Collected Callistemon - DaveZ

[DaveZ]

This is a little Callistemon I collected from a creek on a friends property about 2 years ago. It spend the first year and a bit in a large, shallow seedling tray while it grew its roots back. It then went into a bonsai pot, must have been early this year or late last year. I've always been at a bit of a loss as to what to do with this tree style wise, as it's pretty messy, but I've come up with a plan. I thought I would start a progression thread to see how it works out.

This is the tree with healthy root system, potted in to a bonsai pot, but minimal styling done. I wired a few branches down, but really had no idea what to do with it. I liked the trunk but the vertical branch on the left always looked weird but I didn't know what to do with it.





I decided that I liked the trunk line with the entire left side of the tree removed, so I bit the bullet yesterday and removed it. I'm hoping in time I'll get another branch growing from a similar position, but Ill be able to shape it as it grows to get a better look. The top of the tree needs bringing down as well but I don't want to cut too much off in one go. I think I'll leave it to grow out now for a while and once I feel it's in a good place again, I'll work on the rest of the tree.

I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas on what else I could be doing with this tree.



Cheers,
Dave.

[MPP]

Hi Dave, great tree. The only advice I would give is to remember that Callistemon are not a pine so don't style it like one with branches wired down. Why not keep a more "natural" style and concentrate developing ramification view clip-and-grow. Goodluck.

[greg27]

Hi Dave, nice score, that's a great little tree! I was going to suggest removing that left branch so good to see you take the plunge.

As MPP said our natives tend to be a bit more upright than the traditional bonsai styles. I just went and had a quick look at the callistemon that's outside my house - some of the thinner branches have been pulled down by the weight of the leaves which produces some interesting shapes, but the majority of the major branches are reaching for the sky. It's a street tree so would've been trained to go upright initially but you get the idea. For inspiration you could take a walk along a random creek in your area and see how the local specimens like to grow.

Keep the updates coming!

[TimIAm]

What I've noticed with the average Callistemon is they tend to put growth out towards the ends and don't back bud a lot. I've got one that I've been trying to reduce in size, but it is taking a loooong time. If you drive around the streets and look at what's around, you'll notice there is not a lot of dense internal foliage.

That's why you see many of the Callistemon bonsai that are out there, they tend to follow a more natural style for this type of tree. Many broom style, wind-swept etc. which work with the natural style of the trees. There are compact and dwarf varieties available at native nurseries which grow more compact and dense.

There are plenty of gnarly/squat/twisted looking Callistemon trees around, but in order for the ratios to look good, you would have to aim for something a bit larger. Bigger tree means you have denser foliage, which is a work-around for the long, wispy stems you get for new growth. I'm talking at least 60cm tall plus the pot height on top of that.

I definitely suggest not removing where leaves have sprouted on the trunk until you've settled on a design, because of the trouble with getting it to back-bud internally.

Here's my go at a potential styling. Hopefully it gives you something to think about...

QVAS1HY.jpg

[DaveZ]

Thanks everyone. Pretty much echoes what I've come to think while looking at this tree, it needs to follow the more natural style. What @TimIAm has drawn there is fairly close to what is now in my mind, I just need to get it to back bud a bit so I have some branch choices. I know they can back bud after traumatic damage but we will see what some gentle coaxing can do. I like the trunk lines and roots as they are, the trunk is quite rotted out internally though so I'm not sure if I should try to pull that up or just let nature have its way.

Thanks for your thoughts,
Dave.

[shibui]

Not sure which species you're working with Tim. I've found pretty much the opposite with C. seiberii. Mine are more like olives with new shoots all over the trunk and branches so I've had to snip off unwanted shoots a couple of times a year to keep the open feeling.
I have one species that doesn't bud quite as well but several others that are fine with hard chops back to bare wood producing abundant new buds.

I like Dave's new look tree. Losing the strong left side accentuates the taper of the trunk and the remaining trunk looks much older and wilder as a result.
Fingers crossed for new shoots but I'd be pretty sure you'll get them now the tall, strong part is not holding new shoots back. Pruning is often the key to getting back buds. Whether that's opening the area up to more light, taking away the suppressing hormones produced by apical shoots or a bit of both pruning certainly works on species that have the capability to bud on older wood.

[DaveZ]

I like Dave's new look tree. Losing the strong left side accentuates the taper of the trunk and the remaining trunk looks much older and wilder as a result.
Fingers crossed for new shoots but I'd be pretty sure you'll get them now the tall, strong part is not holding new shoots back. Pruning is often the key to getting back buds. Whether that's opening the area up to more light, taking away the suppressing hormones produced by apical shoots or a bit of both pruning certainly works on species that have the capability to bud on older wood.

Thank you. I'm only new to bonsai so making the right pruning choices does not come naturally to me yet. I knew I liked this tree but for ages, but I didn't know what to do with it as it looked so messy. Walking past it one day it just hit me, I could see the tapered trunk without that left branch and I just knew that that was the way forward, I couldn't unsee it after that.

I'm confident it will backbud. These grow all through our rivers and creeks in SE Qld and they backbud profusely when they get knocked down and broken by floodwaters. Fingers crossed this spring will see branches a plenty.

Cheers,
Dave.

[TimIAm]

Happy to be wrong about the back budding

Spent time last night reading plenty of the great posts in the Callistemon threads.

Maybe it's a variety thing. Me here with my pain in the butt literati-looking Callistemon that refuses to back bud

[DaveZ]

I'm starting to get some budding from around the wound where I cut the major branch off so I should be able to grow that in a more aesthetically pleasing way than the one that was removed.



The little shoot on the right hand side of the trunk is also pushing out more now, so I have a couple of options for lower branches.



Once these two lower branches have a decent amount of growth on them I think I will remove most of the growth above the tapered trunk. Any thoughts on this plan?

[KIRKY]

I think removing the top growth at your red line is a great idea. Great material.
Cheers
Kirky

[Rintar]

agree with Kirky great looking tree to start with and great potential I did similar cuts to one of mine a few weeks back. It is pushing new growth but has not back budded where I wanted yet can only wait and see

[shibui]

Lower shoots are usually very valuable but depends what shape you see for the tree in future.
You can obviously grow your Callistemon in any shape/size you want but bear in mind that they don't normally grow naturally with dense, compact branches and I think we should consider natural habit when building bonsai.
Any thoughts on possible future development?

[DaveZ]

Any thoughts on possible future development?

The picture that TimIAm posted is pretty close to what I have in mind with the main canopy weighted to the right a little, in the direction the tree is leaning, and one lower branch out to the left to balance it all a little.

[shibui]

Looks like the cuts marked above would give you best chance to grow a tree like in that image.

[DaveZ]

Just a little update on this tree. I had some nicely positioned buds starting to shoot on the trunk of this tree, but unfortunately they didn't survive a heat wave we had a while back, just seemed to fry the little buds. Good news is that it's shooting some more shoots out again, just not quite where I wanted them. I'm going to let them grow and strengthen, and when the time is right, I'll shorten all that top growth back. I'm confident that the tree will then shoot again from parts of the trunk. Don't mind the weeds

Cheers,
Dave.