Will E. tereticornis make a viable bonsai specimen?

[Kevin]

Hello Everyone,

I am interested in experimenting with, in an attempt to bonsai a Eucalypt, specifically Eucalyptus tereticornis. This species is indigenous to my area and has an attractive silhouette when viewed as a specimen planting.

Unfortunately i have come up blank with the search engine here and with no experience with Eucalyptus as bonsai, i was hoping someone can advise if this species is a viable option.

Thank-you in advance for your help.

Kevin

[Rory]

viewtopic.php?f=134&t=14348&p=148893&hi ... is#p148893

The only real barrier for Eucalyptus as bonsai, is the leaf size. They usually look better grown as larger specimens for this reason, depending on the species.
Native fertilizer
Repot in summer
They'll thicken quickly if fed well and in full sun.

I think I have one of these growing as a starter ...Not completely sure, as I purchased a tonne of different Euc seedlings to also experiment with.

[treeman]

The only real barrier for Eucalyptus as bonsai, is the leaf size.

I know I'm gonna get it for saying this but someone show me a good one. Not saying thaey aren't out there but I haven't seen them yet.

Ok GO!

[Rory]

The only real barrier for Eucalyptus as bonsai, is the leaf size.

I know I'm gonna get it for saying this but someone show me a good one. Not saying thaey aren't out there but I haven't seen them yet.

Ok GO!

I love your willingness to excite a thread Mike.

Okay, I'll bite... The 2nd photo at the top of the banner on this website, if that is a Eucalyptus then definitely one of my favourites.... also....
(Euc / Angophora....pfff... basically the same)...

viewtopic.php?f=53&t=3417&start=15

https://www.cbs.org.au/Native_Shows/bons ... 0large.jpg

[Lane]

I believe we need to keep trying regardless.

With Australian bonsai still establishing itself no one can say that we know enough about eucs as bonsai not to.

I've heard people say they don't lend themselves to training and they experience branch die back inexplicably but doesn't that just mean we should work with that as a feature such as jinning or shari on junipers/pines?

Happy to be proven wrong but at least we can say we tried.

[Rory]

I've heard people say they don't lend themselves to training and they experience branch die back inexplicably but doesn't that just mean we should work with that as a feature such as jinning or shari on junipers/pines?

Correct. In the wild this is often seen, and I have commented before in other threads about them. The limbs occasionally die, break, fall off, make a big crash, scare a bunch of animals.... then the tree heals over the broken lump, and this creates a beautiful trunk with gnarled lumps that heal over creating giant healed lumps on the tree. Looks awesome in nature.

viewtopic.php?f=106&t=18669

[treeman]

The only real barrier for Eucalyptus as bonsai, is the leaf size.

I know I'm gonna get it for saying this but someone show me a good one. Not saying thaey aren't out there but I haven't seen them yet.

Ok GO!

I love your willingness to excite a thread Mike.

Okay, I'll bite... The 2nd photo at the top of the banner on this website, if that is a Eucalyptus then definitely one of my favourites.... also....
(Euc / Angophora....pfff... basically the same)...

viewtopic.php?f=53&t=3417&start=15

https://www.cbs.org.au/Native_Shows/bons ... 0large.jpg

Ok seen them...next?

[Kevin]

Thank-you Gents for your feedback,

Mike, you don't like the specimen second left at the top of page? I actually think its attractive, in its own unique manner.

viewtopic.php?f=134&t=14348&p=148893&hi ... is#p148893

The only real barrier for Eucalyptus as bonsai, is the leaf size. They usually look better grown as larger specimens for this reason, depending on the species.

Rory, leaf size?
The Euc's do not reduce their leaves?
Full Eucalypt leaf size on a bonsai?
The transpiration rate would be enormous.
What bonsai heights are the norm for the Eucalypts?

I was going through Walter Palls Aussie gallery yesterday and i thought i saw a Eucalyptus in there. I'll have to have another look.

Thank-you for attaching the threads - I need to head out for an hour, i will look at your threads when i return.

MacGuyver, I agree to a degree.
I am always up for the challenge. Have said that, i don't see any point in 'flogging the dead horse' - too old for that.
However, i have been studying up on specific aspects of Botany and plant / tree physiology and read some interesting things and bookmarked many more for future reading - time permitting.

Thanks again.

Any further information would be greatly appreciated.

Thank-you,
Kevin

[Rory]

Rory, leaf size?
The Euc's do not reduce their leaves?
Kevin

Nearly everything will reduce leaf size if you attempt it, but the starting point for the leaf size is huge for eucalyptus, so it reduces yes, but you can still end up with good material. As stated, it depends on the species. A lot of eucalyptus are large leafed naturally, but there are smaller leaf varieties and others that you can get the leaf size down to about 8-10cm, so again it can look better on large bonsai.

If you keep them in smallish pots and reduce the growth back, in some circumstances you can keep the leaf size to about 4cm or so which is quite cute.

It is best to look at species selection before you invest many years. But then again you'll get a fair idea about how much leaf reduction you can get pretty early on from growing a particular species.

[EdwardH]

Maculata and ficifolia will both reduce to about 2cm or less however you need to constantly pinch out the new tips before the stalk lengthens. My maculata was only 30cm high but was covered with leaves around cm in size. Mind you it required constant maintenance to keep the leaves that small. Nicholii has small leaves to start with and will also reduce a tad, again constant pinching is the key.

The main problem I had was trying to balance the feeding regime with leaf size and health. Being apically dominant most of the food was utilised by the new growing leaves which left some of the lower leaves decidedly yellowish. Too much ferts and the tree exploded with growth all over and good luck with keeping the leaves small and still most of the ferts was utilised by the top leaves!

[GavinG]

The third tree from the left in the banner is one of PeterH's E. nichollii bonsai - he has several excellent examples that you can search for. And no they won't look like Japanese pine trees. He also has an E. mannifera and an E. elata on the site which are mature and evocative. Not everything has to have flat branches and dense foliage layers. Look around.

In addition to these species, E. crenulata, E. crebra, E. punctata, E. bridgesiana, E. archeri and E. eugenoides have small leaves that reduce further in bonsai culture, and are hardy for what we do. There are probably dozens of others, we've barely scratched the surface. Not all Eucs are strongly top-dominant, not all lose branches, and cage-wiring can be very useful if that's what you must do. Search FlyBri.

There is a massive, classic and brilliant Angophora costata (Eucalypt family, same treatment) at the NBPCA - search and ye shall find.

And if you don't like what other growers have done, I'd be delighted to see Eucs done better. They aren't difficult, just different.

Generally, repot in hot weather, water frequently afterwards, use a well-draining mix, and watch for leaf-eaters. I use general fertiliser, heaps of it, grow long, cut back once a year to get the trunk thick and interesting, and then face up to designing convincing branch shapes - it's damned hard not to fall back on your standard pine-and-juniper habits, but Eucs don't grow that way.

And best of luck. Please post your results.

Gavin

[Rory]

Very well said Gavin.

[shibui]

What bonsai heights are the norm for the Eucalypts?

The best specimens I have seen are all quite large. Gavan has already pointed out some of the ones PeterH has developed. They are mostly around 1 m tall. See more pictures in the Canberra Aussie native show files - http://www.cbs.org.au/index.php?option= ... &Itemid=79

[Mojo Moyogi]

All credit and due respect to those in the Australian bonsai community who take on the challenge and grow Eucalyptus bonsai, good, bad or indifferent.

I am inclined to side with Mike on this one.
Australian Native trees and shrubs, there are so many great species that make outstanding bonsai, that respond so well to cultivation in small containers, that give predictable and gratifying results and have the potential to not only improve with age, but reach a great age.

Eucalyptus and it's close cousins, for me, do not offer anywhere near enough "bang for your buck" as bonsai and in my opinion are so far behind trees in the natural landscape, in terms of visual impact and beauty.

I wonder, if the Japanese had our natives to grow bonsai from and not theirs for the last 800 or so years, would they have been growing Eucs?

Cheers,
Mojo

[EdwardH]

Hey Mojo, not surprisingly the Japanese have used trees and shrubs readily available in...wait for it...JAPAN Simply because that is what was available. Over time they developed techniques which work really well with their trees. These techniques are what are known as the "rules" for making good bonsai.
Strange thing is that as the hobby spread around the world, people in other countries started using their own native trees, e.g. swampies in the USA, figs in S.E. Asia and Australia etc. none of which were known to the Japanese in spite of centuries of bonsai culture (maybe they should get out more )
The bottom line is that as people in other countries and continents started growing trees native to their regions they found that the rules worked very well for some trees but not so well with others. They had to experiment to learn what worked with non Japanese trees -what Japanese practitioner would EVER leave his/her pine or maple in a bucket of water over summer like we can and do with a swampie or Melaleuca?
In Australia we are at the "let's figure out what works with Eucs" stage. In another 20 years this conversation will be redundant as bonsai practitioners have figured out what will be known as "rules for growing Eucs" then we shall simply have people saying I like this species over that species. Funny that is the place where many bonsaists around the world are today.