G'day Zuzu and others--this will be as much a challenge and giant learning curve for me as for most others reading the thread.Maybe my last standard was almost 40 years ago.
I was thinking of creating a weeping standard, which would be perhaps a trailer or semi-trailer, but a standard can be anything including a stiff upright bush, as with Voodoo.
Standards can be full, which is a clear stem not less than 30 inches and not more than 42 inches or
half standard, which has a clear stem not less than 18 inches and not more than 30 inches and finally
a quarter standard not less than 12 inches and not more than 18 inches from soil level to start of head.
The head should be in balance with the length of stem.
I think this time we should not over concern ourselves, but grow anything as above or anything in between.
For my attempt at a weeping standard, I have chosen 3 cuttings of the specie magellanica, (see above picture) all with whorls of 3 leaves at the stem.This makes a denser head rather than from the usual 2 leaves.I had better take some cuttings tomorrow and also grow some with the two leaf arrangement.
The stem must be kept in continual growth and kept straight by as many ties to a stake as required and turned frequently if it tries to grow lopsided to a light source.Be very careful that a grub doesn't eat the growing tip
As the stem elongates leave the side leaves on as they are needed to nourish the plant, but I would very carefully rub out any laterals.Make sure no shoots arise from below the soil.Some people, with the cutting, don't try to strike it with any nodes below the soil.On the other hand, if you strike it this way and a grub eats the growing tip, you can cut it down and run up a new stem.
When the stem gets to your required height , you will have to decide how many leaf nodes you will have to grow above this height to develope a head in balance with the stem, usually I think it's a third.Stop rubbing out any laterals above this height, but allow them to grow and now pinch out (stop) the main growing tip.You now create the head.
From then on, I;m not sure if you stop each lateral at two leaves or one set.Sometimes you can't stop all these laterals at once.
It's as easy as that
I'm bound to have missed something vital !
