I've caught me a monster and need some advice

[Fluffeh]

I am really new to the hobby of bonsai although I find it amazing, so while I have been learning as much as I can through reading, I feel I may have bitten off more than I know how to chew.

While visiting a friend today, I found out that he was renovating his house, and was going to chop down and stump grind a rather old and venerable looking Camelia plant. Naturally I jumped at the chance to try to save it and decided that my first trunk chopping should be this tree that I might be able to save. So, with a quick trip to grab some tools, I have chopped off the main branches of the tree, dug out what I think is a pretty decent root ball (though I am somewhat concerned as it had some rather big roots shooting off for miles out from the base which I did chop through) and tomorrow this behemoth of around 120-150kgs is arriving - and I have no idea how to do too much at all with it.

Camelia.jpeg

The base of the tree is a solid 10-12cms in diameter and there doesn't appear to be any disease on the tree or foilage.
The rootball is around 80cms diameter and around 40ish deep - though there seemed to be very little roots below that point.
Although not really visible in the photo, all the cuts were made at a right angle to the growth - basically straight across the trunk.
I live in Sydney and have both dry and fairly wet areas of my yard where the tree can sit or be planted.

As it is so heavy, I am thinking of setting up a hoist so that I can clean off the root structure, but I am not even sure that I should be doing that right now. I have attached a picture here of the thing in a rather large wheelbarrow so that you might be able to give some advice. So here is my rather long list of questions:

1 - Should I put it into a huge pot or should I replant it into the ground (I really don't want it any bigger) - just thinking the ground might be better for recovery while I prune and shape it?
2a - If I put it in a pot - The soil that it came from is pretty much hard clay - should I hose this off, cleaning etc and plant it a good mix of topsoil and pebbles if in a pot, or just pop it in and fill around it?
2b - Pretty much the same thing, if I put it in the ground, should I just use normal topsoil (the stuff you buy per tonne) or should I put some potting mix in there as well?
3 - I left more of the trunk than I probably need to err on the side of caution in not removing too much, one potted or planted, can I still saftely trim some more off over the next few days once I decide upon a structure for the tree, or should I just let nature take its course for a year or so?
4 - Should I be trimming the roots further, or would that put the tree under too much stress, is it better to reduce the root mass over a number of repottings?
5 - I have left a few tiny growths of leaves on the tree at fairly low parts - should I completely remove them or leave them so the tree has a few leaves on it?

Very much appreciated for any advice and suggestions. Like I said, I sort of have more than I know how to chew, but I really want to save this plant and even though Camelias don't seem to make it too high on the bonsai scale of images I have seen so far, I am more than happy to start off with the dud of the family

[Brian]

Good luck with that tree. Its a 50- 50 chance that it will live, but with liquid root hormone and exceptional aftercare it may grow again. I wish you luck on an adventurous endeavor.

[Fluffeh]

Thanks Brian, I am quite happy to go out and get/do whatever it needs and am happy to cater to it's every whim, just seemed a shame for it to get mulched. If I try to save it and it lives, fantastic, my first adventure will be a memorable one. If it dies despite my best attempts, then it will be a shame.

Is there a particular brand of root hormone that would be suggested over others?

[matty-j]

hey fluffeh

great find mate

i'm relatively new my self and have only dug 15 or so trees, but the aftercare as far as i know is usually the same from a small to large tree,
if it were mine this is what i would do
1 if that wheel barrow can hold water fill it up with water and let it soak overnight
2 dont let it dry out what so ever when dealing with the roots and potting
3 remove any thick roots that have no fine "feeder roots" on them these large roots will not help it survive
4 hose the root ball down and let any loose soil fall away but keep the root ball intact
i stay on the conservative side when dealing with roots and root balls because i haven't
learnt how far they can be pushed yet
like you said you can deal with the clay if it survives a year or 2 from now
5 it needs to stay in the shade and out of the wind drying out is your biggest problem
with no feeder roots supplying water and the leaves perspiring it will dry out very quickly
6 i would pot it in a very large pot (or grow box if you don't have a pot big enough)
7 i would seasol every couple of days for the first week or 2
8 i wouldn't cut any more off the top of the tree just in case of die back
i'm not to sure if camellias die back easily so leave it long and when it back buds then reduce it
in about a year or 2 from now letting it establish its self again is the most important thing

i'm sure someone with more experience will chime in sometime tomorrow and give some better advice

good luck

[Paulneill]

I'm not fimilar with the species .I would leave the root ball intact and plant it in the garden in a sunny spot . Whatever u do do not( over water ) that tree won't be taking up water until it grows leaves. If Planted in the ground it will only need that first initial water and then once a month after that if the weather is dry.

[Fluffeh]

Well, it's been a few days now, I potted the monster up on Sunday into the biggest half barrel I could find. Luckily I thought of positioning before I popped the guy in there, as this chap may as well be in the ground - as this thing is pretty much immovable. I am a little concerned as the barrel was creaking after a few waters, and a few of the boards have popped out a bit - I am hoping that I don't find half of it on the ground one afternoon. I have however cat-proofed the pot as the buggers were getting amazingly inquisitive right away and I don't have any intention of letting them use it as a scratch pole or a toilet.

The drainage seems to be spot on and I have given it a nice soak in Seasol. So far, so good, the leaves are green as can be and I have noticed that it has already sprouted a bunch more leaves which are firming up nicely (I hope that is a good sign), although I am yet to see any shoots coming out of the trunk itself. So far, the only new growth has been from the small branches that I left on it.

potted.jpg

I guess I will update here again if I start to see some shoots coming off the main trunk - does anyone have an indication of when I might hope to see some?

[Sno]

G'day Fluffeh.Nice score. I would reduce the hieght more . If you are going to bonsai it will have to be shorter anyway and it will be less stressful on the plant.The two back branches with no folliage are too high. As a rule of thumb when transplanting a tree I generally try to match the top with the bottom ie the same amount of roots to branches. Good luck.
Cheers Craig

[Watto]

Hi Fluff - that is a really good potential bonsai. I couldn't determine where you are located and advice on bonsai is generally related to location. Now I live in Goulburn - bloody cold in winter and bloody hot in summer, and pretty windy. However, camellia's grow OK here and so I am confident that you have given this tree the correct care so far. These are shallow rooted specimens so if you live in a hot area it will need some mulch over the potting mix from November on and of course don't forget to fertilize, from early November to May.
Good luck
Watto

[matty-j]

looks great Fluffeh

i agree with sno that the branches at the back should be reduced
i would take them back to about 30 or 40mm above the lowest branches
and take some off the foliage off the 2 very strong leaders that are growing at the top
as to the new growth it's most likely just be the "stored energy" in the tree
but since it looks green and not drying out then
i think in 4 to 6 week you will know its future
just dont let it dry out and in the shade and the rest is just

[Kenji B]