Eucalyptus saligna & curtisii Progression

[Naimul]

I have decided to finally start a progression thread for my recently bought Eucalyptus saligna and curtisii, largely to gain direction regarding design and care, and also to serve as a knowledge base for these particular species for others.

I bought these as tube stock from a small nursery,and have been in my care for about 1 month now. both were immediately transferred to a larger pot, and tried my best to not disturb the roots too much (despite the soil completely falling apart as soon as i took them out of the tubes).

I have been watering well, and trying my best not to overwater since i potted into straight potting mix. i was genuinely surprised to find that they had already started pushing roots through their current pot and into the soil below. (Currently sitting within a much larger pot due to space and to allow unobstructed sun).

I also wired them both to put some movement into the trunks, not exactly prominent in the photos. Very happy to know that they are pushing new growth all along the trunk line, giving plenty of options for branches.

I do intend on growing these as much larger trees, potentially in the 50cm height range, maybe a little less. My goal at the moment is to build up some girth, and start selecting my primary branches.

Which leads to my question, should allow them to continue to grow in the soil below? I have read around and came to the conclusion that eucalypts in general dont like their roots being disturbed, so i am worried when i inevitably have to pull them up it will lead to something like dieback on the branches, or worse...(perhaps overthinking this)

[CraigM]

The top container should hold sufficient roots when you decide to lift the pot, if you're aiming for thickening let them grow. Watch your wire on the trunks.

Have had varied results with the Eucalypts I'm working on, started as tube stock back in May 2015. Like you I tried not to disturb the roots (tube stock) at the time, when I repotted couple months back was quite brutal opening up the compacted roots from the original tube, trimmed the tap root that had developed as well, think 95% of them pulled through. The trees were growing in the garden bed, every couple months would lift and trim the roots beneath the pot and place back.

[dennismc]

There are so many tales about concerning growing Eucalyptus, most of which are simply old folks tales. This is especially true about touching their roots. I have been growing them in pots for over 30 years and have never lost one through root pruning!

As long as you keep them wet for 3 weeks after root pruning they will not only survive but will thrive in a pot. Outside this period regular watering only is required. This may seem counter intuitive but does work.

They also produce very quick growth in trunk diameter if (1) they are grown in a much bigger pot than shown in your picture and (2) they are allowed to grow freely until about 2 metre tall then reduced to (say) 30 cm then allowed to regrow to the 2 metres height and reduced again and so on until the desired trunk diameter is achieved. Correcting branching should wait until trunk diameter is finally achieved.

Dennis Mc

[Rory]

I agree strongly with everything both Dennis and Craig say except... I understand what Dennis is saying regarding:

There are so many tales about concerning growing Eucalyptus, most of which are simply old folks tales. This is especially true about touching their roots. I have been growing them in pots for over 30 years and have never lost one through root pruning!

And I also agree with the above statement, but only for material that is no longer a seedling.
I have attempted literally 100's of Eucalyptus as tubestock starters. If you go too hard on the tap root initially and there isn't enough fibrous root, then I find you can occasionally lose a few. As long as you have a decent amount of fibrous root, then they will fair a lot better. However once a Eucalyptus has a trunk diameter of about 1cm or more, then yes it is very hard to kill it from root removal. But it can also depend heavily on the species you try. The ones you have are quite hardy. But some of the other varieties of Eucalyptus can be very finicky when they are tubestock and you remove a lot of root.

The main points are to keep the water up and plenty of sun. Do not cut back the stock until it is much bigger. Die-back usually occurs on Eucalyptus if you cut back the same area constantly (like more than once a month). Wiring the trunk is useless unless you are intending to keep the tree shohin or similar. You say you want the tree big, so thicken the trunk now. You will create movement on the trunk by trunk chopping over time, not with wire. I recommend getting rid of the wire.

Also, Dennis is spot on, as I have never lost a Eucalyptus from over potting it. Other natives yes, but not Eucalyptus.

It is also a point to make that the species you have chosen make excellent bonsai. They are very hardy, love full sun and grow very well.
Eucalyptus curtisii is a beautiful mallee which develops a wonderfully gnarly trunk. I have a few myself but they are only a few years old.
Eucalyptus saligna is extremely hardy and the leaves reduce very well too.
Place both in full sun. They love it. But watch for leaf eaters when the leaves are fresh. Caterpillars, grasshoppers, fauna etc LOVE to eat fresh young eucalyptus leaves. They don't eat the leaves once they are mature but they love the young leaves.

Great stock to use!

[Kevin]

Hello Naimul,

Good on you for starting this thread.
I am right behind you with the Sydney Blue Gum and will start a thread for my trees development shortly.
As far as i can see you are the first thread on both species.

This is my little Sydney Blue Gum - E. saligna.

_DSC5756.jpg

Good luck and i'll be reading your trees progress with interest.

Kevin

[Naimul]

Just as an extra bit of info i forgot to add, this post has a fantastic list of suitable eucalypt (and some other native) species to choose from to make bonsai out of ( kindly put together by Rory responding to a question about suitable species for weak/minimal sun exposure)

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20282


Thanks for the information regarding roots, my confidence to train these have increased significantly. I was actually hunting, so to speak, for E. saligna and chanced upon E. curtisii as it was the only other eucalypt the nursery had. I had no prior knowledge about that species, so it is again reassuring to know that it is also suitable to train.

I will leave the wire for a little bit longer until the trunks harden some more, just so that they dont topple over in the strong gusts that have been coming sporadically in Sydney as of late. Though i have already taken off the thinner, silver wire that i was initially using as anchorage.