AusBonsai

Hi
This is my second post - so be kind please!
I had not even considered Melaleuca as a bonsai material until i started reading these forums so many thanks for inspiring me!
I bought this one at a Sydney nursery just because i wanted to give it a go and it looked like it had some potential. I haven't really touched it apart from the odd haircut to keep neat.
Can anyone advise on:
- what is the best time to root prune & repot (should it wait till early spring)
- how much can be taken off the roots in one sitting?
- any styling or other general tips?

regards

vangees

G,day Vangees it looks like a Melaleuca linarifolia, if it is and it was my tree.
I would be thinking about root reduction now.
Our natives usually, like it better when it is warm and humid. That second heavy branch on the right near the top needs to be either taken off or shortened and turned into a jin.
The overall shape is quite pleasing from what can be seen not knowing the height or what the roots look like. There needs to be some wiring done to bring some of the top around to the front so you get a full rounded canopy. When you ( if you do take that branch out ) you need to fill the space a little, so bring the head over to the right.

Just my thoughts lets hope you can get some more.
Cheers Pup
Edit typos I get a lot of those

Nice one! My advice - follow Pup's advice, lol.

Nice curving at the trunk but if you have one turn you need a reverse turn I would wire the main stem to the right slightly which then would give you a new leading branch.
I would need to see the roots, is it pot bound or loose?. repotting needs to be done pretty much now unless you are having some cold nights. Keep out of sun during the day and use muiltcrop plant starter. when root pruning and then repotting make sure you spread out the root all. firmly bend the base of roots slightly. Branches have some straight lines which could have some curving. just for the moment though done wire too heavily. I would just wire the main trunk and short the branches 1st, feed it with liquid powerfeed than a week or so later do a repot. do all this assuming health is good. Maybe check to see if new roots are forming. check for no signs of dieback in branches or dead foliage. All things to concider.
cheers

peter

forgot to say. some Mel. don't always easily shoot back from hard wood so take it slowly as you trim down the branches, watch for new growth and then continue on. cheers

I normally bare root new trees, including natives as I use a very coarse soil mix and want to remove the old soil. I would cut some away and wash the rest of the soil out with a spray of water. On a new tree I would probably remove over half the roots. It all depends on how healthy they are. The way your tree looks it should have no objections to a serious root prune but be sure to reduce the foliage as advised at the same time. You could find it helpful to the tree to put it in a water tray so the water was slighly above the base line of the pot. Melas on the whole LOVE water and don't get root rot. Currently I have alternifolia, quinquenervia, revolution gold and alternifolia in 24/7 water trays and only remove them during a period of strong rain.

When I repot I would soak the tree in a SeaSol solution and then into the water tray in morning/early afternoon sun, being kinder and putting it in fairly full shade if the heat is above 30 degrees until new foliage starts developing. I have never found the melaleucas touchy. As long as you keep the water up they tend to thrive.

It's a nice looking plant with lots of options. That curled base could be a problem as many melaleucas tend to get major roots growing around the base.

Hi Vangees
This is my second attempt to submit a photo. It's the first time I've tried, so I'm learning quickly.

It is of an idea I had for your tree. I rotated it a bit, removed some branches and filled in some new canopy.
Hope it works. You might be interested.
Cheers
Kunzea

Thanks all for your advice. This weekend I will start using some of the ideas above and let you know how it progresses!

is it pot bound or loose?.

Its relatively loose in comparison with some other stuff i have lying around - which i guess is good and makes working with the roots less stressful on us both

when root pruning and then repotting make sure you spread out the root all. firmly bend the base of roots slightly

rayfam5, can you explain in more detail what you mean by firmly bending the base of the roots slightly?

and kunzea thanks for the photo. looking at it, an alternative could be removing or jinning that right branch completely(?) then again i like the "fullness" of the existing tree and pup's advice to play with that top right branch and the apex.

confuzed!!

i'll start slow, check out the roots and see where it takes me!

vangees