A photo of it would be nice...

A photo of what? A photo of a broom that I don't even know exists? Or the box elder broom I found?

Of the broom you found...

I was thinking the same thing...a pic of the broom you found please!

Personally I'd be more interested in a Acer negundo broom depending its habit.

I would say no to being able to induce a broom.
Although deciduous trees can and do have brooms. To the untrained eye, mistletoe, attached to trees can have a similar appearance.

Al

The deciduous tree most likely to produce a broom is a Ginkgoâ¦not a conifer but a gymnosperm. May be some connection.

Broom with wanted qualities can be added to decorate treetop. When grafted into leader of fast growing young tree it probably grows faster too. Picture of such in link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: grafted oddities

Wow, I had no idea that there would be any interest in the Box Elder broom! I posted a picture of it on our blog last year. Most people have no idea what a witches broom on a tree is. FYI, I'm a broom maker, so that can confuse the people who come to my website even more. I'll find that blog post, I'm sure there will be broom hunters who may want to add something to my post. Also, my pics are compressed for the web so they don't have the best resolution.

Here is a link that might be useful: blog post

Lets see if I can post a better pic here......

{{gwi:640249}}

When you go to the photobucket page click the bottom right of the pic and view original. You can see the best detail that way. Its definitely not a squirrels nest or mistletoe. Mistletoe doesn't grow in WI anyway.

Yep John, Youve got yourself a broom there.
And your blog was well written...as well.

Al

Cool, thanks!

Now, to the main reason I'm posting here, as I understand it from the previous posts one cannot induce a witches broom. The wikipedia page says that there is a fungus that is commonly associated with brooms. Anyone think the fungus could be introduced to the host plant and in turn you make your own broom? This could be a new avenue for horticultural experiments!

I'm wondering if I can induce a broom on Cornus mas if no one has ever found one.

Various fungi are only one of many suspected causes of brooms. And then you must consider fungi tend to be host specific so in order to find one that lives in/on Cornus mas AND forms a broom AND doesn't kill the plant you may need to go through many plants before you hit on the right one.

tj

Thanks for the pic!

Sorry to interupt, but whaas, change your gardenweb settings so I can respond to the email you sent.

I have a very old cornus mas. No brooms thus far but would love to find one - my favorite deciduous tree by far.

Oh wow, good to see you post here ademink! I've seen your post with picture of that magnificent tree. It is a beautiful tree! How is the fruit? I'd love to see some pics of them. Maybe we should start a new thread. I'll be happy to share pics of the C.mas wine and ice cream that I made.

Blessings,
Little John