AusBonsai

bonsaiworld wrote:CALLISTEMON (Captain Cook)

OWNED & TRAINED BY: Carole Waller

HEIGHT: 73 cms

WIDTH: 82 cms

AGE: 30 years

IN TRAINING: 25 years

STATE: Queensland

I purchased my callistemon from a Bundaberg nursery in 1983 for the garden. I estimated it to be about 3 years old and it was in a 6” pot. After two years in the garden I decided to dig it out and work it as a bonsai. After I dug it out I cut everything from it except two similar sized trunks

In 1987 I removed one trunk leaving a large ugly stump, but as the tree grew and the trunk thickened I was able to remove the stump totally and today there is no visible sign of where it used to be. When only one main trunk was left, the tree was turned to display the most attractive new front and nebari.

In 1999 the top of the tree was removed and a side branch wired up to give the trunk more movement.

We have lived in three different locations during the life of this bonsai. Commencing in Bundaberg where it lived for the first 6 years, then onto Toowoomba for ten years, and the last 14 years at our current home on the Gold Coast. Although they are three very different micro-climates the tree still grows very quickly.

Due to its rapid growth I spend a lot of time restyling it. In 2009 I removed the large first branch but decided not to remove it all as the bark is aged and beautiful and I wanted to retain it so I only carved and preserved the tips. The tree was repotted and tilted to the right to lower the first right branch.

A few years ago I stopped doing the typical “left, right and back” styling on this tree
and decided to let it grow to look more like an Australian Native bonsai and less like a japanese black pine or juniper bonsai.

The bonsai is usually cut back hard in early autumn and then left to grow naturally, rewarding me with a multitude of beautiful red bottle brush flowers.