AusBonsai

Update the dead has risen (the bought stock) and is shooting well I posted about it in another post turns out it loves the compost bin lol the original transplanted one has finally started to back shoot and has roots coming out of the bottom of the pot will probably take photos Monday
Hope everyone is doing well


Cheers J

Good news Jas,
Very early on in bonsai I was told to not throw anything out until it had been dead 12mths. Its amazing what will come back from the 'dead'. I would let it be in the compost for a year, you will be amazed what you have at the end of it

just 2 quick shots of it i took this morning thinking of basically gutting it back to were u see it. soil to top of new growth just shy of 20 cm.

no thoughts on the proposed cut??

Rintar wrote:no thoughts on the proposed cut??

I would let it grow wild for a season then think about a chop...

good work mate, you beat the odds .

Matt gives good advice .

It's quite difficult to advize which direction you should go at this stage. Your little tree looks very similar to one i have here. I will imagine the new shoots on your tree will begin very thin and fragile looking but they will become vigorous in a short time. If you have any inkleing of which way you will go then i would gently direct the new shoots out from the trunk in rough directions now, reason being mainly to establish the branch junctions at a useable angle instead of them growing willy nilly at angles which will be of no use later on. Pinching back early when new shoots are bursting helps in backbudding which this tree hopefully does well.

One thing i have noticed on alot of Melaleucas is the speed at which new shoots grow compared to older wooded branches. for example ;sometimes a melaleuca branchand sub-branching can easily be built from a brand new adventious shoot in considerably shorter time than trying to make use of existing smaller branches/sub-branching to build the branch.

Thank you both Matt and Craig appreciate all the feed back I can get I am sad to say I will only have this little guy for 2more months before handing over as wedding gift have become quite attached am thinking about digging the one from the compost and giving him that instead but if it dies back again being potted I'd feel like crap plus it is straighter and mire the challenge this one starts with charector. Any one wanting to send me ideas for a wedding care package and instructions feel free

Cheers j

Ok so in December 2012 the mel was given to my brother as his wedding gift till July 2014 it sat in a pot with blue metal and water in it. At that stage my fathers helpful gardner pulled it out of the bucket put it on the cement and it has sat on the ground. I visited yesterday and am here for a week, almost. Put it back in a bucket to give it a good soak and added some seasol to the water to help give it a bit of a recover. Thinking before I leave I will cut off the outer pot roots. maybe give it a full repot and maybe a trim.... thoughts. It looks like it has even thrown a few low aerials..

Poor thing has had a rough ride... from start till know but still lives.

I've got a feeling it might be a bit pot-bound!!?!
Might wanna try and repot if you get a chance, otherwise the next time you see it, well...
Poor bugger needs a little love I reckon!

Yeah my brother will be here on Saturday will do it with him. Full repot and possible hair cut.

the repoting and a small haircut chopped the root mass in pot to less than a 1/3rd and obviously removed all the outside roots. Trimmed most of the foliage back to keep only a third or less. Did it all with the owner my brother present. He wanted me to keep more branches length and leaves than i would have but hay its his. it has been put back in the bucket and he will be putting it in a deeper water tray and keep its feet wet like it used to be. I think it should recover well, Just wish I could style it more.

It has a bit of a rough trot so apparently Im to take it home for some RnR. No doubt a re pot some wiring and a good amount of tender love n care.

Keep them in a saucer of water - either just water or gravel if mossies are a problem. Essential after repotting but I keep most of mine in water all the time.

Its always been in a water tray. At my house it was in a bucket half full of blue metal. With good watering and seasol.