What shape for an unusual Eucalyptus Cordata?

[djudju3000]

Hi there,

This is my first post on this forum, so first of all, thanks to all of you, I've learnt so much here.

Back to the topic, I have this Eucalyptus Cordata ssp Cordata (native to Tasmania) that was generously offered to me by the Plants of Tasmania Nursery. I've had it for some time now, and I thought inspiration would come, but it hasn't yet . I have the feeling it's got a good potential, but I don't know where to start and the branches will quickly get too stiff to be wired and bent. Any suggestion would be much appreciated!

Thanks!

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[Theodore]

Djudju3000

Welcome to the forum!

The bulge where all those trunks emerge is a significant problem with this tree. It doesn't make for a very good start however, as with any tree, you can learn from it. Wire it, bend it, prune it and learn from how it responds.

I'm not at all familiar with this species, I'm sure others will have some ideas.

In terms of what style for it, I'm sure someone on here may have some ideas.

Theo




Sent from somewhere on planet earth using an iPad!

[shibui]

The bulge is actually a lignotuber. Quite common in eucs and some other aussie natives. The lignotuber can sprout either roots if buried or shoots if the top is damaged.
Euc cordata can produce long, narrow mature leaves but it tends to keep growing these silvery juvenile leaves until quite large so I'd guess that regular pruning as a bonsai would mean you will keep that silvery round foliage.
Hard to suggest a shape with such an immature trunk so I'd say anything you can make would be ok. The most convincing bonsai eucs I have seen have been larger - around 1m tall so if you want a real gumtree shape you'll need to grow it a bit.

Some possibilities could be:
Multi trunk tree like a mallee euc. (I'd take off the lowest trunk and use the other 3)
Reduce the trunks to a single and bend it to make a twisted single trunk tree growing on a rocky hillside - > 40 cm tall?

[djudju3000]

Yes, the silvery and round leaves look great, I'd like to keep it that way.

Shibui, I like the rocky hill single trunk idea, I'll post some pictures when it's done.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[GavinG]

Gradually larger pots, grow long, cut back hard each year, cut out anything that doesn't look good (branches opposite, crowded, straight, ugly angles) - you grow a shape gradually over years, you don't decide on it in a moment. Unless it's some boring old juniper that's had all the interesting work done already, and you're stuck with what has already grown.

Good luck,

Gavin