stump of an unknown species

[Jamie]

hey people,

have i got a story for you while out and about today i came across a nursery that had been just wholesale to landscapers etc. for a long time, today it has opened to the public for a retail section so i thought i might have a look, and look i did and what a find!!!
this tree your about to see was sitting off out in the back section of some small hedge starters in between some bushes. and i thought it was odd being there. so i had a quick look around and found someone, asking about the tree the nursery owner told be it was a moxk orange, or murraya paniculata. now i am not so sure about this but wow it was amazingly sized being in a big big pot, the pot would of been atleast a foot and a half high, and the same across. and so being very interested in it i asked how much??? my answer....

FREE, you can have it. it was pulled out of the ground about 12 months ago and thats how long its been in the pot. not being one to pass up on an oppurtunity i said how can i say no to that.

then she pointed to a thuja occidentalis, and said this one hasnt looked to happy if you want you can have that too... i said are you sure?? she said yes absolutly, i was thinking well, why not. so that came home with me aswell, but that will be another story
all i went in there for was a juniper for the literati comp and come out with two advance trees aswell, the juniper for the comp was the only thing paid for at 12.50, that will be seen in the juniper comp thread when i get my laptop back. (this one i am on is an old desktop that doesnt run properly).

so cramming these trees into my ford falcon EL sedan that didnt hae much space to begin with as my wife and three kids were in the car to, we headed home, poor kids had trees in there faces the whole way home

so here is the murraya any ways. as i said im not sure it is as the bark is quite textured and flakey, i always thought murraya had smooth bark.

let me know what you think and the potential it has, i think this is gonna make an awesome bonsai someday
if you want to hack it up in a virt go for it, any info, advice or opinions will be greatly appreciated

regards jamie

[Jamie]

hmmmm....... i was hoping to get a bit more of a response to this one, with 30 odd views i thought someone might have had something to say...

[Jamie]

thinking about this stump/tree all night since i got it i remembered a progression series by the famous harry harrington.
he had a privet with similar shape etc. like this one of mine and it has turned out absolutely wonderful. here is the link to it.

http://bonsai4me.com/AdvTech/ATLongThin ... Series.htm

now i may be aiming very high for something like this but i reckon it is quite do-able considering the overall shape, style and looks of the stump i have. with trunk reduction, new growth and everything else i dont see why not? does anyone else? from what i know of these trees if it is murraya is that they are very strong growers and here in queensland it has gotten to the point from what i know that they arent allowed to sell them in nurseries, even though i see them for sale. so im not quite sure.

so i am at the begging stage now if anyone has info on them along the lines of growth habit, backbudding, how strong they are etc. would be so greatly appreciated.

thanks in advance for ANY RESPONSES!!!

regards jamie.

ps. if my original post was to long and thats why people arent replying or responding...sorry

[stymie]

Jerry's words may have some interest for you. http://www.bonsaihunk.us/MurrayaPaniculata.html

[anttal63]

skippy is the murraya man. he will only be to glad to help.

[Jamie]

thanks for the leads peoples!!!!


regards jamie

[Kelv]

My response would be: Damn what a score!

Murrayas are interesting trees! Have a look at Taiwanese Murraya bonsai, inspirational and you'll be amazed!

[Jamie]

boomy- thanks for that i will have a looky.

i also have a book by gordon owen, its nothing fancy but shows a 100 year old murraya and it looks pretty good. so we will have to see how this one goes

[bodhidharma]

Arent there basic names Jasmine orange?

[Jamie]

bodhi- yes mock orange is one of the names, along with satin wood. cosmetic bark tree and a couple of others. i have been researching them a bit and skippy has just gave me a whole heap of info. i will post it in a minute

[Jamie]

information from skippy

[quote=]I have had a little experience with Murraya, which is definitely what you have & they do make a nice Bonsai, have a look at my album there is a pic of mine in there.
Style as normal, pick the trunk or trunks that you will use, they carve well so leave stumps if you like deadwood. Wire only to get the basic shape then clip & grow the rest of the way. They respond well to root pruning, seal any large roots that you cut, growth is rapid both in the foliage & the roots so rot prune every 1 to 2 years. Keep the feed up as they are quite a hungry tree, the soil will deplete in nutrients quickly, if you start to see leaves yellowing, you will need to feed or root prune & just remove the bad leaves.
They can tolerate dry soil but prefer to be watered well & is a good idea to have a nice free draining soil. You will get to know the tree quickly as they are very easy to maintain & you will learn that you don’t have to do much to get a flush of flowers & even maybe fruit which are attractive as well.[/quote]

biggest thank you to skip for this info and the further information he has given, appreciate it mate

now the biggest problem. selecting which trunks to keep, which ones to go and how much carving will be necessary... this is gonna be a drama
i love challenges.

so people, any virtuals and ideas for this monster??? be my guest hack it up. the picture you see of the whole tree is the chosen front, it shows the best nebari, and lines. i can post others but right now i am on my old dodgey desktop pc because my laptop packed it in

[MasonC]

OMG!!! IF someone said I could have that I would pass out! What a score! I will try, 'TRY', to do a virt. Love this plant! YAY!

[Jamie]

OMG!!! IF someone said I could have that I would pass out! What a score! I will try, 'TRY', to do a virt. Love this plant! YAY!

i nearly did pass out mate thanks would love to see what others think they see in this tree, i have a few ideas of my own but cant virt at the moment with my laptop down. damn!

i am thinking i will have to treat this like harry harringtons privet. i posted the link in one of my first posts in this thread if no one has seen it

regards jamie

[Edward Scissorhand]

What a great find, especially an old one like that! Im certainly green with envy. Theres a huge murraya on display in one of the nurseries in Sydney (bonsai environment). They have the sweetest perfume smell and by the way, theyre tough as boots so you can hack back hard and they will reshoot. You can get some taper in those trunks within a few years, the group will look awesome in a shallow pot.

[Jamie]

edward, thanks for that info! i was wondering bout how well they shoot back on old wood, my plan was to be taking off practically all the large trunks, as for a group i dont think the pics shows it all... it is one big solid stump. its all together, i couldnt split it if i wanted too
well i probly could but it would require something along the lines of a huge chainsaw and a jack hammer

i think the inside of the trunks are quite soft with some rot. i dont think this will be a hand saw job, i am thinking i will need a small chainsaw or reciprocating saw of some kind to get through! any reccommendations? i havent worked on anything like this in the past!

jamie