Melaleuca micromera project

[Pat3222]

G'day, found this guy for a tenner and thought why not. Base is off to an interesting start already. The trunk is straight for 6cm then has five similar size branches/trunks in the next 1cm. Any suggestions?
Cheers

[shibui]

First thing to find out is whether it will bud on bare wood.
I have M. blaerifolia with similar tiny leaves but they stubbornly refuse to bud on bare wood and interior shoots die easily so green foliage is only at the ends of twigs now. Trunks have developed with great twists and bends but overall shape and style has been disappointing.

Hope yours gives better results after pruning.

[Pat3222]

G'day Neil, there's not a lot of info on these guys as bonsai. Sounds promising based on what little I've seen online, so I'll trust they do. Fingers crossed. The tree pictured was from the ANBG Australain Plants as Bonsai Exhibition way back in 2006, very nicely done IMO.
Cheers

[shibui]

That is almost certainly one of roger H's trees. He was, and still is, one of the pioneers of Aussie plants as bonsai in Canberra and was also a botanist specializing in the Myrtacea plants and Melaleucas in particular. Even has a Mel species named after him.

I will be interested to see if you get any buds from older wood as that's such a help when developing bonsai.

[Rory]

One of my favourite species to have attempted over the years.
They haven't been easy for me though.
I have tried my hand at about 10 of these by memory.

They DO NOT like wet feet. Any that were kept in damp soil conditions for extended periods would wither and die.

They love full sun and very good drainage. I add 50% washed river sand in the mix.

However, I have not had a great deal of luck in root reduction with them, and the older material all gradually died after decent root reductions.
I would suggest going easy and nibbling away the root ball gradually over time.
Some just died for no obvious reason, so I would treat them with a high degree of caution.
I'm still persisting, but I wouldn't recommend them as an easy tree to bonsai.

But they are a spectacular visual species, and one of the most beautiful of all the Mels for their bark and tiny, contorted foliage.

[Pat3222]

Thanks Rory, appreciate you sharing your experiences. I hoped I'd hear from you, based on posts here and found a Bimer Bonsai club newsletter I assume you contributed to while researching. Going slowly is my speciality so should be right there haha. I plan on putting minimal wire and a haircut now to give it a start. Will sort the drainage as suggested with a small root prune while it's loose in the pot and I have the time then let it go for a year and see what happens.
Cheers