AusBonsai

hey everyone

i got this for $10 today

would someone be able to id for me? and whether i can chop hard with this type of tree
i want to turn this in to a "natural" style tree the thick trunk as the leader and the thinner off to the side as the lower part of the canopy................. i think eneryone know's what i mean

any advice would be very much appreciated
cheers
matt

Hi Matt my one and only guess would be a sick (as in unwell) lemon scented tea tree

Gee Matty, and that is your favorite tree,some people are good with words.
Better give it some seasol,it will come good.

thanks for the reply's guys

as a matter of fact it had a seasol bath for a couple of hours this afternoon!!

there is a lot of root in this pot at the moment which i think is one of the major reasons it's not looking so good
the other reason i think is it probably hasn't been fed in a loooooong time

will slip potting help with re gaining the health of this tree and do i need to do anything to the circling roots at the bottom of the pot

can i add some dl and a powerfeed or do i need to wait till it gets its vigour back before i can fertilise with both

cheers
matt

I wouldn't feed it until after I repotted it - just give it some seasol or seamungus and let it recover first. I would mess with the roots as little as possible as some natives are a bit touchy

Trees will not die from being root bound they just take extra care. I WOULD feed the tree. Lots of water lots of feed fish emulsion would be great being a native. only after the tree has shown it has recovered should you consider repotting.

Maybe get a screwdriver into the root ball from the too of tree, jam it down as far as it will go and wiggle it from side to side in all directions to loosen up the soil, being root bound as has been said will not overly harm the tree but it will impede water penetration, which impedes food production from photosynthesis, it cn also lead to poor nutrient uptake if your feeding.

This can be seen in yellowing leaves, uneven growth and general unhealthy appearance, getting water and oxygen to the roots by loosening up the mix will help, and generally I gauge it by how fast pooling water on the surface of pot drains, if it takes ages, do something about it, after you have addressed it and it improves drainage, then wait until it starts growing healthy and then once it is healthy, then repot it

I have on numerous occasions, taken a tree out of its pot and cut off a 100mm piece off the bottom and put it back into fresh soil, fed it and watch it roar back into life. Even later than this time of year. Trees are tougher than we think.

thanks for the reply's

i think ill take it out of its pot this afternoon asses how root bound it actually is and go from there
i dont think the roots are the number 1 problem with this tree
the foliage is very green on the tree today its just not growing very vigoursly so i think its problem is no food and lack of water
ill completely soak this tree again in seasol tomorrow and make sure its well watered add some slow release and give it a half strength power feed
and see what happens in a week or 2
i think i may have to let the tree sit and re gain it vigour before i can chop hard
i think i might have to wait till spring

what are your thoughts

cheers
matt

Crush one of the leaves and have a sniff.... To see if it is a Lemon-scented tee-tree. Let us know the result.

when the tree recovers vigour, you can trunk chop it down to a 200mm stump and regrow new branches. It will be a worthwhile long term project if you take drastic pruning.

Hackimoto wrote:Crush one of the leaves and have a sniff.... To see if it is a Lemon-scented tee-tree. Let us know the result.

hey mr hackimoto i havent seen a comment of yours in a while!
glad to see your still here

i went down and crushed some foliage in my hand and the scent wasn't very strong at all i could just smell it, the new foliage did smell stronger but i didnt think it smelt like lemon just sweet like a tea tree

i did notice that the new foliage is a redish colour i hope this helps

Brian wrote:when the tree recovers vigour, you can trunk chop it down to a 200mm stump and regrow new branches. It will be a worthwhile long term project if you take drastic pruning.

thanks for the positive feed back brian i'm hoping this will make a lovely little native bonsai one day

cheers
matt

My guess would be a Callistemon, and there are plenty of those, and the do shoot back after a severe cut back.


Pup

Pup wrote:My guess would be a Callistemon, and there are plenty of those, and the do shoot back after a severe cut back.


Pup

Thanks pup!!
I guess the test would be waiting till spring and see hat kind of flowers
BUT I want to chop it soon

With the new red growth I would concur with Pup - but have no idea what species.