Syzygium Australe - 'Aussie Boomer'

[Taffy]

I got this one from a garden nursery in Hervey Bay in late 2005. It was a reject that was growing in a 6 inch black plastic pot. It had been left on the driveway to their backyard and severely neglected. Originally, there were nine branches coming out from the same spot that were close to a metre long. There were a couple of very sick yellow leaves on the top of each one and nothing anywhere else on the tree. The asking price was $45.00! I 'suggested' to them that they must have been joking - the thing was almost dead! I offered them $20.00 for it (because of the thickness of the base trunk) - and they accepted it. I didn't even know at that stage whether I could keep the poor sickly thing alive - let alone get it back to good health. Anyway, I got it home and immediately put it into a 10 inch pot. I didn't take any of the original potting mix off (and it was as dry as a bone), I just put it into the larger pot, filled around it with a good mix and gave it a good dunking. Over the next few weeks it started to send out a few new leaves at the tops of the branches. Each time it did, I cut each one back to two leaves. Gradually I got it down to a more manageable size. By June of 2006, it was as you see it in the first photo, after I'd cut four of the nine branches off. September 06 and it was as the second photo - That's when I re - potted it into it's first Bonsai pot.

CU9Jun061a.jpg

CU15Sep061a.jpg

December 2007 and I had a very pleasant surprise - it had little puff-ball flowers on it. In January 08, those flowers turned into fruit.

CU15Dec071a.jpg

CU6Jan081a.jpg

March 2008, it had filled out a lot more and by December of that year it had a really good canopy developing.

CU17Mar081a.jpg

CU17Dec081b.jpg

For some unknown reason, I don't have any photos from 2009. I was continually pruning it throughout the year, (but it flowered and fruited) in December 08 and 09, so this one is the latest - taken today. It had a huge and very dense canopy and I got stuck into sorting it out. There were branches, twigs and shoots going every which way. Obviously, it still has a long way to go, but my idea is to create separate foliage pads on different levels. At the moment it still has those five remaining main branches on it, and I'm considering cutting it back to one and developing it further from there.

CU3Jul101a.jpg

Amazing what you can find at times when you go grubbing around in nurseries

Edit:
Oops! I forgot to say, the trunk is 80mm at the base (above the roots), it's 350mm tall and 530mm wide tip to tip.

[kcpoole]

Very nice
I picked up a big one afew weeks agin the in Throwout bin at flower power in Dural for $10 Trunk about 2-3" diameter

Chopped it back hard, root pruned and now on the bench recovering.
It is good when you find a nice score
Ken

[Jamie]

gday man, nice find, especially from the nursery i think your talking bout, it wasnt flora glen by any chance? i have been there a few times and found stuff to be rather exxy for the quality, it is just a landscape nursery though aswell.

you have done very well with the tree though! it has a nice banyan feel to it

jamie

[Taffy]

No, not Flora Glen - it was Possum Paradise Jamie. Another time, I also got a heap of 'Lemon Lime &Clippers' (small leaf privets) from there. They were modifying an area that had a row of them as a border. Some were ok, some were in pretty poor condition because they were being smothered by a large bush and the reticulation had broken so they weren't getting any water Got about 8 of them with fairly decent trunks (not huge) on them for nix! All I had to do was dig them out. They didn't actually need digging. The soil was dry and loose, so all i had to do was grab the trunks, a light pull and out they came. I've still got them in Styrene and black plastic boxes. Just need to find time to work on them and do them justice.

[Jamie]

ahh cool mate, i know the nursery, it has changed a lot since then, i didnt know they had privet growing there, not for sale obviously anyways. have you seen any privet up this way growing wild? i would presume if there is any it would be hedges if any.

nice score anyways mate thats where i got a ficus clump that i fused and airlayered. it come up well, rescued it from the bargain section for not much

jamie

[Rod]

Thats a good score, Taffy I think the direction you are heading will work well. I don`t know about removing more of the five remaining branches, I think you just need to get some height. I think by growing the trunk in the centre and and getting some layers off of it will look great . I don`t think we see enough syzgium grown as bonsai, I have had one for years and it has given me great enjoyment. I have recently been offered a large hedge of lilly pilly that is going to be removed. I think I will take up the offer and remove some- not that I need anymore trees . Well done Taff!
Cheers Rod....

[Taffy]

Thanks Rod, and thanks for the advice.

That branch going vertical through the foliage is the centre branch of the five, and I was intending to let it grow more. That's the one I was going to keep if I'd removed the others. In view of your suggestions, I'll do that (let it grow, I mean ), and layering the other branches is a good idea as well.

I know that quite a few of the Lilli Pilli species suffers a lot with thrips etc, but this species doesn't have any problems at all - not in my experience with this one anyway. It doesn't even get attacked by those little loop caterpillars or the small green ones that curl leaves over.