Red gum dig

[EdwardH]

Hi Ben, I'd be waiting until Autumn to root prune (see Ray's info above).
Growth rings are not a very reliable way of determining the age of a tree as the tree produces one after every flush of growth, often after heavy rain. This means that a tree can produce multiple growth rings in any given year.
You have wired up the new trunk from a shoot which originates from the lignotuber. This will almost certainly cause the smaller shoot on the trunk to die off as virtually all the energy of the tree will go to the leader as it is so much stronger than the shoot. With careful trimming you can develop the little shoot on the trunk and have a twin trunk or simply cut of the current leader.
The tree is growing strongly so I am looking forward to see how you progress with this tree.

[ben17487]

Hi Ben, I'd be waiting until Autumn to root prune (see Ray's info above).
Growth rings are not a very reliable way of determining the age of a tree as the tree produces one after every flush of growth, often after heavy rain. This means that a tree can produce multiple growth rings in any given year.
You have wired up the new trunk from a shoot which originates from the lignotuber. This will almost certainly cause the smaller shoot on the trunk to die off as virtually all the energy of the tree will go to the leader as it is so much stronger than the shoot. With careful trimming you can develop the little shoot on the trunk and have a twin trunk or simply cut of the current leader.
The tree is growing strongly so I am looking forward to see how you progress with this tree.

Thanks for the advise Edward
I'm unsure what you mean about the second trunk which originates from the lignotuber.. Is it not high enough up the trunk to be separate from it? I don't have a lot of knowledge on how they work so any info would be much appreciated!
I do see what you mean about its vigor though, I have cut that branch back a little but would you suggest nipping the growing tips now to allow the small leader to get some dominance?

I thought repotting was suitable in summer for these? But if Autumn is better I'll definitely wait, will allow it a bit longer to get established.

Thanks very much for the help

[ben17487]

Out of control foliage on this one

[Lane]

I notice the tree behind has masses of fert cakes, what have you been feeding this?

[ben17487]

Hey MacGuyver, they're just fert baskets/holders, I got them thinking they'd neaten up my top soil but I don't think they're that great.

For the Euc I've just been using a native liquid fert once or twice a fortnight along with a sprinkle of slow release on the soil every so often and seasol. Nothing to interesting. Seems to be growing well though...

What are you using on your trees?

[Lane]

I cycle each week between lots of types, however I have several dug eucalyptus that i'm slowly introducing to some ferts so just curious.

I use the fert baskets too as I do use cakes and chook poo as well as blood and bone and you get some pretty funky slimy growth happening at times, these avoid this.

[ben17487]

I cycle each week between lots of types, however I have several dug eucalyptus that i'm slowly introducing to some ferts so just curious.

I use the fert baskets too as I do use cakes and chook poo as well as blood and bone and you get some pretty funky slimy growth happening at times, these avoid this.

Would love to know which brands/types you're using.

That's what I was trying to avoid, but I think I need some bigger baskets

[Fluorine]

Hi Ben, can we get an update on this tree?

Cheers, Fluorine.

[MJL]

A quick note of thanks for the simple and clear advice noted below and in this thread. As I (and a number of others I think) have a River Red Gum in the current completion - I find the simple tips useful.

I would also note that in applying this advice already in relation to:- '6. Always remove vertical shoots as soon as they appear.' Take care - easy to remove/rub off vertical shoots that a few days old but in taking off some growth at the two week mark it (vertical of say 3-4inches already) I found it very easy unwittingly strip a long layer of bark too.

I can see I have my hands full with a group of these River Red Gums ... they almost grow as you watch them!!

Cheers,

Mark

Hello Ben,

The horticultural requirements of Eucalyptus as bonsai is an area in which i am presently endeavouring to learn. I have learnt there are many skilled practitioners about, like Sno - (loved your recent 'Stag Euc') unfortunately, documentation is sparse regarding successful methodologies. Attached below is some helpful advice afforded to me. Also, search in here using the name Flybri. Flybri has posted lots of helpful advice on his experiences with the Red Gum.

Your Eucalyptus is looking great.

Good Luck - Keep posting.

Kevin

I am amazed at some of the things said out there on growing the gum trees (Angophora, Eucalyptus and Corymbia sp.) as bonsai!!

After nearly 30 years experimenting with this group I have developed some guidelines for training them. (Note the Angophora specimen in my identity pane it is about thirty years old as trained as a bonsai and has a circumference of about 30 cm at the base.)

They are relatively easy if you follow these guidelines:

1. Can be re-potted at any time but it is best done in Autumn
2. Can remove at least 50% of roots provided that the soil remains wet for 3 weeks after re potting
3. Normal watering for the rest of the year
4. Do not shorten new growth until it has matured somewhat. (new shoots tend to die back if pruned too soon)
5. Defoliation, regular shoot pruning and keeping in a smaller pot will over time reduce leaf size naturally
6. Always remove any vertical shoots as soon as they appear.

Hope this is of some help. Please email me if I can be of any further help.
Dennis Mc

Hi Kevin,

I'll leave the discussion of the merits of Eucalyptus as a bonsai other than I think you can get good results. If you are inspired by a type of tree in nature then I think you need to pursue it.

I have a handful of gums that I've been growing for a while and initially I grew them in classic bonsai shapes. I'm now reshaping them all to look like an actual gum tree - so I've wasted a lot of styling time but I've learnt a bit about growing and shaping them. Most of them are River Reds but this might help:

Wire the trunk straight away but also choose and wire the primary branches as soon as possible. In nature Gums have massive branches that almost match the width of the trunk so you want them in place and growing quickly. In my observations even branches that extend below the horizontal still start off leaving the trunk close to the vertical so wire accordingly.

Don't let the wire bite into the bark, it can take years to lose the wire marks!

Let the branches grow unheeded until the base of them are really thick, at the final desired thickness. Then cut all the branches off, leaving large stumps and start again. You'll get masses of new shoots all over the tree, so pick the ones leaving the stumps at the desired angle, remove the rest and wire into place. Let these grow until the thickness is achieved and go again. Keep this up until you get the desired framework.

I've found with the river red gums I can get very small leaves by continuously letting the shoots grow out to about 4 pairs then cutting back to the tiny fist pair of leaves. If the internode is too long to the first pair, cut it all off and wait for the replacement shoot. It's a lot of work though as you need to do this once a fortnight at least. Don't do this though until your framework is finished.

Beware of letting any shoot getting too big in relation to the others as gums are really good at shedding branches they think they don't need. That's why I like to do all that uncontrolled growth evenly over the whole tree early when building the branches. Any strong shoots along a branch that grow vertically will cause all remaining growth along that branch to die off, so keep that in mind when building your tree.

I did start a thread on styling a River Red Gum which I should get back to, but here is some more reading ..

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19627

Good luck.

Matt.