Kunzea , design ideas needed.

[boom64]

Hi all,
I collected several Kunzea ( I think they are ? ) at christmas time. Most were growing on a cliff face.I roughly cut to shape and planted in polly boxes.Two were growing horizontal in a depression on a large rock. They were growing in a small amount of sand and soil.They have just recieved a haircut as growth has been good.
I am puzzled as to future repotting in bonsai pots as the long horizontal roots seem to be in the wrong place. They both have a full compliment of roots underneath. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks John.

[Trent McKenzie]

OK this is gonna sound pretty weird, plant them upside down to make them cascade,( probably not possible???) although, maybe if you rotate the horizontal axis by 45 degrees each year until this is achieved.

umm good luck.

[shibui]

If these have plenty of active roots under the base, the long roots could be shortened to allow potting.
If the active roots are at the end of the long roots try forcing new roots from below the trunk. Kunzea should produce new roots fairly easily - check some of the root enhancement techniques posted on this forum for ideas.
Depending how brittle the roots are it may be possible to bend and curl them around under the tree to fit into a pot. I have seen this technique used on junipers.

Late spring and summer would probably be the best time to try these ideas.
Good luck

[boom64]

Hi Trent, I like your way of thiking if only it was possible. Cheers

Hi Shibui, Thanks for the advise i will repot late spring/summer. The roots are coming threw the bottom, so maybe i can shorten the long horizontal trunk ? Cheers

The upright trunks are fairly tough but i will slowly bend them over the top of the long horizontal trunk growing on the surface. No 1 i think is possible but no2 will be a battle. Otherwise i am going to have a large oval or rectangle bonsai pot with the long horizontal surface trunk facing the viewer. Not right according to what i have seen and read, BUT then again???

Once again thanks Trent and Shibui for the feedback John

[matlea]

...a bit like wiring a branch but instead underground!

[Craig]

Hard to say this with no side angle pics but this is what i'd be thinking about trying on this tree,using the pics supplied,,

I would bind them at the base (pink circles) and bring the 2 trunks together (green arrows) , then twist one around the other (green line) and bind them tight. I'd try to get some nice movement through the trunks even using trunk splitting as an option.

I'd plant in some type of semi cascade trainer pot most likely tilt the tree across to the right (as you see it in the pic) with the lower trunks going raft style along the ground some and then hanging over the edge of the pot (little virt bottom left) ,

DSC07044.JPG

[Trent McKenzie]

John, I have one kunzea and can tell you that they are very very brittle so you probably wont be able to bend a trunk that thick. I had another idea thats a bit out there for the first tree, firstly get the roots at the branching end of the trunk growing over a suitable rock, then stand the tree upright to create a windswept style. it will be quite unstable at first but the rock can be used to support the tree until it gets established in its new position, then you can decide whether to keep the rock or not. again this is a strange idea but i guess thats whats needed for strange material.

[boom64]

Hi Craig,
Thanks a million for your input. After reading your post i went and took a few photos on the side and what your virt suggests i think is possible. In fact they nearly follow the lines you suggest. I will upload a few photos.

Hi Trent,
A big thanks to you to.I really like the idea of a wind swept tree. Is it possible to bare root Kunzea ? As i would like to fix the roots solidly.

Thanks Craig ,Trent and Matlea ,books can only give you an up and down view of trees,to clinical. Opinions and ideas from others ,priceless.
Cheers John.

[Craig]

John, the trunks look even more interesting in your new pics. I'm keen to see how you aproach this tree,,, cheers mate

[matlea]

Like the third shot.. Not sure if the height can be condensed over time . Maybe wind swept or semi cascade with a fuller design?? Only my 2c worth. Look forward to its progession.

[Trent McKenzie]

John, I have always tried go be sparing with the amount of soil I remove when I repot my kunzea as I believe that it would not like be barerooted in fact mine sill has a lot of garden soil and rotting wood from the clump i removed from a mates garden as only one in the clump survived (slowly removing more each year). One thing you might want to try is setting something like an air layer on top of the flat trunk to get some roots growing in the right direction if you choose to stand it upright for the windswept idea. As for the supporting rock, it would be just that, only a support, not a root over rock or anything. good luck and keep us posted.

[Trent McKenzie]

Kunzea do back bud very well so it will be possible to get new growth closer to the trunk as wiring older branching is not possible on this brittle species.

[boom64]

Hi Trent, Matlea and Craig,
Thanks for all the info and design options. I will start working on them and will post a follow up ,once there is something to show. Cheers John.