Native trials 2023

[Rory]

Native trials 2023

I blame Glendale Native Nursery in Newcastle for making me start more trials again. I couldn't help myself. Their stock is always so unique and interesting.
Following on from my xmas splurge post I have decided to go all in this year:
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E microphylla 1-01 20Jan2023.jpg

Epacris microphylla 'milky way'

E petrophila 1-01 20Jan2023.jpg

Epacris petrophila

Hakea B 1-01 20Jan2023.jpg

Hakea ‘Burrendong Beauty’
I've trialled this before, and it grew well, but the trunk was boring, so I've picked up more interesting specimens of these. Wasn't cheap, but they're beautiful.

Pultenaea v 1-01 20Jan2023.jpg

Pultenaea villosa

M nessie 1-01 20Jan2023.jpg

Melaleuca nesophila ‘Little Nessie’ – Honey Myrtle

Mel CFPayne 1-01 20Jan2023.jpg

Melaleuca C.F.Payne

G pink midget 1-01 20Jan2023.jpg

Grevillea 'pink midget'

Baeckea Tozer 1-01 20Jan2023.jpg

Baeckea Mount Tozer
I've trialled these before, but the possums destroyed them, so giving this another chance.

B oblongifolia 1-01 20Jan2023.jpg

Banksia oblongifolia
This took my interest. Somewhat smallish leaves, and a beautiful trunk line with low branching.

Lepto seclusion 1-01 20Jan2023.jpg

Leptospermum seclusion
The foliage is delightful. Reminds me of lanigerum x But I'm not sold on the flowers, but doesn't matter as I purchased it because of the lovely coloured foliage.

LeptoRudolph18Jan2023(1).jpg

Leptospermum rudolph

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Leptospermum brachyandrum 'jack frost'
Brachyandrum is incredibly hardy, so these should fair well. Always wanted to try these so I've purchased quite a few seedlings.

[Rory]

More fun for 2023. This time I'll have to spray these trial gums regularly to deter the pests.
I've attempted polyanthemos before as young seedlings, but the possums destroyed them. So giving them another go.

Euc polyanthemos 1-01 08Feb2023.jpg

Eucalyptus polyanthemos

Euc erythrocorys 1-01 08Feb2023.jpg

Eucalyptus erythrocorys

Angophora costata 1-01 08Feb2023.jpg

Angophora costata to trial.

M. incana seamist 2-01 08Feb2023.jpg

Wanting to try more Melaleuca incana 'seamist'

[TimS]

Great to see so many different species ready to for you to get stuck into. Hopefully fewer possums this time, they are an absolute bugger. Who if not you was to blame for the next batch there turning up at your place still the nursery’s fault?

[Rory]

More trials for 2023:

You’re evil GavinG. You’ve poisoned me with your glorious Canberra presentation years ago and those crooked and curvy trunks. You have reinspired my love for Eucs. Also, now that the possums are at bay, I’m loving the growth I get on Eucs again, so I’m quickly amassing a tonne of them. I hate you for this Gavin. I’m trying to downsize for crying out loud. But seriously, for banksia I have Grant to thank, and now for Eucs again I can thank you for making me get back heavily into them.

First up is an unusual Eucalyptus cladocalyx nana. I like the foliage so I’m looking forward to trying this:

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Next up is Melaleuca decussata dwarf. Pretty obvious why I want to trial this. The gnarly clumped base makes for a perfect raw looking Melalueca:

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Next is a test of perseverance. I’m betting that Myrtle Rust kills this one. Most agonis flexuosa have really poor resistance to Myrtle rust, but I’m keen to try it. It has a cute base too, but with those large leaves amd the requirement to allow it to outgrow the pace of Myrtle rust to survive, means it may have to be a lot bigger and thus making the small trunk defunct.

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Next is Eucalyptus rosacea. Pretty sure I’ve trialled this before, but with the cute small leaves I’m giving it another go. Unfortunately though, from my experiences…. Eucalyptus with very small leaves have very poor resistance to Myrtle rust. But keen to see how this one goes.

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And lucky last is my favourite new Euc to try.
Eucalyptus strawberry gum. Eucalyptus olida.
I presume it gets its name because the new growth has a red bulbous look that does somewhat resemble a strawberry.
Very pretty tree!
I’ve had one growing for a bit now, and so far nothing seems to be eating it. So I’ve purchased a bigger piece of material with a banger of a trunk that looks very Euc with its multi branches. I’m very excited about this specimen and hope it goes well

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[GavinG]

Glad to be of service, Rory... I can't see the point of being reasonable, when there's so much fun to have out there in the nurseries. My wife disagrees...

Don't forget, grow the Eucs long in gradually larger pots, and cut back ruthlessly once in summer if you want to develop trunks. Cut out anything boring, make sure the angles are 3-dimensional, and only keep the growth that you will want to keep looking at for years, angles and shapes that are interesting. Fertilise them well, they're greedy. I'll admit, I'm also greedy. Sadly my solution this year to having too many trees was to get a longer hose...

I haven't heard mention yet of myrtle rust down here, but I suppose it's only a matter of time. Our whole suburb got bulldozed when they built it 13 years ago, so no possum problems (yet) - the first wildlife to return were the snails, which I thought was funny. The magpies never left - they just sat on top of the house-skeletons as they were being built, and swore at the tradies.

Gavin

[Rory]

Sadly my solution this year to having too many trees was to get a longer hose...

laughed hard at that.


Yeah, the colours on Euc trunks are just amazing. Its funny how for months I'll wander past a lot of my trees, then once the bark has peeled and the trunk gets wet, the Eucalyptus trunks will suddenly stand out like an amazing oil painting.
I'm really starting to love the leaves that are heart shaped on some of the smaller varieties, as they seem to have strong colours on the edges and the ends that really bring the tree alive.

[Rory]

epacris: lost interest in these

Hakea ‘Burrendong Beauty’ I also lost interest as the foliage grows too big and dull for my liking.

Pultenaea villosa : so far this is fantastic for bonsai. Not sure of the lifespan, but it’s very hardy and looks very nice so far. You can remove a lot of root and foliage at any time of year outside winter and it doesn’t blink.

Melaleuca nesophila ‘Little Nessie’ – Honey Myrtle : I let them dry out and didn’t recover.

Melaleuca C.F.Payne : lost interest

Grevillea 'pink midget' : lost interest

Baeckea Mount Tozer : something kept stripping the foliage and didn’t recover.

Banksia oblongifolia : Fantastic material for bonsai. Very hardy and cute saw shaped leaves. It sends shoots everywhere all over the tree constantly, all the way from base to tip. You can cut back anywhere and it shoots right up to the cut. Similar hardiness to integrifolia. Highly recommend these.

Leptospermum seclusion : lost interest

Leptospermum rudolph : lost interest

Leptospermum brachyandrum 'jack frost':
Excellent material for bonsai. Very, very hardy and grows well all year round. Beautiful colours and goes from frost colour to green when it’s watered…. So pretty.

Eucalyptus polyanthemos:
Seems good for bonsai. Can be slow to recover at times, and it’s hard to keep the leaves small, but overall it’s a pleasure working with this species. Very rewarding. It appears quite hardy once it gets established.

Eucalyptus erythrocorys: found it boring and lost interest

Angophora costata: just seems too ‘plain Jane’ compared to the other amazing gums I’ve got growing, so might let it go.

Melaleuca incana 'seamist':
Brilliant material for bonsai. Very hardy and weeps beautifully. Magnificent species for bonsai.

Eucalyptus cladocalyx nana: very hardy material, but the leaves bore me, as they just seem eggy and dull compared to the striking leaf shape of crebra or some others I have growing. Might let it go.

Melaleuca decussata dwarf: excellent material for bonsai.
Very hardy and lovely colours.

agonis flexuosa: nope… Myrtle rust again killed it.

Eucalyptus rosacea: I had to repot it as needed pot, which slowed it down a bit, then Myrtle rust got hold and it didn’t recover. However….. i will try with this species again and take better care.

Eucalyptus olida: very pretty foliage and it’s quite hardy.
The leaves grow very large so I will keep it in a large bonsai pot, but it’s a very good tree for bonsai, except for the very large leaves. It suffers die back on the odd occasion more so than a normal Euc. But might be because i kept working it too much.

[Kedron Brook]

Good to read. FYI, the leaves of the Eucalyptus Olida smells like strawberries when they're crushed, closer to passionfruit. Fragrant gums are something special. Shame about the leptospermums, the tiny flowers would be perfect for the scale of bonsai. One day there might be a new cultivar which has tougher roots and such. Could you share any photos of 1 year's work on the jack frost or seamist?

[Rory]

Yeah I’ve not crushed the E. olida leaves before. You’re right, they do smell like passionfruit.

I’ll update the progression threads again soon with photos.
Not enough time at moment

[DaveZ]

I have a couple E olida in the ground here, still only a couple feet tall. You can use their leaves in cooking the same way you would use a bay leaf. I like the smell of their crushed leaves too, not really strawberry but a definite berry note to it. I should get some more seeds and get a few more going for bonsai, they seemed quite happy in pots here.