My first bottle brush

[Joshua]

Got a Callistemon after seeing that they are recommended for beginners in the wiki, and seeing them in the nursery.

callistemon_laevis_full.jpeg

callistemon_laevis_topdown.jpeg

callistemon_laevis_side1.jpeg

callistemon_laevis_side2.jpeg

callistemon_laevis_side3.jpeg

callistemon_laevis_side4.jpeg

It has these two trunks that split right at the base. I wondered if it's actually two trees.
The closer-to-vertical one is at about 20mm thick and the more angled one is almost 30mm depending on which side you measure it from.
I think I should be able to make something about 30cm tall assuming the trunks thicken up slightly more by the time I start downsizing the pots.

Following the advice in this 'first bonsai' article by Brent Walston, here's my plan: (quoting and paraphrasing bits and peices):
- Find the "definite trunk line"
- "style the upper portion of the plant by pruning" every few months, removing no more "than about a third of the foliage in any one session"
- Begin "revealing the trunk line by removing competing trunks and branches"
- Refine "by pinching back the new foliage to force more growth closer to the trunk and to make it denser and more compact."
- Prune "so that it forms a scalene triangle of foliage."

All this for year or two before considering root work. He also says "Don't pot it until the trunk has reached the size and shape that you desire" ... "after at least a few years of training".

So here we go first step. It's almost the start of summer here and the first flowers have gone so it's about a good time for a first hard pruning.

I'm guessing the thicker trunk should be the dominant one unless I want a few more years wait. Just have some thinking to do about those trunk lines. There's a lot going on there.

Open to ideas, inspiration, advice

[Keels]

Congratulations on your first callistemon . They are such an amazing tree to create into bonsai.

1st tip i learnt about callistemon stock from a nursery is that most are propagated from cuttings. So the trunk line would actually start lower down below the soil line. So dig below the soil line to see where the trunk actually starts before making design decisions for the top.

Good luck with it. Keep us posted what you find

[Raging Bull]

Hi Joshua,
In future it would be good if you could give a more precise location than "northern hemisphere", that's a pretty big area. Then we will have a better idea of what sort of climate you are growing your trees in.
The first thing I would do if it were my tree, would be to take off a branch wherever there is more than one branch is coming off the trunk in the same place. The trunks are already starting to thicken in those places, and it won't be long before the tree will will have inverse taper that will be hard to correct. There are also several branches crossing over each other. They should also be removed. The tree looks more like a bush at the moment with a lot of very leggy top growth. I would also prune that back to half the present length, if not a bit more. Then I would thin out those "bushy" top branches selectively. After all that you should be able to get a better idea what you may want to do with the tree.
Before deciding what to do with the trunks and which is to be the front of the tree I suggest you scrape away some of the soil around the trunk to have a look at the root spread (the nebari).
Then sit down and have a beer while you contemplate your next questions.

[shibui]

Named varieties of callistemon are grown from cuttings but we also grow many thousands from seed for re vegetation and amenity plantings. If this callistemon does not have a variety name it could well be seed grown.
When pricking out seedlings it is quite common to pot 2 together. Laziness, convenience, insurance (if one dies you have a backup) or just not watching closely (if you have not experienced the mind numbing tedium of 8 hours pricking out seedlings you won't really appreciate that) are all reasons there could be 2 or more plants in a single pot.
By the time they get to this stage the roots will be soon entangled they will probably be inseparable. They may even have fused together.
How it came to be does not really matter (unless they turn out to be 2 individuals with different characteristics)

You should definitely explore the trunks under the soil. Many trees are repeatedly potted on in the nursery trade and occasionally I have found the roots well below soil level. The tree may have started to grow a few new roots closer to the surface which can be good or bad depending where and how many.

Your guidelines from Brent are very generic. They will probably allow the best chances of survival but may not produce the best bonsai.
Callistemon are very resilient. You can cut every branch off and it will just grow new shoots from the trunk. Do not be frightened to remove more than 1/3 of foliage from a callistemon.
The scalene triangle is another paint by numbers bonsai mantra and tends to suit northern trees more than Aussie natives. Just make a tree shape that suits the existing trunk lines and looks pleasing to you.

There are more and more experienced bonsai growers advocating that we should 'sort out the roots early'. A good root base makes a big difference to the look of a bonsai. Tangled and uneven roots do not look great but that is what you usually get with nursery grown trees. Roots are far easier to correct when the tree is younger and you will be able to make a far better job than starting root work later.
Many of our Aussie natives do not fit the northern repotting seasons. Most of us find that early summer is a far better time for repotting and root work than the traditional winter repotting. Now would be an ideal time for you to check the roots and do some work if necessary. Repot and root work can be combined with your proposed first hard pruning without any danger to the tree.

Definitely remove any redundant branches. Removing entire branches is OK. When we can see the trunks a bit better we may be able to give better advice on shaping.

[greg27]

Callistemon are very resilient. You can cut every branch off and it will just grow new shoots from the trunk. Do not be frightened to remove more than 1/3 of foliage from a callistemon.

I definitely agree with this, you're going to have a hard time killing a callistemon. In summer I wouldn't be afraid to hack away at the roots and the foliage at the same time. Just give it lots of water after you mess with the roots; here in Aus they often grow wild along creeks or in flood plains, so they do like a good drink.

Almost a year ago I found a callistemon that had been growing on a steep creek bank right near the water level. A week of decent rain dislodged it and it was floating in the water, hanging by a single thick root. Being the good citizen I am I decided to rescue it. It had pretty much no roots at all and lost all its leaves. It sat and sulked until about a month ago when it finally started to produce some buds. They're pretty tough!

[Joshua]

Wow thanks for all the great advice and info.

take off a branch wherever there is more than one branch is coming off the trunk in the same place.

That gave me a concrete place to start without having to worry too much yet about the best trunk line.
I had read that bottle brushes can take a hard pruning especially after having flowered.

I took off some of the branches where several come out at the same spot as suggested, and when I started there were a few more that seemed natural to take off (crossing through the tree, on the inside of a curve, etc.), and I'm going to take of anything long that looks like I could use it to plant as a cutting .
It's looking a little cleaner now.

There are still a couple of spots where branches seem to be twisting around each other that look a bit tricky to cut. Also I'm not sure yet which to keep or whether it could work keeping both. So for now just leaving them and when it's pruned down more maybe I'll get a better idea (and better photos )

does not have a variety name

Regarding the name, it was a Callistemon Laevis, but when searching google seems to send me to M. Citrina, some sites say it's a variety that flowers four times a year, other searches gave rugulosis. I saw on here that Starfox had asked the question about the same 'Laevis' that he found in a nursery.

'sort out the roots early'.

Regarding the roots:
I scratched around the surface a bit with a chopstick, trying to move some of the dirt down around the trunk. There are a couple of surface roots, one big one that's clearly not 'radial' in the sense of good nebari, another one that might be ok, and a bunch of smaller roots on the surface.

I noticed this kind of felt or fabric around the base that looks like perhaps some medium that it was started in before potting in soil. Is there such a thing?

Another thing is that there are lots of little roots poking out the bottom holes of the pot. I didn't notice at first because it actually was sold in two pots, one slipped inside the other. I haven't yet taken it out to have a better look at the roots, but so far I get the impression that if it's not already root bound, it will be pretty soon.

Now would be an ideal time for you to check the roots and do some work if necessary. Repot and root work can be combined with your proposed first hard pruning without any danger to the tree.

Are you suggesting that I bare-root it (or almost) once it's been pruned down more?
Or just brush away as much of the top dirt as possible to see where the trunk goes to, or where some nice radial roots start?
I imagine in both cases I should then cut off quite a lot of the bottom roots?
And in either case should I then plant it back in the pot that it's already in to let it keep growing a while or start going for something smaller?

Ps. Just feel like I need to mention, I'm doing this without any proper tools; just some secateurs and scissors, kitchen fork, chopstick

[shibui]

Many of us started off with improvised tools and equipment. It may take you a little longer with those tools but the job will still get done.
Regarding repotting: Yes I would be comfortable with bare root and removing up to 3/4 of the roots if necessary. I have certainly cut way more than that off callistemons here and have had very few problems. I really doubt that a beginner will be brave enough to cut enough off a callistemon to kill one.
It is always worth working down from the top to find out where the strong roots are growing. Sawing blindly through the middle of an unknown root ball can have catastrophic consequences like ending up with roots in one hand and the trunk in the other
When you have located good roots it is possible to just cut through the remaining root ball about halfway down. That usually saves hours of raking out the tangled roots.
I am not surprised that there are roots showing at the bottom of the pot. It does not always mean it is pot bound as that's the first place root head but healthy callistemon can easily fill a pot with roots in just a single year.

There have been lots of name changes in the callistemon family so it is not surprising there is confusion. I have not worked with C. rugulosa so would be just a little more cautious for a start but it should respond similar to other species.

[Joshua]

Did the hard top prune, bareroot, and root prune today.

Yes I would be comfortable with bare root and removing up to 3/4 of the roots if necessary ... When you have located good roots it is possible to just cut through the remaining root ball about halfway down.

I didn't have anything to chop through the bottom roots with so I was raking all the way with a chopstick and modified kitchen fork. And it was pretty badly rootbound. I definitely took out more than 3/4 of the roots. Worried a bit that I didn't take off enough of the top to balance it out (see photos below just before repotting)

Also at first couldn't really dig down because there were so many roots, so I kind of alternated taking away from the top, sides and bottom little by little.

Nice to find there were two trees in there, not fused together or anything, but their roots were pretty tangled up and it was tricky getting them apart. Hope I didn't do too much damage.

beginning_rootbound.jpg

Before starting, initial trim, initial roots.

root_pruning_in_progress.jpg

Took a few photos while raking out the roots. It only took about... a couple of hours

almost_done.jpg

Almost done, not quite ready to pull the trees apart.

big_before_repotting.jpg

The bigger of the two just before potting.
I ended up cutting a little more off the top of each of them since potting them but still feel like there's perhaps too much foliage for the roots.

small_before_potting.jpg

The smaller tree just before potting.
The nook you can see at the base is where a root from the other one was wrapped around it.

potted.jpg

Not really sure where to go from here in terms of trunk lines or styling. I'll get some better photos in case there's anyone willing to give an opinion or advice in this regard.
But I guess in any case the next step is to wait a few months and see if they survive

[greg27]

Nice work mate, plenty of water for the next couple of weeks and I'm sure you'll be fine. Don't stress too much if they lose their leaves; they might sulk for a bit but they're good at bouncing back. You've got a few fine roots there so they probably won't even flinch.

[juan73870]

I reckon they both have interesting and cool trunks, if you're stuck on where to go with them next, just spend as much time as you need checking out photos online of all kinds of bonsai. Simmering will pop out at you as having similarities that you can utilise, I'm sure. Well done on the first step of sorting out the roots a bit, it's daunting at first, but for me it's one of the most addictive and enjoyable tasks with bonsai. The more you do it, the quicker it will become too, and the more reckless sometimes...... Educated recklessness, though. That's what I'll call it.

[Joshua]

Haha awesome. Cheers guys

[Raging Bull]

Good work! You didn't procrastinate, and as the saying goes, "Just do it".

[Joshua]

Good work! You didn't procrastinate, and as the saying goes, "Just do it".

Haha no but I'm procrastinating with a rootbound rosemary that I have

Don't stress too much if they lose their leaves; they might sulk for a bit but they're good at bouncing back.

It looks like the smaller one's already sulking quite a bit.
I've put them in their spot on the balcony that gets sun from morning til early afternoon. Should I bring them back a bit to shade them from this midday sun until they're doing a bit better?

[Joshua]

Two months later, pretty sure they both died.
How long roughly should it have taken for them to show signs of new life?
Scratching the bark away on the trunk toward the bottom doesn't show anything green or fleshy, just looking like dead wood
I guess I didn't cut off enough branches and leaves to balance out the amount of roots that came off.

[greg27]

Two months later, pretty sure they both died.
How long roughly should it have taken for them to show signs of new life?
Scratching the bark away on the trunk toward the bottom doesn't show anything green or fleshy, just looking like dead wood
I guess I didn't cut off enough branches and leaves to balance out the amount of roots that came off.

The bark can be quite thick, even on younger plants. If you have a branch you don't mind reducing slightly you could cut off the end to get a better look to see if there's life. Have all the leaves died off or are there still some hanging on?