AusBonsai

Hi all, this is a callistemon I collected just under a year ago. It was growing on the side of a creek (actually the River Torrens but let's stick with "creek") and was dislodged after some heavy rainfall and dangling by a single root. It lost all its leaves after collection but has sprung back to life. There are two thick branches - one has new growth coming off it but the other has died back. A little while back I did a very light carve to remove a flat cut where I removed another branch.

I'm vaguely thinking of changing the angle to something like the last photo below, but probably even more so than in the photo - as if its growing over a creek.

Any thoughts on potting angle, or on future styling, would be much appreciated!

I like the angle in your first shot, because the tilt in the last shot has made the trunk vertical.

I'd look at finding ways to make all the major elements have a slight tilt off perpendicular and then work on where to go from there. Growing it on strongly in a nursery pot for a few years will give you a chance to give direction to the new shoots, but also allow you to get lots of new branches and thicken up the trunk even more.

Great find!

Nice movement in that base but I agree with @melbrackstone on the straight section in your last image. The top part of your trunk also has little taper, so at some point you might want to cut back to one of the shoots further back. I cut one of mine back a while ago which made the long taper-less sections more prominent so they are slated for a harder cutback this year.

I'll go along with pretty much everything mel and terryb are saying. I think the image below is the kind of thing terryb was talking about in terms of cutting back the straight section, but if not - it's what I would do! Cut back to the shoot just below the red line and then look to grow on and develop a trunk profile kind of like the yellow outline. Of course, you will get more budding when you cut back that might influence future development, but that is based on what is already existing.

Ryceman3 wrote: ↑September 2nd, 2020, 3:52 pm I think the image below is the kind of thing terryb was talking about in terms of cutting back the straight section...

Spot on R3! That is the shoot I'd pick from this angle but depending on which front is eventually chosen, there may be a better placed shoot.

I like the last picture, maybe with a little more tilt to the right, and utilise the first left directional shoot as the new leader, taking off the rest and style from there.

At least that’s what I would do

I like the last one too and agree with GBarb with more tilt to the right and maybe even a slight rotation clockwise. It seems there is a lot of movement down low so its hard without actually being with the tree. I think it would also be worth looking at the roots too as it would have an impact on which angle would/could make sense. a strong lean to the right would need good strong roots on the left to make it feel secure.

Thanks all so much for the feedback. One of the things I love about this hobby is how freely most people share their ideas and knowledge.

Here's a photo with a bit more of a tilt to it, which is closer to what I had in mind initially - but R3's virt is fairly convincing. Hopefully I'm over my man-cold in a couple of weeks and I'll be able to bring this into a workshop for some in-person opinions as this one doesn't translate too well to a 3D photo.

In terms of roots, these are best described as "non-existent" - I'm surprised it managed to survive. It was definitely ripped out of the creek bank rather than gently washed away. A bit of work to be done there.

Can the tree be kept at that angle, but tilted toward the away from the viewer (hope that makes sense. This should remove the harshness of that 'elbow' and hopefully bring a little movement into the straight section?

Cheers,
Pearcy.

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Pearcy001 wrote: ↑September 3rd, 2020, 10:06 am Can the tree be kept at that angle, but tilted toward the away from the viewer (hope that makes sense. This should remove the harshness of that 'elbow' and hopefully bring a little movement into the straight section?

I gotcha, something more like this?

The first image (more rotation) really helps to soften the elbow and highlights the twist which is cool.

My original message was meant to say toward OR away, not toward THE away. Somehow you still manages to decipher my message.. well played.
I think it definitely benifits the tree with this rotation, the bend is softened and it gives a more natural feel to me. Looks like you could also make decisions at this angle for taper.
Only possible issue may be how the roots end up growing?
Goodluck with what ever decision you make and keep us updated.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

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Pearcy001 wrote: ↑September 3rd, 2020, 1:58 pm Only possible issue may be how the roots end up growing?
Cheers,
Pearcy.

Something else to consider will be the foliage wanting to continually grow in extended lengths so bringing the trunk down closer to the horizontal will inhibit the amount of space you have before it reaches the soil line. This may not immediately be a problem (unless you want flowers), but they do grow so fast…
Keep your eye out for the "right" shape / sized pot to help assist. Great potential.

KC you legend, flowers absolutely must be a consideration! Something else to think about.

I sat on this for a little while (look at me learning to be patient). I did like the more vertical style, but KCR's comment about flowers convinced me to go more in the direction of R3's virt. I also repotted this a few weeks ago - there were quite a few feeder roots but I hadn't chopped off nearly enough old, thick straight-down roots when I collected it so most of these went in the bin. Fortunately the callistemon, being a callistemon, didn't even flinch.

I think you have made the right decision.