AusBonsai

I spied this Lepto in the back of the bargain bin at one of the local nurseries & from the bark I am guessing its been there more than a few.... After doing the usual chop before leaving the nursery this is what I was left with... And a better pic of the bark branching & leaves from the offcut... Not knowing what species & not wanting to wait I hooked in with my usual rootprune on the 20/11, not barerooting but very close to it. Didn't get a pic of the rootball on its own but in the pot should give a good idea how far I went... A couple of days in the shade house then it was back to the bench for full sun & lookey lookey new buds are popping already Now its growing I will slowly cut back watering from 4 times a day to 3 or even 2 but still keep more up to it than my normal trees until its made plenty of growth above & below ground.

Aha!!! So flooding seems to work on other natives, not just Eucs? I must admit I don't water anything that often. Good to know.

Gavin

GavinG wrote:Aha!!! So flooding seems to work on other natives, not just Eucs? I must admit I don't water anything that often. Good to know.

Gavin

So it seems... I will say that from what I have tried with 'full sun + constant watering' brings buds double fast, normal aftercare is fine but I want them thumping now not later. It has also given me success with another unknown native that had been eluding me until now

I've been putting most of my repotted trees (natives and exotics) straight back on the benches in full sun for a few years now. Like you Matt, I reckon they take off quicker than in a shaded area and its good to hear that others are finding the same. Might be time to do a side by side trial to see if one is really better.
I just water them in well then straight back to normal watering - they can't take up much water for the first few days with cut roots anyway.

Shibui, like you my repots always go back to the bench & full sun with normal waterings, it was only a few years ago I started experimenting with putting dug trees out in the sun straight away but the results are worth it. I keep the extra waterings happening as I have lost a few trees in the recovery stage when I didn't water as often.

Powering along it was time to start training, I know it is said that you cannot take natives past the horizontal but my lepto's tell me otherwise, done about a week ago its showing no signs of slowing Jute & an anchor point is all thats needed... I probably didnt need to bind the whole branch but wanted to give it a little extra protection before bending from almost straight up to their current positions. A bonus bud has shot down low & for now is being kept incase I don't like how the top turns out I can always chop back to it & start again

String lines were removed after about 6wks and the branches allowed to relax back into their own spot of comfort, the upper branch has bounced back the most & I put that down to it being all new wood where as the lower one has an internal structure of old wood, something I have also observed with other Lepto's. As well as the lower sacrifice branch that is slowly gaining strength I have had another bud break above the current branching, while I can see no use for it in a final design it does give me the option of another sacrifice branch to create an even beefier trunk.

Wow! That has packed on the growth since I've seen it. When are you re wrapping it again?

Leptospermum petersonii?

I have some in the ground that I would love to pot up but after previous attempts failing, I haven't ventured further. Any tips?

Joel

Joel,
Everything tells me it should be L.petersonii until I crush the leaves & nothing....

The only advice I can give is to get a decent sized rootball & leave the soil intact, I would look at digging late sept/oct as the plant fires up for the year. If you look at the first couple pics on this thread will give you some idea what I would aim for rootball wise in relation to the trunk.viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9581&p=102579

Thanks Matt! Will give that a go.

Joel

Another tree that got a look while I had a few like nutters around. I had been contemplating removing the whole top section & regrowing from the low shoot, one of the nutters liked the top so he was given free reign to work it & it gives me the reason to experiment with layering. From obsevation of the rootsystem this species has the ability to generate new root from the base of the trunk & heavier roots so I am hoping it should layer ok too. If not its a lesson learnt & no loss to me Standard ringbarking method, chopped sphagnum for medium with my usual topping of chopped Tillandsia, no rooting hormones were used.