unsightly until it takes and can be cut off.

When I wild collect material that aren't seedlings, I will often cut off the bottom tap root on the tree material to form a flat base for a shallow bonsai pot. The new roots that form then are around the edges much like 'root training' an arabicum or Thai Soco, but with a regular tree such as a Chinese Privet. Same technique though. I wire them down into the training pot so they can't shift about or fall over.