Gday Peter!

Thanks heaps for the info on this beautiful tree! (Very nice pics too, by the way!)

So, this Euc has been in training for only 12 years? That's a real slap in the face for those who claim that Eucalyptus is not a suitable species for Bonsai (as well as those who claim that good stock must come from the wild or from Bonsai nurseries).

I hope to show such mature and developed Eucs one day in the future.

Thanks again.

Fly.

Currently I am putting together seasonal notes on the nicholii for the study group. I am hoping to have a draft done within the next few months.

The nicholii is only one of many Eucs I am working with but find it to be the most suited so far ( being the oldest). I have head from other Bonsaist that they have killed thier nicholii.
I find this had to believe because I have ground grown nicholii successfully and also use a nicholii in a demonstration at the ANBG native show in 2006, which is currently doing well in a Bonsai pot. So yes I think there are many myths and this is due to the lack of knowledge in this area. This articale is going some way to help in this but we have a long way to go, not only in the horticulture but in the structure.

I can't believe I read the whole thing
I was very interested to see what suggestions there were for taking Eucs from the wild. I would be very interested to try some as bonsai, I have just a few hundred possibles in my paddocks, mostly camaldulensis, some peppermint box and a local mallee form. I've been wondering lately whether to try lifting some of these, not just for bonsai but because we have a tree shortage on the back 40 acres, and very much a baby tree surplus in a coupla paddocks. They will be crowding each other out badly in a few years. Some have been prepruned by sheep and goats, so its well worth a look to see what can be done. Theres even a three foot high one in the shadehouse already, it just wasn't supposed to be growing on the floor. Hard to explain why I didn't notice it earlier, it was hiding in a corner and by the look of it has been enjoying the daily watering and summer conditions! May be impossible to get it to survive, as it is very much undormant, but its gonna have to come out anyway, there isn't room under a 1 metre high bench for a 20 metre high redgum!

Excellent point, Peter. Lately, I've been struggling to reconcile the natural growth of many Eucalypts with the more accepted, more traditional Bonsai forms. I've come to the conclusion that this subject matter is an article in itself. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.


I can't believe you read the whole thing either!

I don't usually advocate or condone the collection of Eucalypts, for a number of reasons: the protected status of all Oz native plants, the questionable survival rate from collection, and the relative availability of decent nursery stock which is already accustomed to potted culture. However, your situation in the shadehouse is a bit different: that Euc must go, one way or another. Having been watered throughout its growth, you may find that the root system is quite compact and easily collected. If you can't induce dormancy, just chop or defoliate the tree before removal. Let us know how you go.


During this last Summer, I made some room on my benches. Some trees were given away, and some didn't stand the test of an unusually hot, dry season. Either way, none of the trees that I parted with could have survived on my benches much longer, and I needed the space.

Well, as in Nature, if there is a space, it will tend to get filled...

A couple of weeks ago, I visited Ba Loc Bonsai in Melbourne's outer West. This was my first visit, and I was surprised by the amount of Oz native trees they had in training: a few Eucs, a few ancient looking Allocasuarina, and a bunch of fat little Banksias. I got to talking Eucalyptus with the proprietor, and he told me that the genus was no good for profitable Bonsai. Apparently, the time and effort it takes to make good Euc Bonsai stock is not worth it, especially when compared to more traditional material, such as Japanese Black Pine. Having said that, I believe the proprietor's pricing is doing himself a grave injustice - when he showed me the fat River Red trunk (see attachments) and asked for a mere $50, my wallet was out of my pocket so fast I nearly dislocated my shoulder.

A week or so after I brought this River Red home, I decided to bite the bullet and check where its roots were at. Despite the slight radial root-flare, I was more than a little worried that the deepish nursery pot would be full of thick tap-style roots, as is often the case with Euc nursery stock. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to tease the roots out to a mat about 50mm thick. In the process, I only removed one thickish root that protruded below the main spread, and that was thinner than my little finger. Had I known what the roots looked like, I would have gladly paid $100 for this little trunk.

I wired the trunk into a shallower bulb pot with a generous handful of Dynamic Lifter, and the tree hasn't missed a beat, despite the fact that I broke a number of the 'cardinal rules' of Eucalyptus repotting.

Anyway, here's the pics...

Pics 1 & 2 (#49804/5) show two general views of the tree. The trunk is 60mm across at the base, and stands 450mm at the chop (probably 600mm in total). The pot is 300mm across by about 300mm deep.

Pic 3 (#49806) shows a closer view of the trunk - due to my poor photography (and tight upload limits - sorry Mr TreeBay, sir ), the radial roots don't really show here.

Pic 4 (#49807) shows the tree with all its roots teased out - the root mat is round 50-60mm deep!

Pic 5 (#49808.) is a view of the underside of the root mass - on the bottom left is the stub of the only major root I cut to achieve the flatness seen in the previous pic. $50 well spent?

Thanks.

Fly.

Attached Images

	Ba_Loc_River_Red_3.jpg (73.1 KB, 35 views)
	Ba_Loc_River_Red_4.jpg (73.0 KB, 33 views)
	Ba_Loc_River_Red_1.jpg (57.3 KB, 24 views)
	Ba_Loc_River_Red_Roots_1.jpg (62.8 KB, 27 views)
	Ba_Loc_River_Red_Roots_2.jpg (72.0 KB, 20 views)

Fly

Nice pickup. Its hard to find material that size. Over the past 2 years I have ground grown some different Euc’s so as to achieve that size. I will be digging them up in late spring.
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As far as the shape of Euc,s I feel that they are not to different to pines, just different environments. As a young tree the foliage is even over the whole tree and the branches are relatively straight. As the tree ages the Euc,s thin out and tend to develop clouds of foliage at the ends of the branches and these branches are shaped by the environment and die back which results in many twists and turns. These branches and the trunk become the dominant feature of the tree,The branches on Euc’s tend to grow vertical to near horizontal. The branches on a pine grow pronominally horizontal and develop pads of foliage on that plane. The layering I am trying to achieve on my Euc’s is a cloud form as seen in the attached photo. I feel I am achieving this on my nicholii because the leaves have reduced significantly in size over the years. I am yet to achieve this leaf reduction on any other Euc’s.



Peter

Attached Images

cooma_tree.jpg (64.2 KB, 39 views)

Hold that thought - I'm going to start that thread ASAP! In the meantime, good luck with your in-ground Eucs (I'll be picking your brains about those later, too)!

Thanks.

Fly.

No worrys


Peter

Have a look at these malley euc's. the local name is Bull Mallee.



Peter

Attached Images

	mallee.jpg (66.1 KB, 28 views)
	mallee3.jpg (68.8 KB, 15 views)
	malle2.jpg (72.0 KB, 26 views)

Mr. Fly and Mr. Peter,

In my opinion you are now getting to the heart of 'Western bonsai', and most likely the beginning basis of 'Eastern bonsai'...The study of our own native 'tree forms' and the attempt to use those forms in our art is what will advance our bonsai to new levels...

Even though Eucs are not widely available in my world, the forms in which they grow in nature is important and interesting to me...One never knows I may just have to attempt to create a 'River Red' form using a willow leaf oak or a ficus nerrifolia...First though, I would need to better understand what the 'River Red form' actually is...

I truly am looking forward with excitement to reading both of your thoughts, and seeing photos of the trees native to Australia...This is a wonderful opportunity to expand knowledge...

Regards
Behr

Gday Mr Grampz, and thanks for dropping in.

IF (that's a big 'if') I work out what the River Red Form is, you'll be among the first to know. I guess I'd best get out and take some pics.

Thanks.

Fly.