Angophora bakeri 1

[Rory]

Progression thread : Angophora bakeri 1

I Purchased this seedling from Cumberland State Forest Nursery at Castle Hill (now Plants Plus).
Cost $3.50

This is by far one of the best gums I have ever worked with. The foliage is very tough, stays reasonably small, and doesn't seem to get attacked by insects or leaf munchers.
It is very hardy and tolerates most conditions, except it doesn't like to remain constantly wet.
It develops beautiful natural taper and the bark is just lovely.
You can cut it back hard and it responds well. Unfortunately I have never seen this species for sale anywhere since they stopped growing these at Plants Plus.

If you can keep the foliage on most Angophoras free from pests (tell me how), they are simply a fantastic choice of material to work with.
Most of these small-leaf gum varieties are a real delight to work with.

With this tree, I'm undecided if I'm keeping multiple base shoots or just keep it as one trunk. There is no rush, I'll wait and see because I've never had the main trunk die back on a gum from letting the shoots at the base grow.
I intend to keep all my gums and casuarina natural looking, and will not be growing them as short and stout stock. But rather taller and more slender is the preference for me. Though you still have to continually trunk chop, but I prefer to leave a longer area between cuts than most growers. I find it gives a more natural look for most of them. But definitely clip-and-grow for me, otherwise wiring doesn't quite give that natural rugged look you see in nature. (but again, this is personal preference and my choice because I like it)



This photo was taken 28.10.2013



This photo was taken 21.03.2014



This photo was taken 03.05.2015



This photo was taken 17.02.2016



This photo was taken 17.03.2017

[Matt S]

Nice, Rory. I'm glad to see you going for a more natural style with your gums. I only have a handful of gums but I'm restyling most of them from scratch as I realised they were looking like Japanese pines!

Do you find the gums are a lot of work, needing more frequent pruning than non-natives?

Matt.

[Rory]

Nice, Rory. I'm glad to see you going for a more natural style with your gums. I only have a handful of gums but I'm restyling most of them from scratch as I realised they were looking like Japanese pines!

Do you find the gums are a lot of work, needing more frequent pruning than non-natives?

Matt.

Hi Matt,

With the gums, I wouldn't say they require more work than any other tree, but more so just a different approach.
I am determined to prove to Mike that there are many worthwhile species for bonsai.
the biggest problem for me is just the pests love the taste of the leaves. So choosing the right variety to reduce he lead munching is a slightly higher priority. However in my area the main leaf munching time is throughout summer. It gets better in the other seasons.
Yes, gums are incredibly fast growing trees, if they have full sun, watered correctly and fertilized they shoot long.
But if you cut back heavy it's okay provided you generally only do this during the fast growing season like spring/summer.
And I never cut back again soon after a heavy cut back otherwise it can produce die back in gums. I usually wait about 3 months or at least until the cut area has a lot of new growth.
Be careful when you cut off or cut back a branch as the cambium sometimes splits and as you pull off the unwanted area, sometimes it shears off like a peeled banana.
I also find that they are very hardy material if they get past about 4 years old. They often shoot all over the place after a trunk chop just like casuarina and banksia. But on the whole I prefer working with them over most other material. If you grow them with the clip and grow technique they produce that lovely intertwined look you see in nature.

I am lucky because if I had been growing casys and eucs 20 years ago they probably would have looked very oriental as well. Fortunately I killed all my material many years ago from neglect which allowed me to start fresh. Hahahaha (now crying).

[Matt S]

Thanks Rory.

How do you go about leaf size reduction? I have 2 methods:

1. Defoliate the tree 4 weeks before you want to show it;
2. Constantly prune shoots back to the first small pair of leaves. If the shoot doesn't produce those small leaves or the internode is too long, cut it off and wait for the replacement shoot.

I find the second method can produce really small leaves but you have to be vigilant. If you let it go or a few weeks then the small leaves drop off and you have to start again. Interesested in your thoughts.

Matt.

[treeman]

Rory, If you can track down seeds of Euc vernicosa,- A Tassie native - (I can't) - I promise I will give it a go.

euc vernicosa.JPG

tasnative.JPG

tasnative2.JPG

[GavinG]

Eucalyptus crenulata has beautiful small blue-green leaves - we can get it here in Canberra, so it should be around in Victoria where it comes from. Just by the way.

Gavin

[Rory]

Thanks Rory.

How do you go about leaf size reduction? I have 2 methods:

1. Defoliate the tree 4 weeks before you want to show it;
2. Constantly prune shoots back to the first small pair of leaves. If the shoot doesn't produce those small leaves or the internode is too long, cut it off and wait for the replacement shoot.

I find the second method can produce really small leaves but you have to be vigilant. If you let it go or a few weeks then the small leaves drop off and you have to start again. Interesested in your thoughts.

Matt.

Hi Matt,

I would never defoliate a gum for 2 reasons:
The new leaves that are produced are often very quickly eaten if a leaf muncher strolls by.
Then in doing so, the tree has given a massive amount of energy to produce new leaves and has to start again. If the tree isn't in the best of health, you can get bad die back fromthis. And even if the tree is healthy it may die back still, having to produce another load of leaves. There is something perhaps in the oil scent of new euc leaves that is like a beacon to pests.

I pretty much steer towards option 2 for leaf reduction. But most of my eucs are no where near ready for leaf reduction.
But from my trials I def stear towards option 2.

[Rory]

Rory, If you can track down seeds of Euc vernicosa,- A Tassie native - (I can't) - I promise I will give it a go.

euc vernicosa.JPG

tasnative.JPG

tasnative2.JPG

Have u given thought to eucalyptus pauciflora?
I think that's the right scientific species for the snow gum.
It's spectacular, but that is a nice selection of photos mike. I love it.

[Rory]

This photo was taken 28.02.2019