Which native?

[Kieranrulz]

Hi just after a quick suggestion of what natives are easy to care for and get a hold of in the Sydney area.
New to bonsai so at this point I’m just wanting to keep alive.
Thanks

[benbonsai]

Callistemon are good.
Pretty hardy and backbud well of old wood.

[dansai]

Also Figs and Lilly Pilly's. All of these are hardy, and will show signs of water stress before dying and will recover well if they dry out a little. Watering properly is probably the first most thing to master. They also back bud well, even if cut hard.

Leptospermum is another that do well, although some species won't back bud easily except at the cut ends if some green is left, and will die if all green is removed.

I also enjoy Casuarinas, but have found they will cark it easily if they dry out and don't like being too wet.

[Rory]

Also Figs and Lilly Pilly's. All of these are hardy, and will show signs of water stress before dying and will recover well if they dry out a little. Watering properly is probably the first most thing to master. They also back bud well, even if cut hard.

Leptospermum is another that do well, although some species won't back bud easily except at the cut ends if some green is left, and will die if all green is removed.

I also enjoy Casuarinas, but have found they will cark it easily if they dry out and don't like being too wet.

Nailed it. I'd like to add Melaleuca to the list.

[Kieranrulz]

Hey guys. Thanks for the suggestions. I’m sure I could have scrolled through to find my answer but after an hour of trying but getting distracted by other interesting stuff I thought quicker to ask.
I have a Ficus already so I’ll look for something else. I’ve had a look and I am liking the look of the Melaleucas
I’ll keep an eye out for something that speaks to me as the misses has already told me to stop getting more trees lol.
It is getting busy on our small balcony to be fair ( can’t use the clothes rack anymore )
I’ll try a native nursery on the weekend but knowing me I’ll come home with something I wasn’t looking for then find out it has nothing going for it upon looking it up.
Thanks again,
Kieran

[shibui]

Melaleucas should go in alongside Callistemons. Some Mels do not shoot on bare wood but the common East Aust species are pretty hardy and do seem to bud easily.
Also add Banksias to the list. Some growers seem to have issues with these but they are doing exceptionally well for me - B. integrifolia appears to be the best followed by B. serrata and B. marginate. All thicken quite quickly, even when grown in pots. That's a valuable characteristic for bonsai and not all plants will do it.

[Dralis]

Hi any good natives for Melbourne that anyone experience can suggest
If you can post a pice of the native bonsai as well would be great

[GavinG]

Search on the site for all the names mentioned above - plenty to choose from. Also join the Victorian Native Bonsai group - they're on Facebook for starters.

Gavin

[shibui]

There are many species that are suitable for Melb and each species can be used in lots of styles so too many to upload pics. You can search for great examples for inspiration.
This link goes to photo galleries from the Australian Plants as Bonsai displays help by Canberra Bonsai Society at the Notional Botanic Gardens at Canberra - httpss://www.anbg.gov.au/bonsai/index.html

The Victorian Native Bonsai Club also has some photo galleries of some great natives as bonsai - httpss://www.vicnativebonsai.com.au/photo-gallery/ Browse through and see if any of those take your fancy.

Some species are harder to manage but obviously if there are photos all these can be done with a little effort.
Here's one of the threads where someone else asked a similar question - viewtopic.php?f=134&t=21671&hilit=recommend+native
Any of the species mentioned above for Sydney should also do very well in Melbourne however if you are in a colder suburb figs may need to be moved to a warmer spot in winter - close to the house or inside for the colder months.