AusBonsai

Hi all,

Picked up this lilly pilly this weekend ($20) and was looking for some feed back on possible future direction of the tree.
Current dimensions are about 650mm high and roughly 80mm at the base.

was thinking of cutting back down to the first main branch?? any thoughts

Thanks

Hi Matlea, good score for $20
You probably know already, but they back bud on old wood and are very hardy.
Yeah I think cutting back to the first branch is a good idea! For the moment I would leave a smallish stump on the trunk just above the first branch and then deal with it down the track.
If the soil is ok and it is not terribly root bound I would just water and feed it letting it recover from the reduction in height and then next spring repot and prune to a basic frame work.
That is just how I would approach it, but you may well have other plans?
Some always repot nursery stock upon purchase no matter what time of year, favouring their soil mix. And perhaps others would prune more serverely at this stage as well...so I guess I am advocating the slow and steady approach.
I think that you will end up with a very nice bonsai in time with this tree and would like to hear your plans for it.
Good luck and please keep us in the loop with future progress.
Cheers, Dario,

Thanks... I think i might cut it down as you have said and let it grow untill next spring. Will also leave it in the pot for the moment as well.

It's got a nice base but the thickest part of the trunck is a bit to straight!... was thinking carving but I havent see any carving for these type of trees...not really natural I supose. The tricky bit is taking care of the main chop....that is if it's the right way to go?
any tips?

the way the branches are suggests to me a windswept style-trunk chop to main left branch( or air layer now)--but am not sure whether lilly pilly growth habit lends itself to windswept style--others here should have an idea

matlea wrote:Thanks... I think i might cut it down as you have said and let it grow untill next spring. Will also leave it in the pot for the moment as well.

It's got a nice base but the thickest part of the trunck is a bit to straight!... was thinking carving but I havent see any carving for these type of trees...not really natural I supose. The tricky bit is taking care of the main chop....that is if it's the right way to go?
any tips?

Hi matlea, of course you don't have to chop the trunk lower...that is just what I would do as above the first branch the trunk is pretty straight and also of the same calipar sort of like a flag pole.
Lilly Pilly is very tough and will recover fine from trunk chopping especially being that you aren't looking at pruning the roots at the same time. If you want you can put some cut paste over the trunk chop wound so it doesn't dry out too much. And as I said previously, you could leave a little stump above the branch which will hopefully minimise potential die back (but really it should be fine).
They like lots of water especially in summer, but try not to keep the soil constantly soggy and wet...let it dry out a little between waterings...but not too much.
Charlie carp liquid fertilizer (every 2 weeks) and also water with seasol too (once a week, or every 2 weeks).
If you want you could follow Guy's advice and airlayer the trunk...up to you?
I saw a mature lilly pilly tree a couple of weekends back that had previously had a large lower branch snapped off due to really strong winds, which had torn the base of the trunk somewhat creating an area of deadwood...looked great! I am not saying that deadwood is normal for the species etc, but I like hollows and deadwood on certain species of conifers, deciduous and broad leaf evergreens and have seen it on all of the tree categories I mentioned...but each to their own hey (I am sure plenty view it as only being reserved for conifers though).
Best of luck and I look forward to seeing what you decide to do!
Cheers, a very sleepy Dario,
EDIT oh yeah, what is the condition of the soil like and do you know how long ago the trunk was chopped back?...just curious.

Yeah I think I'm goin to chop it down.... going to be a long term project this one!! Keep looking at ...walking away... looking at it....
was originally thinking of making a larger tree but given the leaves on this particular plant are small (compared to some LP I have seen) and given the shape of the low branch migh go for a finished height under 25cm. chop chop!

Might give it a go this weekend.

ps - did the initial chop only a few days ago when I got it... not much was happening with it above the chop line.

Cool matlea, be sure to keep us updated as I am interested to see how it goes
Cheers, Dario.

Thought I would do an update on this one.
Have potted up a few months back and it seems to be going ok. Needs more branches on the bare side ( back) and it looks like there are some buds coming through. I think I'll keep trimming to force back budding this year and maybe wire towards the end of summer....

Not sure on front, thinking of either pic 1 and pulling left branches down? Or another possibility? Bare side/ back !

this has come along nicely matlea. well done.

Did you end up air layering or chopping?

Also, this is my first year with bonsai in mind and I have been learning a lot about the trees I have. recently, given a half a years growth, I've come to notice which of the species that I own are more sensitive to sun direction than others (e.g. Azaleas vs. Junipers). I don't have any lilly pilly's so I don't know but I'll ask anyway... have you been turning this tree? The bare back side ( ) is a little obvious right now, I think.

Or are lilly pilly's not that sensitive to light direction and this is just how yours has grown?

appreciate the info, as i would like to add some lilly pilly's to my collection in the future.

The bare side was like that when I bought the tree from the nursery. You can see in the early pics there wasn't a lot of foliage, I don't think they were getting watered that often and some branches had died.
So far I have given a hefty chop, but kept lower branches. I let this recover for a while and then gave another hefty chop but on the roots... Watered with seasol or the like after.
Regarding rotating your pots for sun ligt access, I would try to do that to all pots regardless of species

Update on this Lilly pilly.

Having a rethink on this one I switched what was originally the back to the front..
Made sense as there were not as many branches on this side. Also got stuck into the trunk and found it was starting to rot.. Wood was going soft. So I had a crack at my first carving exercise ( was going to carve anyway) . Will lime sulphure once it has dried out so it doesn't rot again. ... I'm assuming that will do the trick?
Now I'll just let it grow and think about some wiring in the near future.

Any comments / suggestions are as always welcome.

Hi matlea, nice one.
If you haven't burnt the carved out area I would do that and then clean it up with a wire brush afterwards. Be careful of the foliage and the edges of the carving when burning. I would not treat it with lime sulphur myself, but then leave it to weather keeping a close eye on it. You will be doing more detailed carving down the track anyway.
I would also select your final branches at this stage, pruning them back so that you can set a pleasing future branch structure with movement and compact growth.
Also if you haven't identified a future leader I would do so now too and either grow it out to thicken (which you may be already doing?) and then cut it back later, or if you are happy with the thickness of the leader chop it back to some existing growth...keeping some growth to help healing of the carved edges.
I would also clean up the top cut and then seal it as it will be harder to access that area with future growth...this genus heals cuts reasonably well.
That is my others may go about it another way.
This will be a nice tree
Cheers, Dario.

Thanks for the feedback Dario.

Was thinking of growing a new leader from the branch located over the branch chop... As you have highlighted it could do with some more taper. Hopefully this is the right choice for it

I wasn't going to trim any branches just yet as I was worried it might slow the tree down (especially with this cold wet weather) and wait for around spring time? But the objective will be to cut back and regrow as the branches are lacking movement are brittle at their current thickness... Nothing a few years won't fix!!

I love what you have done to this tree!
Now it has character and visual impact!
Viky

Wow. This tree has come far in just 18 months. I've never been a fan of Lilly pillys but judging from this, it's worth considering. well done.