AusBonsai

I got this eucalyptus for a steal at $10. I have never had a eucalyptus tree before and was seeking some advice on what to feed it, re-potting season, when to wire and when to prune. The base is about 3-4 inches across and the tree is about 1.5 meters tall.

I was also seeking some styling advice for it. I was thinking of just bending the top branch down and cultivating growth on there, but then i thought it's probably a bit too high and that i should cut it down by half or so. However i am unsure of the backbud habits of eucalyptus trees. Do they back bud easily, and does the back budding come straight out of the cut or lower down?

I was also seeking an ID on it as i forgot to ask at the nursery.

Gday Krusty!

Looks like E. polyanthemos (Red Box) to me, and given your Melbourne-ness, I'd almost bank on it. I've never had a great deal of success with the species, as the internodal growth and foliage is often too coarse for a smallish tree. As such, I offer my observations:

[To be continued ASAP, as I am at the business end of making dinner. Check back in an hour or so...]

FlyBri wrote:[To be continued ASAP, as I am at the business end of making dinner. Check back in an hour or so...]

Dinner is now finished, and I have home-made tacos gurgling away in my gizzards.

So, here are my promised observations:

[1] The tree looks to be severely rootbound. I reach this conclusion because of the moss on the surface and sad looking weeds, as well as the pink/red hue of the leaves. I bet that there are no new buds to be seen anywhere on the tree (but there should be, given the time of year...). I expect that the pot is surprisingly light, given the size of the tree, the volume of soil and the recent wet weather we've had in Melbourne and surrounds. I also reckon those little weeds will be disproportionately difficult to pull out roots-and-all.

[2] That is some great looking flare at the base of the trunk! DO NOT hope or expect that the flare will continue beneath the soil: this is most likely the widest point of the tree's lignotuber, and you may not find any substantial roots for a good way down - well below the lignotuber, where massive reverse-taper will be a problem.

So, what to offer in terms of actual advice?

The inherited wisdom about Eucs tells us that it is OK to repot at any time when the tree is not actively growing, and yours is not, by all appearances... That said, Eucs are usually repotted in the hotter months, when they (often) experience a dormant state.

I'm torn between giving "safe" advice and telling you what I would do... For now, I advise soaking the pot in a tub of water (place as many bricks as necessary on the upper side of the pot to keep the thing from floating/tipping). A bit of Seasol won't hurt, so long as you don't overdo it (IE: read the instructions). Leave the pot in the water until such time as all the bubbling ceases - this could take a few hours, or even overnight.

I look forward to seeing which option you want to take...

Fly.

Hi Krusty,

You might want to cut the top off, down to the lowest branch. It would be safe to do now, give it a little fertiliser and obviously a good drink. If it were mine I would also repot it now as Flybri mentioned, it doesn't look as if it has any growth happening. If it has largish internode length you might try pinching the new growth before it extends. Depending on the species, the regrowth may have shorter internode length as well as causing the leaves to grow shorter. This method works with maples and also worked well on my E. maculata. This method got the leaves down to about 2.5cm which is great for a tree whose leaves are over 15cm long! The only drawback is that it is very labour intensive - you need to do this every few days otherwise each successive set of leaves will grow back larger until they get back to close to normal size.

Thanks guys. I figured it was root bound when i bought it. I shall soak it overnight and repot tomorrow. I may as well give it the chop too. It was only $10 so no biggy if i loose it.

Krusty wrote:...I shall soak it overnight and repot tomorrow. I may as well give it the chop too. It was only $10 so no biggy if i loose it.

That's the spirit, Krusty! Nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that! Looks like I need not worry about giving "safe" advice after all...

Now - at the risk of telling you how to suck eggs - I will return later this morning to describe what I would do with this tree...

Thanks.

Fly.

Thanks that would be great.

Sorry for keeping you in suspense, but I had a long overdue appointment with my bone-cracker...

Now, here is what I would do with this tree:

You mention a trunk chop... If you wish to go this route (and I would with this tree) then it is best to do that first, as it will make handling the thing a lot easier during the repot, as well as making it much less likely to blow over while it re-establishes itself. As you will be removing all of the foliage, it doesn't not really matter how low you chop, so long as you bear in mind that some trees will be reluctant to shoot from thick, mature bark. In this case, it appears that there are plenty of nodes which are not yet completely covered by bark, so you could reasonably expect budding to take place quite low on the trunk if you make the chop severe enough.
I would be tempted to chop somewhere near the top of the photo (above), as this will provide for good early movement and the introduction of taper.

After the soak the we talked about above, I would let the soil drain for a day or two. (This is a personal preference, as I don't like getting my fingers wet and cold this time of year.) Get the rootball out of the pot by any means necessary - you may find it easier to simply cut the pot away from the roots, rather than give yourself a hernia wrestling the the thing out.

Have a good look at the roots/soil: I expect that the soil will retain the shape of the pot, and that there will be a collar of roots that fills the lower 4-5cm, above which there will be compacted soil with the odd root here and there. At this stage, I would remove the weeds/moss from the soil's surface, and gently scratch around the base of the tree to get an idea of any surface roots and further taper (as I stated above, I would be very surprised if the trunk continued to thicken beneath the soil, but you never know).

Remove the collar of roots at the bottom - this might mean removing ¼ of the pot depth in a single swoop (I have a machete and a small, sharp hatchet for exactly this purpose ). Now I would take my Stick Of Poking™ and tease the soil from the remaining roots, working from the bottom of the rootball upwards. Feel free to cut any roots that make it difficult to remove the soil. (I often use the chopped trunk as a 'handle' and turn the tree upside down, so that working UP through the soil becomes easier, if you get my drift...) Once you get to about ⅓ - ¼ of the original soil depth, start working your way around the edges of the mass, teasing out root ends and looking to create a shallow, radiating bunch of smallish roots.

I wish I had a nursery repot to show, as pictures speak much louder than words in this instance. Please refer to this thread for a bit of a visual guide.

Anyway, pot into a shallow(-ish) tub with holes (a plastic dishpan works really well, so long as you drill LOTS of holes in it). Secure the stump with wire, and backfill with a very well-drained soil (well-drained enough to accommodate watering every 2nd-3rd day (in winter) without becoming perpetually soaked). Water in, and be sure to water every few days. Place in a spot which is safe from frost, preferably somewhere that receives a lot of sun.

If you have any questions, please ask. I am no expert, but I have had a bit of luck with Eucs.

Thanks, and good luck.

Fly.

PS: Take as many photos as you can during the whole process - it helps when you ask for advice, and it is also a great way of keeping records (as well as clogging your hard drive with Bonsai Wannabe pics, but that's MY story... ).

Hey Fly. Have you considered a removable hard drive. Frees up the working hard drive

I immersed it in water with some seasol this afternoon, so ill pull it out in the morning and get to hacking the crap out of the roots. I remember when i got it home after i bought it that the tree actually fell out of the pot, so i shouldn't have too much trouble getting it out. Didn't look too closely at the roots though as it was raining at the time and i had to get another 10 trees out of the car.

Thanks for the advice. I will keep everyone updated with photos and post them tomorrow.

Well i pulled the tree out this morning and you were right, i did have to cut the pot away from the tree. But first i gave it the chop.

Then i cut the pot away and got to hacking the roots away. Surprisingly there were only about 1-2 cm of bound roots at the bottom.

It was nice to see there there is the beginnings of a nebrai.

I then potted it into some well draining soil, making sure to spread the roots out.

Now i play the waiting game. Hopefully it will fight back and turn into a good tree down the line.

Good one Krusty!

I might have left a few more roots on, but the Koreshoffs have advised that we can remove virtually ALL roots in a operation such as this. The fat base looks to be a nicely placed lignotuber, and as such should harbour a great amount of growing energy that will rebuild the root system before you know it. Watch for low buds and suckers, and remove them once you have shoots in the place you actually want them.

Keep us posted.

Thanks.

Fly.

Good one krusty
Looks like a similar treatment I gave on a few months ago too
Treat them Roughly I say

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3293&start=0&hilit=Eucalypt

Ken