AusBonsai

hi everyone and happy mothers day

i've been wondering for a while exactly what species of tree i have here. i believe its obviously some sort of conifer and my girlfriend calls it an Australian cypress?
i had an idea of completely stripping the entire trunk bare of all branches and reducing the height abit while i'm at it and starting fresh just like Antonio did with his swampy. i love the trunk but none of the branches really.

appreciate any input.

brett

Looks to me to be a Callitris, probably rhomboides, someone else should be able to confirm or correct me there. I have never cut one back to bare wood & am unsure how they would respond, even when collecting I have never stripped these bare. Most coniferous plants do not shoot back on old wood they simply curl up and die.

I really like the shape of this tree, it will never look like a classical japanese bonsai. But it is successful in capturing the essence of this species in miniature which to me is the aim of bonsai.

Matt

excellent point Matt and i totally agree with you i just thought the branches could be better placed along the trunk for that formal upright style.

i have a close up photo of the trunk which would show what i'm talking about but the file is too large to attach.

thanks for the feedback, i suppose just a tidy up will be all for this one.

brett

Hi Brett, I reckon you could wire the branches to spread them a bit more but not flat as in a formal tree. You could also do a fair bit of trimming rather than pruning especially in the crown of the tree to return some strength to the lower branches. Once you have got the tree into a nice shape then it will need lots of pinching. Its a really nice tree and would improve enormously with a bit of work.
Craig

thanks craig that sounds like a great plan for this tree. i see what you mean by pushing some energy back down to the lower branches.

thank you

Hi Brett
I agree with others on this being a Callitris. Which one is a bit more difficult. It might be C. rhomboides or C. columellaris.

Most callitris have a candle-like crown, even in old age. Some of the white cypress pines can be radically different, but this probably isn't one of them - the leaves are very 'green' and the 'white' ones are usually a bit bluer, though not always - I did say it could be a bit difficult .

for shape, I've (tried) to upload three images of C. enlicheri from the Molonglo Gorge near Canberra. The oldest of these trees is probably at least 120 years. From the general habitat shot you can see that all ages have either cylindrical crown ending a bit rounded, or wider near the base and taper to the top. You can see the lowerest branches either spread almost horizontal before turning upwards, or maintain their earlier steep upwards inclination from near the trunk. C. columellaris grows in a very similar way as do several others that I've seen as older trees. The final shape is far from the traditional 'pine' look of an S-curved trunk with horizontal pads of left/right/back. If you're happy to leap into styling that evokes what the species does naturally, go for it. I'm sure you will be rewarded, though watch out for some who will try to dump bricks on you!

Cheers
K

Very inspirational shots there, Kunzea