On 2 February 2019 a couple of bonsai tragic’s went to dig a couple of bottlebrush from a property half way between Goulburn and Canberra. They were going to be removed the next week to make way for road extensions on the property and even though it was hot, very hot, we set off to see if we could dig these successfully. There were only two as it turned out but that was one each. Following the dig I took mine home and potted it up. It was unfortunate timing as I was going away for a month but the tree lived with morning and evening watering together with other bonsai.

I was pleasantly surprised on returning home that the tree was going well and didn’t appear to have missed a beat. I should say that the tree wasn’t the best I have dug but it was interesting to see if a tree dug in mid summer would survive. It not only survived but grew and flowered (which was handy in trying to identify the species). The long term plan is to reduce the size considerably over the coming years and take advantage of the movement in the lower part of the trunk.