Lysiphyllum carronii - an unusual native bonsai

[Ash]

This is one of my favourite native bonsai. It is a Lysiphyllum carronii collected in 1979 that I inherited from my bonsai teacher Mary. Mary is one of north Queensland's treasures having introduced several unusual species to the bonsai hobby in our area. This tree stands approximately 55 cm high including the pot, and has been trained mostly by a clip and grow method. This tree is most definitely not styled in the pine tree bonsai style, it is styled to resemble its larger counterparts and as such it breaks all sorts of bonsai rules such as having several dominant branches, a canopy that is not a triangle, no flat parallel foliage pads, and a mixture of uplifiting and cascading 'bird branches' etc.

Lysiphyllum carronii is a rare tree in the arid regions of northern Queensland. It has very cute little butterfly leaves like cultivated Bauhinia and has small dark red flowers. It has many traits that make it excellent for bonsai, it grows well in containers, tolerates root pruning well, has flexible branches that allow it to be shaped easily, responds well to shoot pruning and develops good ramification. Also given the length of time that this tree has been in bonsai training it also develops lovely chippy bark. Even though it is from an arid area, it grows near creeks a lot and likes a drink when kept in a container. It can be grown from cuttings but I also have one that was grown from seed collected from this tree. There are a couple of related species now in the bonsai hobby around here - Lysiphyllum hookeri which has larger leaves and white flowers with pink stamens and a smoother whiter trunk, and Lysiphyllum binatum which has a more vine like scrambling habit. They all have leaves that open in the day and close at night.

Lysophyllum caronii small.jpg

have fun

Ash

[Luke308]

That's an interesting tree you have there. Is there any other species that has leaves that open daily and close nightly? Out of curiosity, is there any reason as to why the soil level is so low in the pot?

[izzykay]

Love it

[Ash]

There are quite a few other Fabaceae that have leaves that open and close at night or in response to hot weather, Calliandra used for bonsai do the same. If you bring this tree inside to photograph it will close its little leaves.

The soil in the pot is a bit low by accident (although in the photo it looks worse than it is) as it has been washed out by the person watering Mary's trees for her. Now that I am caring for this tree I will top up the soil with the next repot and tilt the tree up ever so slightly to its previous planting angle.

Also if you are looking for material of this plant for bonsai - most local bonsai growers call this tree Bauhinia hookeri after the larger leafed local species that looks similar.

cheers

Ash

[Loretta]

Hi Ash...I have just bought a NQ Bauhinia and am very interested to see how yours is doing now. If you can give me any advice on this tree I would appreciate it. BTW...are you from Townsville by any chance????

[bodhidharma]

The bark of the Desert ash and the leaves of Luma apiculata the perfect Bonsai. AND..it flowers.

[Ash]

Hi Loretta and Hi Bodhi -

Here is an updated picture of this tree taken tonight - it is growing well having been repotted a month and a half ago. I repotted it into a different container - this time it is in the pot vacated several years ago by Methuselah. The Lysiphyllum's previous pot is now sitting on the pot-shelves waiting for the next game of musical pots. I have planted the tree in a slightly more inclined angle, and as it tends to lean over a bit too much I wired it in firmly this time which I think is important for all 'Bauhinia' which tend to be a bit 'floppy' in the pot. Lets hope it flowers this year!

Lysiphyllum bonsai.jpg

Loretta they are very easy to grow - I treat them pretty much as I would any other tree. I repot them regularly when it warms up following our 'winter' and I use a granular gravelly mix if 1 part granite gravel, 1 part diatomite and 1 part van-sheiks composted pine bark, all screened into mini-nugets. I add nutricote to the mix at potting time and I also fertilize them regularly with a dilute liquid fertilizer, if you overdo the nitrogen they have a tendency to run away on you and get a bit leggy. That also happens the first month or two after repotting each year. Also if you overdo the diatomite component of the mix their leaves tend to be a bit chlorotic, so I don't use it straight for this group.

I think the key to keeping attractive Lysiphyllum is to keep them growing quickly and prune them very regularly. I tip prune most weeks to keep the shoots one or two nodes long. On weak branches (like the ones hanging low) I let them grow out to about a dozen leaves before cutting them back to the first one or two leaves. Once they are balanced I treat them as I would any other branch. They wire well, but don't set well. Don't be surprised if you have to wire the same branch several years in a row to get it where you want it.

Good luck with your tree. Cheers Bodhi - I am rather fond of them too!

regards

Ash

[Ash]

Here is another of my Lysiphyllum bonsai I have had since it was a seedling to show they are suitable as shohin. It is under a hand span high including the pot. I styled this tree in the essence of the first and it is now its companion tree. In a display I would set it apart and aback on the same bench to add perspective. The twisted root/trunk is how it naturally came out of the seedling tube...many moons ago...

Lysophyllum shohin.jpg

cheers

Ashley

[tgooboon]

Hi Ash, do you still have this tree. Any chance for an updated photo to see how its doung.
I have a small 'Bauhinia hookeri' only 2 years old, but I am very keen to see it get larger like yours

[Ash]

Yes I still have this tree - it was collected in 1979 so it is 40 years as bonsai this year.

In 2015, when I was travelling, the tree dried out badly and a section of the trunk and many branches died. I was devastated. I replanted it into a larger bonsai pot for two years to nurse it back to health.

In 2017, I reshaped it completely into an Australian Bunjin. I used raffia, copper wire and guy wires to turn the canopy branches over including some substantial bending and turned it to alter the front of the tree. It was a major change for such a vintage tree, and yet the tree appears to have recovered well. The shari is a natural result from its drought.

I also planted it into a Pat Kennedy round pot which I think matches such Australian trees superbly. Thankyou Pat.

Four weeks ago it was bare twigs, the photos show it today a little overgrown, I let it grow a bit before trimming to increase recovery of the wood. The whole arrangement is two hand-spans high including the pot.

P9291960.jpeg

P9291968.jpeg

Regards

Ash

[Raging Bull]

Very nice tree Ash, skill , experience and patience rewarded.
It's also on a beautiful stand. Did you make the stand?
Cheers, Frank.

[tgooboon]

I like the new front. Terrible that you had a setback, but good to see it healhy again.

What technique do you use for ramification?

[GavinG]

Nice save. The disaster has pushed you in an interesting direction. I'll be very interested to see how you sort the foliage out in years to come - full like it was, sparse-but-balanced, or far-out-sparse?

Good development in the bark too.

Gavin

[melbrackstone]

This is a great species for bonsai, by the looks. There's a couple here in Brisbane with one that always looks fabulous on display. Sorry to hear about your loss of branches, but it sure does appear to have come through it well.

[MJL]

Gee that new front view is good! Whatever you did to save the tree, keep doin’ that. I reckon this looks great and the bark/shari really adds to the trees. May it live another 40+ years. Top job.