Xanthostemon bonsai
Posted: October 29th, 2010, 4:46 pm
Xanthostemon is a genus of tropical trees and shrubs in the family Myrtaceae. The following species are Xanthostemon indigenous to Australia that I have grown in containers for bonsai:
Xanthostemon chrysanthus the Golden Penda (bright yellow flowers wild tree above) which is easy to grow and responds well to pruning of roots or shoots. I presently have one in the ground (see picture) trained over a board to encourage it to develop a spreading buttress of roots. This plant requires a lot of water and frequent fertilizer to grow well in a container. It has large leaves but these do reduce somewhat when it is pruned regularly. It is a stunning tree in the wild and one I particularly wish to emulate as bonsai. The photo is of a small specimen growing on the side of a creek.
Xanthostemon verticillatus the Bloomfield Penda (creme-white flowers above) which is easy to grow and responds to pruning. Mine have lost vigour if cut back hard but after some months they regained strength. I now seal the cuts. It will bud back off old wood if the plant is healthy before prunning. It is a shrub in the wild and has recently become popular as a garden plant. There are new cultivars with fine dark foliage and smaller leaves. Mine are a bit coarse like the wild type.
Xanthostemon youngii the Red Penda (red flowers above) is not so easy to grow and does not tolerate pruning of the roots and shoots very well. It is slow to establish and has slow root growth. I have tried to graft it onto stronger root stock but have not had any luck yet. It is now ten years old and only about 2 cm thick but does produce beautiful red flowers each summer. I find it requires very regular fertilizer and easily becomes chlorotic if it does not get what it needs. Maybe that is an indication something is not right with the root system. I grow it in sand, loam and bonsai mix blended together. In the wild it grows on white sand.
All of my material is cutting grown (even the red!) so I do not yet have a show bench specimen. I have attached an image of a cutting grown X. chrystanthus 'Little Goldie' in training to encourage root development with trunk now approximately 5 cm diameter. Has anyone else tried Xanthostemon? If you have I would love to hear about success or failures.
Xanthostemon chrysanthus the Golden Penda (bright yellow flowers wild tree above) which is easy to grow and responds well to pruning of roots or shoots. I presently have one in the ground (see picture) trained over a board to encourage it to develop a spreading buttress of roots. This plant requires a lot of water and frequent fertilizer to grow well in a container. It has large leaves but these do reduce somewhat when it is pruned regularly. It is a stunning tree in the wild and one I particularly wish to emulate as bonsai. The photo is of a small specimen growing on the side of a creek.
Xanthostemon verticillatus the Bloomfield Penda (creme-white flowers above) which is easy to grow and responds to pruning. Mine have lost vigour if cut back hard but after some months they regained strength. I now seal the cuts. It will bud back off old wood if the plant is healthy before prunning. It is a shrub in the wild and has recently become popular as a garden plant. There are new cultivars with fine dark foliage and smaller leaves. Mine are a bit coarse like the wild type.
Xanthostemon youngii the Red Penda (red flowers above) is not so easy to grow and does not tolerate pruning of the roots and shoots very well. It is slow to establish and has slow root growth. I have tried to graft it onto stronger root stock but have not had any luck yet. It is now ten years old and only about 2 cm thick but does produce beautiful red flowers each summer. I find it requires very regular fertilizer and easily becomes chlorotic if it does not get what it needs. Maybe that is an indication something is not right with the root system. I grow it in sand, loam and bonsai mix blended together. In the wild it grows on white sand.
All of my material is cutting grown (even the red!) so I do not yet have a show bench specimen. I have attached an image of a cutting grown X. chrystanthus 'Little Goldie' in training to encourage root development with trunk now approximately 5 cm diameter. Has anyone else tried Xanthostemon? If you have I would love to hear about success or failures.
