collected melaleuca

[Neli]

I repotted several melaleukas in the past two weeks but did not root reduce them much. I have kept them in the shade since. They are all doing well. Not sure if it is OK for your conditions though...but they should me almost the same this time.

[matty-j]

Just thought i would give this one a quick update, it was grown quite well since collection. I let the top extend for about a year before cutting back so some sections are about 15mm thick now. soon i will be wiring the tree, looking at the nebari and deciding on a front. I think I will go down the road of carving to introduce better taper. when spring arrives, i will repot into a diatomite, zeolite and pumice mix. then after the tree has recovered I will do some carving

thoughts, a dive or ideas are more than welcome.

Cheers
Matt

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[Elmar]

G'Day Matt,

I really like the trunk! We have trees up here where with a similar bark but the leaves are much bigger and longer... the only thing that stopped me from trying it!

[Pup]

Elmo most melaleucas will reduce in size with pruning. I have managed to get the leaves of qinquinerver down to 4mm. So it is worth a try if it is easy to dig. Cheers pup

[Elmar]

I might take some pictures, if I get half a chance to see if we're talking about the same tree. I may be mistaken...
However the specimen are full grown so I would have to air layer a branch - if these lend themselves to that procedure.
Think I may have left it a bit late, tho for this year!


Cheers
EZ
Via Tapatalk

[Neli]

I have lots of melaleukas and lots of them inspired by Pup. I like the way Pup styles his , sort of in a natural way. many people like natural styles, but for me bonsai= art so everything goes.
I have been observing them a lot and the main features I noticed on the few varieties I have similar to yours are that:
Melaleuka like this has tiny leaf that reduces also very much
Branches that are shaded by foliage above die.
It can be hedged tight and back buds very well forming tight pads.
Branches are flexible for some time .
Why am I saying that? It is because this qualities and its appearance are very similar to Baeckea being styled in Malaysia.
I like how the malaysian master Matyie Che Machtar styles baeckea,

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I know this style is representative of Asian cultures, but I find it very beautiful.
Notice how the pads are created. He is a personal friend of mine and I have seen how he styles them. He grows the main structure like primary and secondary branches with the pads being mostly horizontal, and after that starts hedging them with a scissors. He makes sure he creates good movement on the primary and that all pads receive good light. Most tertiary are growing upwards.
Also what I noticed that individual pads are composed of smaller sub pads. If you look at Charles Ceronio book, Bonsai styles of the world, where the African style Pierneef is describes, the branch structure is very similar.

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I have also tries to style mine Like junipers. He he he!
What do you think?

[Ryceman3]

I have also tries to style mine Like junipers. He he he!
What do you think?

I think they look great, not like what I have seen here but seriously very nice looking trees!

[matty-j]

It has been almost 2 years since I collected this tree so I thought it was about time I gave this tree its first repot. I didn't wash out the clay when i collected it so I knew repotting this was going to be an issue.
I started the repot last night and realised that the clay was rock solid!! so I soaked the tree overnight in seasol and attempted to finish it today.
I realised later that night it was going to be +38 degrees over the next few days ...........
I washed off all the clay and finished the repotting it tonight.

A question tho, should i give this a hard prune

Cheers
Matt

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