AusBonsai

Keep it very well watered and in a warm spot this time of year and you should be fine.

Ken

kcpoole wrote:Keep it very well watered and in a warm spot this time of year and you should be fine.

Ken

Sweet as, will do
Thanks Ken

I wonder what natives you have been reading about and where Ben? Almost all the native bonsai growers I have contact with have found that root pruning and transplanting natives is far better in warmer months. My trials also confirm it is far better to root prune most natives late spring through summer. Many of the ones I have done in winter do not grow, many have died.
In warmer areas hardy plants like callistemon can be dug all year round. I know Pup who has vast experience in Perth says any time of year over there so it is likely that yours should be OK.

I generally keep the mix quite damp for a while after collecting until roots recover. I often keep the pot in a shallow tray of water to make sure the roots don't dry out. Good light is essential for trees to recover but strong direct summer sun can be detrimental. I think some direct sun at this time of year should be OK though.
I like to give collected trees plenty of time to re-establish before trying to do more work. At least 6 months, better 12 months before pruning or wiring. Some trees will shoot new buds and grow quite a bit before dying off if they don't get new roots started so

Hi shibui thanks for the info, I will try to stick to it.
The info I read was on a abc gardening australia website about natives. Some others I read were about Callistemon in particular as well.
Although this wasn’t about collecting them as bonsai rather it was about transplanting. I figured it’s similar.
Anyways it doesn’t matter because I still wouldn’t be able to dig in spring cos I won’t be here.

Fingers crossed, will defiantelly document my results.

I thought that may be the case.
Planting out into the garden or paddock is far different to collecting for bonsai. It is good to plant natives (into the ground) in autumn except in the coldest areas because the existing roots have a chance to grow into damp soil all winter and spring. Then as ground dries in later spring the strong roots can follow moisture as it retreats in summer. That means best chance of surviving with less supplementary water. Natives planted out in spring do not get enough time to grow strong roots before soil starts to dry in summer and may need extra water to survive a dry summer. in cold areas where frost damage to small plants can be an issue spring planting is preferred. Often in those areas dry soil is less of an issue but in cold, dry sites extra watering may be needed to get good establishment.
When we are providing plenty of water in a pot roots following scarce moisture does not apply.

You should be able to find plenty of good threads on Ausbonsai about digging and transplanting natives in general and callistemon in particular. Pup from Perth has posted plenty of really great advice about callistemon and melaleucas, including his experiences in collecting them over there.
There may be some public information on Vic native bonsai site or you may like to join as a member for access to members only articles. Also try searching Australian Plants as Bonsai (APAB). Roger H was collecting lots of great information from growers all over and some may have reached public domain. Canberra Bonsai Society have also published plenty of good stuff from their experienced native bonsai growers so it may be worth checking their website too.

I see
Thanks for clearing that up shibui
Very informative as always
It doesn’t get super cold here but we have had winter morning at 0 at times.
Hopefully I can keep it warm haha

Keep it in a warm, north facing position and it'll love you for it.

So despite the cold weather and being dug up recently, this guy has responded by sending out new shoots.
I was quite pleased to see the new shoots.
Hopefully it can survive the next 2 months and power on into spring.

Well done, Looks like you've got a tough little bugger there.

Unfortunately this one didn’t make it.

In the dramas of buying a house and moving I got slack with some trees and i had a week where I forgot to do some watering. This one ended up being well dry and all the new buds fried.

A little devestated cos it had some potential... anyway it was my first bonsai death and I’m sure it won’t be my last.
As long as we learn from our mistakes then it isn’t all bad.

On the plus this can be used as some terrarium/vivarium/aquarium scaping (my other hobby along side bonsai)

benbonsai wrote: As long as we learn from our mistakes then it isn’t all bad.

On the plus this can be used as some terrarium/vivarium/aquarium scaping (my other hobby along side bonsai)

Mate. Bummer. But as you say - live and learn.

And I had to laugh - in other things I cant afford - I share your hobby of terrariums and aquascaping - in truth, I am relatively new to that space - and I haven’t aquascaped yet - but I want too!

I am currently wishing I could afford something in the BioOrb range but alas .... not yet.

And just for interest here are two open terrariums that I recently constructed. The second smaller one with my 17.5 year old daughter who wanted to give one to her boyfriend’s parents for Christmas [CHRISTMAS TREE]. Nice that we could construct it together.

Bonsai teaches me patience.

How dead was the callistemon Ben? They are really tough and can shut down to protect themselves in times of drought then resprout when conditions improve. At my place nothing is dead for at least a full season after it dropped the leaves.

I was thinking the same. I fertilised with too much P and had subsequent die back, all leaves, then 2 weeks later BOOM, sprouts. I wouldn't give up. A scrape to see if any green might help in the decision

I have had natives reshoot after 2 years never throw them out.

Agree, I had a Callistemon reshoot after 18 months! Just keep looking after it.
Cheers
Kirky