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Acacia - see what neglect can do!

Posted: August 22nd, 2014, 8:55 pm
by Djs19992
Bonsai buddyman, i spoke to the nursery yesterday they dont have any at the moment. :( but I'm hoping to get one from bonbon this week


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Re: Acacia - see what neglect can do!

Posted: August 22nd, 2014, 9:22 pm
by kcpoole
Djs19992 wrote:Bonsai buddyman, i spoke to the nursery yesterday they dont have any at the moment. :( but I'm hoping to get one from bonbon this week


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Try the Forestry comission nursery on Castle Hill Road.
Cumberland Nursery
PO Box 100, Beecroft NSW 2119
95 Castle Hill Road, West Pennant Hills (view map)
Ph. (02) 9871 3222 Fax (02) 9871 3456

Stock list
http://www.forestrycorporation.com.au/_ ... erland.pdf

Ken

Re: Acacia - see what neglect can do!

Posted: August 22nd, 2014, 9:34 pm
by Djs19992
Thanks ken, im heading to ray nesci's tomorrow so might head over also.


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Re: Acacia - see what neglect can do!

Posted: August 22nd, 2014, 9:44 pm
by kcpoole
Djs19992 wrote:Thanks ken, im heading to ray nesci's tomorrow so might head over also.


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cool :-)

I just found these on their species list and I might cll in one day and see if they have any :-) They all have different coloured flowers so might be different :tu:
Melaleuca nesophila
Melaleuca thymifolia
Melaleuca decussata
Leptospermum scoparium roseum

Ken

Re: Acacia - see what neglect can do!

Posted: August 23rd, 2014, 8:50 am
by Watto
Craig,
Yep its growing out of the pot. The plan is to repot when the flowering has finished and that is usually very early October in this area.
I will take another photo when it is in flower.

Re: Acacia - see what neglect can do!

Posted: August 23rd, 2014, 11:55 pm
by GavinG
General opinion seems to be that you can cut them back hard after flowering to the last two leaves, but not back to bare wood. Repot at the same time, take about 1/3 of the roots safely, gradually try to remove the old soil from under the base of the trunk. There is a bit of a question whether they will survive in the long term, more than 30 - 40 years, - grow seriously long early on to get some girth, and enjoy each year that they flower for you.

Gavin

Re: Acacia - see what neglect can do!

Posted: August 24th, 2014, 7:24 am
by Watto
Sno - Lynn Smith is the potter. I think I bought this at "Bonsai by the Harbour" quite a few years ago.
Gavin - the question of Acacia and their length of life is an interesting one. I think that generally in the wild they are subjected to attacks by pests and that usually accounts for their short life span. With plenty of care (water, fertilizer, regular pest spray etc) I don't see any reason why they shouldn't live a very long life?

Re: Acacia - see what neglect can do!

Posted: August 24th, 2014, 9:24 am
by Rory
Watto wrote:Sno - Lynn Smith is the potter. I think I bought this at "Bonsai by the Harbour" quite a few years ago.
Gavin - the question of Acacia and their length of life is an interesting one. I think that generally in the wild they are subjected to attacks by pests and that usually accounts for their short life span. With plenty of care (water, fertilizer, regular pest spray etc) I don't see any reason why they shouldn't live a very long life?
Nearly all the acacia around our area eventually succumb to termites. So, I'll let you know in about 50 years if they are worth bonsai-ing or not.

Re: Acacia - see what neglect can do!

Posted: August 24th, 2014, 11:54 am
by GavinG
Watto, we''ll have a drink and a chat on it in a hundred years or so... I think the fast-growing, fast-dying species might not survive well. Arid-zone, long-lived Acacias might be our best bet, but they're not well known, either in gardens or for bonsai. See you in a century.

Gavin

Re: Acacia - see what neglect can do!

Posted: August 24th, 2014, 5:43 pm
by Watto
No problem Gavin, I'll bring the drink. Trust me!!!

Re: see what neglect can do!

Posted: August 25th, 2014, 6:45 pm
by Sno
Thanks Watto . Gavin , one Acacia that is long lived and local to us is Acacia melanoxylon . Can live upto 100 years .

Re: Acacia - see what neglect can do!

Posted: August 26th, 2014, 6:09 pm
by GavinG
Interesting Sno - what size and shape are the leaves? Damn fine timber, that I know.

On the other hand, a hundred years might not be long enough for Watto and me...

(Watto - Grolsch, Little Creatures, and something Belgian)

Gavin

Re: Acacia - see what neglect can do!

Posted: August 26th, 2014, 6:19 pm
by dansai
Around here A. melanoxylon is quite short lived. Lucky to get more than 10 years. But with bonsai culture and root pruning keeping the roots young and fresh I think any tree can live a lot longer than in the wild.

Re: Acacia - see what neglect can do!

Posted: August 27th, 2014, 7:00 pm
by Sno
Gavin . There in lies one of the catches the leaves are the same size as an average eucalyptus . Don't know if they will reduce . I have a stump that I trunk chopped and root reduced last year . Another ten year project .
Dansai . We had a fire that burnt our valley ten or so years ago . A friend an I went and harvested all the large Acacia melanoxylon for the timber ,that had died because of the fire in the bush around us . The ones we cut down I wouldn't have been able to wrap my arms around it making the circumference over 2 metres . Going on the trees in my garden which I could put one arm around easily and are 30 plus years old . I could imagine the ones we cut down as 80 plus years . They weren't very common though , we only found a dozen . The climate might have something to do with longevity .
Watto . Tooheys New please.
Cheers Sno

Re: Acacia - see what neglect can do!

Posted: August 28th, 2014, 6:26 pm
by GavinG
(What have you done with all that Blackwood Sno.....)

(Gavin)