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#51
by
FlyBri
on
24-Jul-2005
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Progress: Pruning and Repot II.
While I'm at it, I may as well post a couple more repot pics.
This is my E. meliodora (Yellow Box) from the same batch of trees I acquired in June '04. 'Before' pics are below: June 2004 January 2005 The story of this tree is very similar to the one in the previous post - growth had slowed to a crawl, and I deemed it time to repot. Again, about 60% of the roots were removed, along with the bulk of the foliage and branches - including the 2nd 'trunk' seen in the 'before' pics. The base (obscured by gravel) is now approximately 50mm across, and the 'nebari' is coming along nicely (you'll have to take my word for that). This tree stands approximately 200mm tall, and has been potted into a cut-down nursery pot with holes drilled in the sides to prevent root-circling. 
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#52
by
FlyBri
on
25-Jul-2005
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Progress: Angophora Prune & Wire.
While I'm at it, I might as well throw in a pic of the original Angophora seen in this article (see post #3 to post #7, post #10 and post #23). Since I have named the other Angophora 'Cletus', I thought that 'Jabba' might be appropriate for this one.
So, I've been a little brutal with the pruning of this one... Never fear - they grow so prolifically that I shouldn't regret being so bold. Bring on the taper!!! Besides, I have to prune vigorously if I want to achieve convincingly twisty and gnarly branches. The arrow indicates the bud where I hope the new leader will emerge. Further news as it comes to hand. Thanks.
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#53
by
FlyBri
on
28-Jul-2005
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Another River Red - From 'Go' to 'Whoa'
Howdy folks!
Here's another River Red from the batch of $1 trees I mentioned in post #17 and post #19. For some reason, I never posted it earlier, but that means that its entire 'progress' can be seen in this single post. Pic 1 shows the tree as it was just after purchase - note the large, hardened, yellowish leaves, and the overabundance of roots. The orange marks indicate where pruning took place. Pic 2 shows the tree after a severe root-prune. Pic 3 shows it after a year's growth in a wider, shallowish pot (I had removed a few branches which were obscuring the trunkline. Note the difference in leaf size and colour from the same time last year. (There was still new growth occurring, albeit slowly - but knowing that I intended to remove a large amount of foliage with the repot, I am comfortable with repotting at this stage.) Pic 4 shows the development of the nebari and lower trunk. Pic 5 once again illustrates the Euc's tendency to grow tap roots straight down. When I repot this time, it will be into a much shallower container so that the root growth will be forced to contribute to the appearance of the surface roots. Pic 6 has the tree all root-pruned (about 60-70% root reduction, leaving all upper roots intact) and placed into a wider, shallower pot. This pot is not necessarily where this tree will continue to live, but its size and shape are ideal for the roots growth I require at the moment. Pic 7 (seen below in the next post) finally shows the tree as it is now. The wire will have to be removed within a month or two, depending on how vigorously the thing takes off. At this time of year (and with the amount of remnant foliage) I expect to see new growth within 2 weeks. I should add that I am not altogether happy with the styling of this tree at the moment - I wonder whether or not I should have been a little more bold in the reduction of the trunk length after the 1st branch. I'll wait and see what the new growth offers up... Thanks. FlyBri.
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#54
by
FlyBri
on
28-Jul-2005
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Another River Red - From 'Go' to 'Whoa' - Part 2
And here's Pic 7 (see above).
At this point, I should re-iterate that I am obviously not creating 'finished' Bonsai here, merely growing stock trees from which more 'artistic' trees might one day be built. The sole purpose of this article is to provide a visual guide as to what is possible with Eucalyptus nursery stock. That's my disclaimer. Hope you like it!  Thanks. Fly.
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#55
by
FlyBri
on
30-Jul-2005
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Another River Red Repot...
Howdy folks!
As suggested in post #49, this E. camaldulensis was just about due for a repot - the 6"x4" nursery pot had become full of fine feeder roots, and top growth had slowed to a crawl. What amazed me when this one came out of the pot was the fact that it had stopped sending tap roots straight down. Looks like the past few (6-8?) years, I might have been doing something right! Pics 1 & 2 show the amount of root reduction I was able to achieve before hitting thicker roots. The root pad shown is about 150mm(6") by 25-30mm(~1") deep! The sifted soil virtually fell out from between the roots, and a gentle tease with my Stick Of Poking got the tree to this stage. Pic 3 shows the chop mark on the pot which I have placed the tree into. It is supposedly a Japanese pot, but I probably wouldn't know the difference. I like it anyway, but it is not quite right for this tree. It is however a good size for this root mat. Pic 4 shows the 'final' product! For the purposes of these photos, I have chosen to keep the foliage intact, but will remove it all now that the pics have been completed. There are still styling issues to be addressed: placement of the trunk in the pot, branch wiring and/or removal (I'm not happy with the #1 branch, and believe that it may have to go) and general refinement of the foliage. But for now I am reasonably happy that one of my Eucs - my oldest and original - has finally made it into a 'real' pot. Now it's time to wait. More pics of the tree to come - maybe even in the Ask The Master section.  Thanks. FlyBri.
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#59
by
soltan
on
25-Aug-2005
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Hi Flybri
Excellent article, after all i've been told about natives and how hard they are to bonsai i'm blown away. you have taken all the mystery away or just enough for me to have a ball with these trees. How good is a tree that you can repot any time of the year. Im thinking that if i collect 365 trees i can be repoting 1 every day of the year .The Gums appear to me as a cross between Evergreens and Deciduous having the dead wood look of a Juniper and the lush broad leaf look of a deciduous. Maybe soon we will start to see some quality magestic Bonsai Gums. That one posted by Walter earlier is the best Ive seen but still believe there is better to come. Bet you were proud to pot the Red River Gum it looks great. I recieved in the mail today 25 seedlings sioled roots wraped in newspaper. Most of them natives/gums and now i'm wondering if i should cut some leaves of. In fact as i write this i'm almost sure i should. the difference to what you have stated though is that i didn't take any roots off them i just potted up disturbing them generally as little as possible (teased the roots out a little were easy, some the root balls were very loose due to transit). Some of them were drooping at the top ill look at them in the morning maybe post a picture. Ive got a couple of others and will keep you updated on any progress on this thread. I went out looking for some gums the other day but came back with a couple of almond trees i think  . Try agian. There is a link that hasn't been mentioned here yet on Banksia. It has a different approach than this maybe different for Banksia? http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/APOL31/sep03-5.html I think we will have to start calling you The Aus Native Bonsai Master. I know ill be asking you all my native questions. Thanks for this thread Regards brett Last edited by soltan : 25-Aug-2005 at 08:35 PM.
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#60
by
FlyBri
on
1-Sep-2005
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Gday folks!
Firstly, let me thank all you folks who have visited and commented in the past month or so. Sorry I haven't had a chance to reply - been a little distracted of late.  This is not to say that the Euc experiment has fallen by the wayside - indeed, it is in full swing! Over the next few weeks, I hope to present a number of progress pics. Stay tuned...Joanie - If there's one thing I enjoy above all others in my Bonsai practise, it is "showing [you] the progress!" As long as the last photo I took is better than the one I took before it, I'm happy - even if the last photo I took still looks like crap. If I can't show you refinement, I'll show you progress!Pootsie - The proof of the pudding is in the pictures. I often find the most useful means of understanding roots are diagrams, illustrations and photos. Failing that, I could resort to having some know-it-all show me in person... (To be perfectly honest, I'm surprised and very pleased that the roots of the River Red have come this far.)Brett - Thanks for the Banksia link: some nice looking trees there. (So far I haven't been able to understand Banksia growth, but we won't go into that here...) Please don't go calling me "The Aus Native Bonsai Master" just yet – I have yet to see whether any of them will survive the transition to ‘real’ pots. Keep us posted on your progress. Thanks all. FlyBri.
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