[NATURAL] Melacuela Lanceolata - Bonsaeen

bonsaeen · Post by **bonsaeen** » December 17th, 2018, 4:44 pm

Genus: Malecuela
Species: Lanceolata
Price: $3.50
Purchased from Newport lakes natives nursery

This is obviously just tubestock and I am not sure how well it will progress as this will be my first of many native trees.

Sorry my tape measure only has Meters marks on it but hope it is apparent this is not 1cm.

1.jpg

2.jpg

3.jpg

Root mass

4.jpg

Repot today. I mixed some Osmocote native fertilizer in the soil about 2tbsp and repotted in 14cm pot.

final.jpg

Pat3222 · Post by **Pat3222** » December 17th, 2018, 6:59 pm

Good pick - I got one of these about 6 months ago, was a $1 matchstick, trunk is already 1.5 cm at the base or it would be in too. Looking toward to seeing what you do with it! I got mine at the Landcare nursery here on the Bellarine and was told they love a good feed and no need to worry about phosphorus toxicity with them. Mine hasn’t missed a beat so seems sound advice so far.
Cheers

bonsaeen · Post by **bonsaeen** » December 18th, 2018, 9:04 am

Thanks Pat. Good to know they grow fast. I do have an inspiration for this one so let's see if I can get it closer to what I have in mind. I am pretty excited about it.

MikeK · Post by **MikeK** » December 18th, 2018, 11:54 am

bonsaeen wrote: Repot today. I mixed some Osmocote native fertilizer in the soil about 2tbsp and repotted in 14cm pot.

final.jpg

Sorry if this is a stupid noobie question ... but in the last pic, what is the potato for?

bonsaeen · Post by **bonsaeen** » December 18th, 2018, 12:14 pm

Mike its not a potato, its a rock/pebble to support the plant. I didnt tie it with wire or anything so just put some weight on top of it.

But it definitely does look like a potato so your question is definitely valid. Sorry for the confusion.

DangerousDave · Post by **DangerousDave** » December 18th, 2018, 1:35 pm

I thought it was a Peter Dutton figurine

bonsaeen · Post by **bonsaeen** » January 2nd, 2019, 9:40 am

After repot most of the leaves have turned yellow. Still some green in there but not sure what is going on. Is this dead?

melalueca yellow.jpg

KIRKY · Post by **KIRKY** » January 2nd, 2019, 10:49 am

I wouldn't panick yet, sometimes these things just have a sulk drop leaves and then push new ones. Give Natives some time they can surprise you and recover.
Cheers
Kirky

bonsaeen · Post by **bonsaeen** » January 2nd, 2019, 1:00 pm

Thanks Kirky. Would you know if this happened coz of the root work? I think I took a good 50% root off and bare rooted it while repotting.

MJL · Post by **MJL** » January 2nd, 2019, 5:06 pm

Hey Bonsaeen,

Firstly, I hope it survives!

As an aside - and I am not an expert - but those leaves look quite big and different to my understanding of a Moonah tree!

I know you purchased it tagged at a nursery / so who am I to question it!! Yet, something doesn’t look quite right with my limited understanding of Moonah. It’s more like a Coastal Heath but that may be way off the mark. Regardless - no big deal - we’ll know when it flowers.

Now - I’ll probably get howled down by you and others - who know more than I but the thought was bubbling around in my head so I thought it best to ask. I will not be offended if it is a Moonah and will retreat back into my box accordingly!

Cheers,

Mark

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

KIRKY · Post by **KIRKY** » January 2nd, 2019, 7:31 pm

Difficult to say could be root work, over or under watering, repotting shock, position? With out more information can’t say for sure. Just don’t go doing anything in extremes now. A lot of people over react and start over watering and moving it about etc... just treat as you have been and wait.
Looking at it looks like buds forming on the lower part of the trunk where the wire is. So fingers crossed.

Cheers
Kirky

MJL · Post by **MJL** » January 2nd, 2019, 8:23 pm

MJL wrote:Hey Bonsaeen,

Firstly, I hope it survives!

As an aside - and I am not an expert - but those leaves look quite big and different to my understanding of a Moonah tree!

I know you purchased it tagged at a nursery / so who am I to question it!! Yet, something doesn’t look quite right with my limited understanding of Moonah. It’s more like a Coastal Heath but that may be way off the mark. Regardless - no big deal - we’ll know when it flowers.

Now - I’ll probably get howled down by you and others - who know more than I but the thought was bubbling around in my head so I thought it best to ask. I will not be offended if it is a Moonah and will retreat back into my box accordingly!

Cheers,

Mark

I think I might howl myself down; looking at this on the bigger screen of my computer and not on my phone I think I am full of stinky stuff. While the foliage does not look as fine as I thought it may; the tree is under stress and and the new growth in the early shots looks 'normal' - whatever 'normal' is in my confused skull!

Boics · Post by **Boics** » January 2nd, 2019, 10:21 pm

I have looked at this thread a couple of times and also question if this is indeed a Moonah (M. Lanceolata).
Good luck!

treeman · Post by **treeman** » January 3rd, 2019, 12:16 pm

Yes that's not lanceolata. For a start the leaves are not lanceolate.

I would describe them as oblong acuminate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_ ... morphology

bonsaeen · Post by **bonsaeen** » January 3rd, 2019, 3:06 pm

I picked a total of 4. Here are the other three? If you guys are sure these are not Mel Lanceolata then I better call the nursery and ask for explanation.

mel lanc 1.jpg

mel lanc 2.jpg

mel lanc 3.jpg

AusBonsai