First home score/ ID

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Mbunro
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First home score/ ID

Post by Mbunro »

Hi can anyone confirm the ID of this tree. Im thinking some kind of umbrella tree but unsure of which one as it has these almonst pine looking candles (pictured) that i havent seen in any photos online.
Took ownership of my first home yesterday and found this bad boy amongst the overgrown trees on the fence line, and to my surprise this ones already potted. havent tried moving it yet but its on concrete so im hoping the roots are contained and not growing out of the pot into the ground.

Base is probably 50-70cm across at the base and tapers to about 10-15cm across just above where the branches start spreading . Soil line is probably only halfway up the pot and i reckon its been in there since the 70s.

Also does anyone have any advice on what to do with this one from here? im thinking of cutting it back hard this afternoon to get some better photos and to get a proper look inside the pot but have no experience with this species.

Couple more bits of gold in the gardens too, including a cool knobbly based olive, and a gnarly rosemary with an awesome trunk and deadwood that i would estimate at over 20 years old,
but they are for another day
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Re: First home score/ ID

Post by KIRKY »

Looks like a Schefflera actinophylla.
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Re: First home score/ ID

Post by Mbunro »

thanks for the suggestion kirky. but im more leaning towards arboricola though as the max leaf size on this plant would be about 100mm and with how long it seems to have been growing unchecked i would assume they would be larger if it was actinophylla, but this could be down to th restriction of the root mass.

Have you had any experience with any of the Scheffleras? do you know how hard i could cut back at this time of year? its really starting to get cold in the mornings around here
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Re: First home score/ ID

Post by melbrackstone »

They're pretty forgiving when being root-pruned, from my experience, however I'd be waiting for warm weather before trying to do that. The plant will also appreciate a good pruning too, but if you're in an area that may get frost over winter it's probably also a good idea to wait, since any new growth will be tender.

I've got three different varieties of umbrella tree, and I agree it looks very much like arboricola. The "candles" appear to be the flower buds.
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Re: First home score/ ID

Post by Mbunro »

Missed this reply.. thanks for that Mel. Iv just taken off about a wheelbarrows worth of the longer branches just to lighten it up to try get the pot moving...
Although it's on a concrete slab there's a 50mm thick matting of roots that's spreads about 1 metre around the pot so it's pretty stuck in place for the minute. So getting the pot seperated from the ground is all Il look at getting accomplished before spring comes back around.
And maybe juat a little bit more lite pruning on top

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Re: First home score/ ID

Post by Mbunro »

Managed to move the pot today.. hope it survives, as I'm looking forward to this one.ImageImage

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Re: First home score/ ID

Post by melbrackstone »

Crikey, that's a monster! Reckon it'll be fine as long as it's in a warm spot over winter.
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Re: First home score/ ID

Post by Mbunro »

i ended up pulling up about 15-20 metres worth of roots about the thickness of my wrist from the garden bed behind. so now im not sure if there is actually going to be a single root inside the pot to keep it alive.
Im wondering if filling up the pot with some new soil and maybe trimming off some more branches for balance may be beneficial.
But yeah fingers crossed it makes it to spring.
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Re: First home score/ ID

Post by NAHamilton »

I reckon it'll be fine, they are a pretty hardy tree. About a month ago my neighbour threw one over the fence top me that he'd cut out of some pots. No soil, minimal roots and no leaves. I potted it up about a week later and it's throwing new shoots.

Have you seen this website? http://www.fukubonsai.com/ He does a lot of work with Schefflera.

That's a nice looking base on yours. I like the tropical effect you can create with these.

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Nigel
Last edited by NAHamilton on June 19th, 2017, 9:50 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: First home score/ ID

Post by Mbunro »

Cool thanks for the link Nigel, makes me a bit more confident.. il have to have a proper read when i get a few spare hours though...
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Re: First home score/ ID

Post by Mbunro »

Managed to find a monster pot for this one a couple of weeks ago, so yesterday I got to work...
Repotting this tree by myself was probably the biggest bonsai challenge iv faced so far..

I will just let it recover now and think about chopping the trunks back at some point.

Pots 800x600x120 for scale

Image

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Re: First home score/ ID

Post by melbrackstone »

I've found the only way I can keep mine under control is to not feed it much....lol.

That sure is a monster!
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Re: First home score/ ID

Post by Mbunro »

Recently fought off an aphid attack on this one but seems to be under control and starting to look super healthy. Plenty of nice new growth to chose from so figured it was time to come up with a virtual for what should be achievable...

If anyone has any better ideas I'd love to see or hear them..Image

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Re: First home score/ ID

Post by melbrackstone »

I'd love to see it like that too, good luck! I suspect there's a lot of clipping and growing in your future. :)
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Re: First home score/ ID

Post by Mbunro »

thanks mel, i may be a bit over enthusiastic with the virt :whistle: but the new shoots shoots seem to be in all the right places to make it a reality.
will try get a decent photo of it after work
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