Old Melaleuca armillaris

[hugh grant]

I bought this tree about 8 months ago, the tree already very old shows a lot of character and features which i would say are reminiscent of Melaleuca in the wild, making this tree quite valuable in my eyes. The tree was let to grow for a few moths in my garden so i could observe its character and pursue an appropriate design. The tree was designed with a new angle in mind to better show off the trunk and create a more powerful image. A few major branches were moved with guy wires and the rest wired out completely. A few more months on and the tree showed excellent signs of recovery from the work and so i repotted into an old Angophora burl i had. Working on ramification and developing more branches is the next step in this trees journey.

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regards,
Hugh

[Rory]

Nice tree Hugh. I have a few of these species too, its a great tree to work with. Nice to have met you at the auction day last month.

I'm not a fan of the new pot, but I like the tree

[bodhidharma]

Love the tree Hugh and dont mind the pot at all. Matter of fact i would not mind it on my bench but would get rid of the heavy right hand branch at the top of the tree.

[Inspired]

Great size melaleuca.. love the pot and bark texture. Gotta get me one of these one day.

For me (and for now0 the impact of the straight trunk is too strong and goes up half way (taking of the top heavy right branch can make better impact).

Nice tree still and I know you will rework it more in time

[Corymbia]

Hi Hugh - love the direction you are taking my old melaleuca. It's amazing what a fresh pair of eyes can see. I'm not a fan of the new pot though - I think it's too small for the tree. I appreciate that it has found a good home. See you at the next Ausbonsai community market day.

Regards
Jan

[hugh grant]

Thanks for the replies guys and interesting feedback. I will mention at this stage that the tree has a couple of season of growth and maturing into the design. The top right hand branch i will say is going to stay, that kind of branching is what i see time and time again in very old melaleuca trees in nature. This tree i really want to try and culturally convey what this species displays in terms of its key characteristics and translate that to the context of bonsai culture and art.

Hi Hugh - love the direction you are taking my old melaleuca. It's amazing what a fresh pair of eyes can see. I'm not a fan of the new pot though - I think it's too small for the tree. I appreciate that it has found a good home. See you at the next Ausbonsai community market day.

Regards
Jan

Thanks Jan, thats really great to hear from you, Its a proud member of the collection.


Hugh

[hugh grant]

Well this tree has most definitely matured since the last post 18 months ago.
Another 3 complete wiring jobs and a new pot 8 months ago.

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[Elmar]

Looking good!


Cheers
Elmar

[tgward]

be nice to see something like this at the noelanders

[kez]

Absolutely spectacular! So glad you kept the right branch mate

[EdwardH]

Love what you have done with it though like a few others that top RH branch still seems a bit heavy, maybe its just the photo?

[boom64]

Fantastic Hugh ,I too am glad you kept the right branch. Spending time in the bush you see many in such positions and a lot more extreme to... John.

[boom64]

A quick question. What are the measurements of this Baby.

[Andrew E]

Looking good mate. Photos don't do it justice.

[gwilliamb]

Wow that has come on great. Right branch fits perfectly. Well done, Glenn