Bottle Trees

hortriot

dear readers, especially those with knowledge in the Brachyciton rupestris area?

i purchased a nice one with a fat little trunk, its in a root bag and stands about 750mm tall.

it has a lovely canopy but i think its too tall.

can they be cut back severely? or will it resent me?

appologies for the lack of pics, i have no digi cam at the moment : (

also appologies if i have posted this in the wrong section.

ok, looking forward to expertise and sense of humor.

kind regards, hortiot

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Attila

Hi Hortriot,

I have Brachychiton discolor, B. populneus and others, very similar to your rupestris. After growing to about 5 ft, I've cut them back to one foot and 19 out of 20 survived. The one that did not, was probably because of overwatering. They like dry soil between waterings.

So, as soon as the weather gets hot (maybe October? in Australia), you could chop them down. You need to do that since Brachychiton don't have enough low branches unless they are forced to do so.

Regards,
Attila

hortriot

Wow, fancy a brachyciton on the other side of the world. Thats great attila. Discolor is a great tree, I have often thought of one of those for its flowering qualities. There is a large one in the park near me.
When i get my film developed I will send a photo of brachyciton in perth, truly inspirational.
Have you tried out a banksia
Thankyou for your tip, my bottle tree is going to the barber shop : )

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Attila

There are quite a large selection of Australian native trees growing here in So. Cal., so I am trying to grow as much of them as possible. I just have to be careful to repot or transplant them in the right month, since their time-table is different from the local natives. I lost my casuarinas and lagunarias because I transplanted them too early in the spring. But I am learning.

Lately I got into South and East-African native trees. It's another fascinating world for me.

And no, I don't have banksia.

Regards,
Attila

hortriot

interesting, african natives sound interesting, that is a whole new world of possibly undiscovered potential, good for you.

if you can get hold of a Banksia marginata it should perform well for you providing the following is observed, good drainage (no wet feet), keep the phosphates to a minimum and sustainable iron content in your potting medium.

sorry, as my name suggests, i am a horticultural patriot, however................

i am currently staring at a Magnolia stellata, from Japan, hime-kobushi (princess fist) hmmm, what to do?
http://www.wafu.com/af-u00.htm
check this one out :-)

nice to talk to you attila

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Attila

..since you are interested in Australian native flora, I want to ask your opinion about the Nothofagus family. I fell in love with them when I lived up north in Vancouver, Canada.

Here in L.A. nobody knows about them. I have a few genus (antarctica, cunninghamia, dombeyi, obliqua) in my backyard, I grow them protected from the strong sun, they seem to struggle down here.

I know they are from Tasmania and New Zealand (and from Chile) and I never see you folks Down Under using it for bonsai. Is there a reason?

BTW, I think that native Australian species are seriously under-used by Australians themselves. It's a pity.

Cheers,
Attila

hortriot

thats because you havent been into my hot house attila.

i have two Nothofagus cunninghamii.
they truly are old trees of the forrest, they date back to times when all the places you mentioned were connected by landbridge.
a large forrest of these trees apparently spanned the lower coastal ranges of the australian
land -mass.
they are now found in isolated pockets in the low mountain ranges in victoria and tasmania. their trunks become butressed with age and also become hosts to mosses and ferns and even small to medium shrubs.
they do prefer a cooler climate and plenty of moisture and are slow to propogate.
last year i stuck some cuttings under a rock, they had calloused on the tips and began to sprout roots however, i was foolish and impatient as such a minor disturbance caused them to dry up and die, :-(
although they are slow growers, they can be vigorous as well, so keep your eyes on them.
my opinion is, if you are going to give this a shot, keep them out of the direct sun, maybe morning and late afternoon or 50 % shade as you dont want the roots to dry, this can spell disaster.

some valid sites for your perusal :-)
http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/n-cun.html
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Nothofagus

keep in touch attila, i must water my pots ;-)

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Dutch

G'day,

I have just planted some Nothofagus cunninghamii seeds (read hundreds). Glad to hear someone else is using them.

Any info and piccies would be appreciated.

Cheers

Dutch

hortriot

hi dutch, here are some sites i sent to attila, i hope they are of some use to you : )

http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/n-cun.html
http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/Nothofagus

good luck with the beeches.

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