Neglected Captain Cook

[Kelvin8r]

I went to the local nursery today to pick up some perlite. Whilst I was there I noticed a Captain Cook in amongst some other plants. The pot was faded and looked a little forgotten about.
Anyway, I thought it had a nice trunk and shape, and the new growth was pretty green, so for $8 I couldn't pass it up!

Ive repotted it and given it a seasol drink.

Styling suggestions most welcome

Cheers!

[Elmar]

Nice find, which nursery?


Cheers
Elmar

[Kelvin8r]

Hedland Garden centre mate!

[Bougy Fan]

If it has shown signs of growth after potting I would cut it back hard - it is way too leggy. Keep up the seasol and fertilise but not too heavily in a bonsai pot. Of course if you want the trunk to thicken up it should come out of the bonsai pot.

[Kelvin8r]

If it has shown signs of growth after potting I would cut it back hard - it is way too leggy. Keep up the seasol and fertilise but not too heavily in a bonsai pot. Of course if you want the trunk to thicken up it should come out of the bonsai pot.

Thanks Bougy, it only went into the pot yesterday after being pretty root bound in the nursery pot. As soon as I see some regrowth she'll be getting the snip!

[dennismc]

Good pick up. However I have concerns about the climate in Port Hedland for this tree. If it was mine I would permanently stand it in a tray of water. Would assist with its survival and increase the rate of growth.

You might consider reducing the height by at least 50% as bottle brushes shoot back very easily especially if they have constantly damp soil

Good luck with your endeavors in such a tough climate.
Dennis Mc

[Kelvin8r]

Good pick up. However I have concerns about the climate in Port Hedland for this tree. If it was mine I would permanently stand it in a tray of water. Would assist with its survival and increase the rate of growth.

You might consider reducing the height by at least 50% as bottle brushes shoot back very easily especially if they have constantly damp soil

Good luck with your endeavors in such a tough climate.
Dennis Mc

Thanks Dennis,
I have a few water trays on the ready if they start to dry out. I have another one in a pot that's looking nice and healthy, survived some bloody hot days the past few weeks!

[Elmar]

I've just put all my trees onto water trays and it's made a huge difference in surviving the past hot days!
Those that ended up burnt were put into buckets of Seasol and so far all the bigger ones are shooting back...
Not so lucky with the smaller ones... Think I've lost 6 there!
Last year had no water trays and lost all but one tree! So if I were you, don't put the trays off!


Cheers
Elmar

[Ray M]

Hi Kelvin8r,
These can make very nice bonsai. The ones I've seen that look good usually have reasonably large trunks. Have a look at, Ground Planting in Colanders, and see if you might like to try doing this. It will increase the size of the trunk reasonably quickly.
I did this to this tree and it now has a base diameter of 70mm. It was about the same diameter as your tree when planted.

IMG_0051 -2.jpg

IMG_0052 -2.jpg

Regards Ray

[Kelvin8r]

Hi Kelvin8r,
These can make very nice bonsai. The ones I've seen that look good usually have reasonably large trunks. Have a look at, Ground Planting in Colanders, and see if you might like to try doing this. It will increase the size of the trunk reasonably quickly.
I did this to this tree and it now has a base diameter of 70mm. It was about the same diameter as your tree when planted.

IMG_0051 -2.jpg

IMG_0052 -2.jpg

Regards Ray

Awesome! I'll see if I can get some colanders

How long did you leave it in the ground for?

[Ray M]

Hi Kelvin8r,
These can make very nice bonsai. The ones I've seen that look good usually have reasonably large trunks. Have a look at, Ground Planting in Colanders, and see if you might like to try doing this. It will increase the size of the trunk reasonably quickly.
I did this to this tree and it now has a base diameter of 70mm. It was about the same diameter as your tree when planted.
Regards Ray

Awesome! I'll see if I can get some colanders

How long did you leave it in the ground for? That's a very open question mate. How big a trunk do you want, what species, what is your growing season, how much you fertilize, these are just a few influences.

If you put the colander in the ground. Make sure you don't plant it any deeper than the lip of the colander. You will see this in the thread I linked above. You can lift the colander and prune the roots off the outside of the colander and replant it. This protects the root ball, but it will stimulate new fibrous roots to grow out into the soil.

Regards Ray

[Kelvin8r]

Thanks Ray!

Haha the question was actually asking how long you left yours inground for to get the 70mm trunk

[Ray M]

Hi Kelvin8r,
Have a look at this thread. It will give you a bit more of the history. Digging some of my trees

Regards Ray