Citriobatus - what I plan to do

krlix

Hello everyone.

A fortnight ago whilst at my normal bonsai nursery I stumbled across this little plant, it is called a 'Citriobatus.' A few people that I know have them as bonsai so i thought I would give it a go, I purchased something relatively small and young so I have about a year or so to plan what i will do (I want this to be a small bonsai, say 25cm as the maximum height.) From what I have seen these make great pads of foilage and grow quite fast.

What i plan to do to the tree is firstly remove one of the trunks, in the photo i uploaded I am thinking the left one is the best to remove as by keeping the right the trunk has more flare and is interesting. And too the trunks are too far about for a twin trunk. I am hoping to style it as an informal upright, nothing will be done to it immediately as I want to see how it grows etc. Just wandering if i could get some feedback on what others think of this idea? When I purchased it had very little foilage however in two weeks 80% of what is visible has grown in a fortnight, with foilage growth I will be aiming for pads of growth as the foilage is very small already and they do that quite well.

Just thought I would get some feedback on what i plan to do and then begin to plan what action i will take in the future.

P.S: I think this plant is native to Australia and NZ and there is very little info on them on the internet, so i asked around before buying.

Regards
Mick

Attached Images

Citrobatus.JPG (66.7 KB, 74 views)

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RonMartin(deceased)

calliemichelle

hi Mick, does your tree have very fine spikes that pierce your fingers like needles going through? It is a bit hard to see if your tree has these spikes or not. If it does then I thank you for giving me the name of my "thorn tree". It gets the tinest white flowers and very fast growth this time of year.

If it doesnt have the spikes then you are lucky LOL

all the best with your tree.


Callie

krlix

Hello Callie.

Yes it does have spikes...alot of them! There is not much in the way of information anywhere it seems. My Aunties dad has about 20 of them (he has the luxury of spending all day with bonsai and he has the yard to prove it, about 2000 trees...my aunty spends alot of time maintaining them all with him) and he hasnt found any publicated information on them...just had to learn from experience. From your experience with them are there any specific or important things to do with their growth patterns?

I have only had this for a fortnight and the few bits i have trimmed/cut grow 2 branches from where it was cut. (i have trimmed about 8 branches like cut them back to get thicker grouping of foilage and each of them has sprouted 2 new branches.

Regards
Mick

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calliemichelle

I don't personnally have any experience with them as bonsai. September 2005 I was visiting a friend in northern NSW and came across one of these trees out in the bush (they have a largeish property). I dug up 4 very small ones (about 6 inches high) which was a major effort as the ground was very rocky and clay soil. When I got home I potted them in normal 6 inch nursery pots with bonsai mix, full sun and watered every day. 2 of them died and 2 I still have. I also bought home some cuttings and I have had success with them. I have had no need to trim any at this time, however the branches do grow every which way, similar to a Lonicera nitida but not as bushy. Things are a bit hetic at the moment but as soon as time permits I will take some pics and read up on how to post them hehehe.

Callie

calliemichelle

first pic is of a cutting taken Sept 2005. second pic is of one of the surviving trees. sorry the photos aren't great.


Have a happy day

Callie

Attached Images

	2003_0104thorntree0007.JPG (30.5 KB, 8 views)
	2003_0104thorntree0008.JPG (27.4 KB, 11 views)