More repotting

[shibui]

Rory has been talking about Astartea as bonsai.
Here's one I've had for a few years now.

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Lovely, small, tea tree like flowers in early summer and tiny little leaves.

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I've found they are a little susceptible to root problems and can just suddenly die if conditions are not what they like. These have been quite tolerant of damp soil and may even prefer to grow sitting in water. The biggest problem from a bonsai point of view is the open growth habit and they don't seem to be too good at budding on bare wood. On some I've been trying to trim regularly to maintain growth closer to the trunk and branches but they are still quite sparse. This one obviously hasn't been trimmed much and has got out of hand. Haven't tried pruning really hard before so this will be a test for budding abilities.

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I'm currently growing a number of Leptospermum 'Aphrodite' The bright pink flowers are prolific in October and, as they are hybrid they seem to have good vigour and cope well with pruning and root reduction.

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This one is Callistemon speciosus. I believe these are WA natives and are from a seed packet. You can see that this one has been in the pot for a number of years and has been repotted regularly since 2011.

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This one has been drying out regularly through spring - to the point that most of the leaves are now burnt.
Most callistemon species tolerate root pruning well and this one is no exception so I've removed about 3/4 of the roots again this year

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[shibui]

This time it is a Kunzea parvifolia. This Kunzea has small, purple flowers which fit well with bonsai sized trees. It needs regular trimming to maintain compact growth. Back budding has been spasmodic so I don't tend to prune these hard. Not sure if they will respond to a drastic cut back below the foliage.

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Some others I repotted yesterday.

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Not sure of the species. Seed came from abandoned central Vic goldfields township so they might not be native to that location. Appears close to M. decussata but seems to have some slight differences in seed pod arrangement.Very tolerant of bonsai technique. root prunes well, back buds easily.

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Seed from Cranbourne, Vic. trees are dwarf and may be Alocasuarina paradoxa.

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In my rush to get these done I forgot to take 'after' shots for you but root pruning for all these was similar to the others above

[baldtwitlion]

Hi shibui
There is some lovely trees there
Just a quick question is it a good time to root prune eucalyptus also
Thanks

[shibui]

Eucalyptus repotted yesterday too. In my experience Eucs can be root pruned from late spring through to mid summer.

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Not sure which species this one is. Round leaves look a lot like Red Box but it came from a wet area so could also be Mountain swamp gum. That's a 20 cm pot it is in.
This one blew off the bench in high winds a few months ago and broke a couple of branches. I've also just trimmed the new growth off the remaining branches to see where it will sprout next.
Euc maculata also repotted in the last few days and a few more still to go.

[boom64]

Thanks for the great post Shibui ,good to see great examples of how far you can go. Must be hard to part with Trees after years of hard work. Cheers John.

[Rory]

Oh wow Neil. Some lovely trees there mate I particularly love the Melaleuca.

I am very jealous of your Astartea. Wow your stock is really cheap, its a shame you're in VIC.
I love the look of these..... wish the pests would leave it alone. I have actually placed a large phebalium around the remaining ones in the hope that the possums don't find them.

[Boics]

Nice on Shibui!

[MJL]

These re-potting threads are fantastic Neil; helpful and inspirational.