AusBonsai

Has anyone ever tried to grow this variety in bonsai? I would love to know as it has a great range of autumn color.

ps, have a look at this page.

http://www.abc.net.au/science/scribblyg ... efault.htm

another good way to see them is the white water rafting tours.

I found a species of nothofagus in a small pocket identifier and ever since wanted one. Everything I have seen about them since then has increased this want.
I tried some seeds last year but did not get any results maybe they are still there and waiting to surface this year. Hmm that seed flat was the one I gave the kids last night so they could use the cuttings to make a forrest on a dinner plate like they saw in a craft book. Maybe there are a few left though?
I am very keen to get some saplings to see how they handle the climate here.

yeah, they are pretty slow, great colour, and they like alpine conditions.

will fletcher in hobart has heaps of these things, and im pretty sure he ships oz wide.
he is experimenting with a bunch of these, and apparently they are a bit sensitive under the soil... no collecti, unfortunate.

At Cradle Mountain in Tassie they start growing at around 900 mtrs altitude and go up the sides of the mountains. They get progressively more prostrate as you go higher and they are known as "Tangle wood' because of their habit at altitude.

I to have tried to germinate some seed but no luck.

I have two. They're great plants. One is quite small and well trained, the other quite large and altough it has a nice shape is un-pruned, as I am not sure how to go about it. They're quite tempramental and rare, one reason why I haven't experimented with pruning. Pinch pruning looks to be the best option but again, I am not sure how as instead of shooting it forms large buds. Anyone got any tips?

As for those looking to obtain one whilst living outside Tasmania, I imagine it would be quite hard. They are slow growing, delicate and probably wouldn't like the temperature adjustment. Here they are not a nursery plant, but you have to find your own in a legal area or find the few growers. They only grow in selected mountain top areas, the main tourist areas of these being; Cradle Mountain, the Labyrinth, selected areas along the Overland Track and Mount Field National park. They are best seen around ANZAC day when you can enjoy their full display of colour.

Does Will Fletcher have some kind of shop?

They are high altitude plants and don't grow at low altitudes. I would forget about this species unless you are planning a move to mt baw baw
Craigw

Hi MJ
Pity they do not grow well outside of Tassie

Will Fletcher is believe has a nursery "Island Bonsai"
https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index. ... _Nurseries

ps nice to see another Tassie member here, Will is a member, but for some reason the tassie bunch have not been around for ages
I would have thought that wil the long cold winters, you would all be here in droves to get some outside interaction

Ken

I have done a lot of bushwalking in Tasmania, and my experience is this: they are commonly seen in certain alpine regions, the leaves of these will be about 1/3- 1/2 the size of that in lower areas. They will grow at lower altitudes around creeks and in valleys, the leaves of these will be about 2cm long. This will still be in the 600-800m zone or so. In alpine areas many of the plants already look like desirable bonsais, altough removal is illegal throughout the WHA.

I live at about 150m elevation and mine are growing just fine, I might be lucky though beacuse others haven't had the same success. I'm not enterily sure, but I imagine if you lived in the Blue Mountains or in southern Victoria you could grow one quite easily, perhaps aided by a fernery.

Any pics?

Yes I have but these tiny trees with their fine roots will not tolerate root pruning or the continual re-potting me must continually perform. I suggest one just enjoys them in nature because even if you succeed keeping one in a pot for a year or more our constant care will eventually overthrow their rugged habits!

This plant is why I and another 20 - 30 people go to Cradle Mtn every year. Turning of the fagus get-together is a tradition for us now. Sadly my knees stop me from climbing to see the best of the trees, but we have @robsterios and others to take amazing photos of them to share. We all met originally on redbubble, and you can see a lot of shots of fagus there. https://www.redbubble.com/shop/fagus

I agree with @rick131 regarding enjoying them in nature, if nothing else, they're very inspiring!

Totally agree regarding just admiring them in the wild....
They are magnificent...There's a whole bunch of us crazy keen photographers who visit the mountains every single year to trek around and photograph these splendid tree's. It's probably a good thing they don't Yamadori as there would be bugger all left in the wild - like Japan's Shinpaku. Will Fletcher has (to my knowledge) the only surviving (more than a few years) Bonsai of these tree's. It's likely as he is off the side of Mount Wellington where it snow's every year that they survive.
They need this it seems during their dormancy. Lynne from Launceston grew one for years but eventually surccumbed during a warmish Summer.

Here's a link to some images I've uploaded regarding the Fagus...
http://www.redbubble.com/people/robster ... gus-gunnii

That last shot Rob!!!