Persoonia pinifolia x juniperina

[MattA]

A $5 bargain bin tree I could not leave behind, its taken 6mths to get this tree healthy but finally today was the day to repot. With almost no real information available I tackled it in my usual style.

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Pics for now the ramble later, hounds to feed.
Matt

[Rintar]

nice job mate hope all goes well for you

cheers J

[MattA]

I have long wanted a Persoonia in my collection, despite numerous attempts at every possible means I have never succeeded. After the most recent attempts with seed had been declared I caved on my general rule of not buying full priced stock and headed for my local native nursery , I knew from my readings that a number of species were to be found commercially but was still pleasantly surprised to find a choice of 4 species, including my prefered target pinifolia. I picked the 'best' & wandered off to see what else might jump out at me. I did a full loop of the nursery and spied a few nice trunklines but nothing that really said work with me. At last I made my way to the bargain corner, again nothing... wait... whats that... all I could see was a sexy lingnan trunkline, the foliage hidden by the tree in front. When I pulled it from its hiding place my eyes lit up & my heart sank a bit, the sickly leaves & a couple of flowers confirmed the ID, then I saw the price & my heart sank even more, $35 down to $5, even the nursery had given it up for gone... Could it be saved?... that line was enough...I had to try

Home it came and I stuck it in the most exposed spot possible, leaving it to dry out and keeping it so I noticed the colour start to change. Hhmmm... Over winter there was no new growth but atleast it wasnt going backwards anymore. As the weather warmed up it started to shoot at the top of the main stems so I gave it a little slow release fert, within a few weeks the rest of the branches followed suit so I upped the feed to full strength.

A month ago I noticed the strong backbud shown in the pic so started making plans for the big day. I reread everything I have ever found on the genus and even took a trip back to my local native nursery. They had been successful when circling roots are cut & the whole lot slipped into a bigger pot, however they had not attempted anything more so couldnt say how it would go.

A new grow pot was prepped with a good deep drainage layer, now to the tree. Lets get rid of a few unneeded bits then shorten the rest, cutting to backbuds or foliage where possible. I had planned to just reduce the depth of the rootball by about half & start tidying up the surface roots. Starting with the surface I was surprised to find so many healthy young roots shooting from so close to the base of the tree I took it as my sign to do the job properly. I didnt hose them clean but after a dip in the tub there isnt much soil left on the roots so. It has been put into recovery but will only stay until I know the roots are functioning then its back to its usual spot (about a week or 2 at most).

Updates as & when. Any questions? Fire away...
Matt

[MattA]

nice job mate hope all goes well for you

cheers J

Cheers mate

[Ces]

good luck with it mate... The bark on this species is AMAZING. I have tried collecting a couple but you know how that went.

keep us posted

[MattA]

Yep, you, me & more than a few on here have had the same result. All the literature tells how difficult this genus can be but we all start with trying then do some research

The bark of P. pinifolia is amazing, lets hope it doesnt take a lifetime to produce in a pot.

[kathaust]

Hi MattA,
I am new here- found this post by googling Persoonia pinifolia. I am starting out with collecting Persoonias... would love to know where you got your plant! Can never find them in the local nurseries here (Canberra) so am going to have to look further afield.. wish my local nursery had 4 species to choose from
Good luck with the bonsai, it should make a really interesting subject! Cheers

[MattA]

Hey Kath,
Welcome to bonsai & Ausbonsai. You wont find Persoonia in any old nursery, while they are becoming more common in cultivation they are still not 'common'. Your local native nursery should have stock or be able to get them in for you. Good luck in your hunt

[kathaust]

Thanks Matt...just thought I would update on the Persoonia search in case anyone else is on a similar search. I emailed Kuranga Native Nursery in Vic and they have 21 different species/forms in stock at the moment...surely a few bonsai possibilities among them!

Here's the list of what they have: Persoonia acerosa, chamaepeuce (same as King Lake form), chamaepeuce low/upright, chamaepitys, chamaepitys Rylestone, cornifolia, daphnoides, dillwynioides, Green Cape, isophylla, linearis, mollis ssp. caleyi, mollis ssp. revoluta prostrate, nutans, oblongata, oxycoccoides Wingello, pinifolia, pinifolia x juniperina, recedens low, recedens prostrate, silvatica, tenuifolia.

They are generally about $12-14 each plus freight if needed.

Cheers!

[Rintar]

Good one Kath im not into the species but appreciate the sharing none the less

Cheers

Jas

[MattA]

Kath, Thanks heaps for the info I might have to get a few more species

Just a quick update on the tree, it spent 3days in the shadehouse & with no signs of backsliding was then moved to a bench in full sun, so far all seems well

[MattA]

After getting off to a good start we got a week of rain & before I even thought to bring this into a more protected spot it had started to go backwards & never returned to health. It was a slow decline but I should have learnt from it first time round, the next one will be given more protection from rain...

[lacertilian]

Bugger mate! I was really looking forward to seeing this species progress. About the excess rain, could you incorporate more sand or something similar to aid drainage?

[MattA]

As was I, this is probably the holy grail for me as far as species I want in my collection. I definitely think an even more free draining mix is part of the solution, maybe even cat litter . Will post more as & when I try again, with 80 hectares of bushland on more doorstep in the process of being bulldozed I am even thinking of trying collection again using all I have learnt from this, past attempts & all my other experiments with natives.

[Dario]

Hi Matt, I recall mentioning this in a different thread about this species regarding the difficulty experienced in collecting etc...seeing as you have access via the bushland you mentioned would you consider trying a ground layer on some older material and then attempting to collect it once a vigorous new root system has been left to develop for a while?
The roots would then be closer to the trunk with lots of feeders too.
I have zero experience with this species but this is something I would also try if only to rule it out as an option.
Just an idea...may not be valid though?
Cheers, Dario.