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ID needed Please

Posted: March 22nd, 2017, 2:08 pm
by peterb
Hi everyone
I have this aussie native that I purchased as tube stock 2+yrs ago, I have subsequently lost the tag and haven't a clue what it is or how to work with it. please could somebody Id it and then possibly how one works with it. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated , thanks
cheers
Peterb

Re: ID needed Please

Posted: March 22nd, 2017, 3:21 pm
by Joel
Leptospermum petersonii, lemon scented tea tree.

Re: ID needed Please

Posted: March 22nd, 2017, 3:31 pm
by Max
agree

Re: ID needed Please

Posted: March 22nd, 2017, 4:32 pm
by shibui
It certainly looks like L. petersonii. Just check that it does have a citrus smell when the leaves are crushed. I have another Lepto grown from seed collected North Coast NSW that looks very similar but no lemon scent so there must be other species that look like this.

Re: ID needed Please

Posted: March 22nd, 2017, 9:14 pm
by peterb
Thanks folks, I'll crunch some leaves tomorrow and let you know . Appreciate the help. How difficult are they to work with?
Cheers Peterb

Re: ID needed Please

Posted: March 23rd, 2017, 6:23 pm
by shibui
L. petersonii is a partly frost tender. The other one I'm growing got frosted the first year here but seem to have been a little hardier as they get older.
Great for bonsai. They shoot reliably on older wood, become quite dense with regular pruning/pinching and, other than not liking cold, seem pretty tough. Standard mix. Mine have responded well to summer root pruning like most other natives. Wires well and does not seem to have any problem with branches below horizontal. Trunks get 'ropy' and have nice bark as they age.

Re: ID needed Please

Posted: March 23rd, 2017, 8:40 pm
by Boics
Yep. Great native specimen for Bonsai.

Re: ID needed Please

Posted: March 23rd, 2017, 9:45 pm
by peterb
Thanks Shibui / Boics
I'm looking forward to working with this one :D do they flower like some of the other leptospermums
Cheers
Peterb

Re: ID needed Please

Posted: March 24th, 2017, 10:34 am
by Lane
Yep, they throw out lots of little white flowers.

Re: ID needed Please

Posted: March 24th, 2017, 11:11 am
by shibui
Do they still flower when pinched regularly? Mine have shown no sign of flowering even if I allow them to grow a bit. Maybe too young yet.
I maintain a couple of L. petersonii hedges. I have not seen flowers on them because new growth is constantly cut.

Re: ID needed Please

Posted: March 25th, 2017, 3:40 am
by Lane
True, I'm still growing mine out in parts to thicken sections up a bit.