AusBonsai

• Syg.2.jpg

Height- 220mm
Cost- $15.96
Supplier- Bunnings (oh no) 25/05/2016

Black Knight

Good to see you competing Black Knight

Squizz

Hi squizzy,

I had to give the advanced guys a run What am I up against, is it 3 or 4 of yours ?
After looking at it last night, I think it will be down to mame size by the time I am finished

Black knight

RE:[Black Knight] syzygium australe
Update:

This is the most promising out of my three entries, at least it is shooting a growing in the right places. Regards,
Black Knight

Now, slowly on the way with the warmer weather.
Regards,
Black Knight

Hi,
Fried on Friday
Worked on last Tuesday looking good, so I pulled it from under the tree canopy for full sun to get more growth.
Now it will go back 3 months in growth.
Regards,
Black Knight

Doh!!

The bonsai gods can be cruel masters.....

Looking good too. How did you achieve the ramification/leaf density? Do you pinch new shoots early (maple style) or let them run until the flush is finished and then cut pack to early leaves? I've been "negotiating" with a Lilly pilly (acmena Smithii - possibly incorrectly labelled) for a couple of years. Pinching early tends to result in only one new shoot (rather than the 2+ hoped for) or kill the shoot entirely. Letting them run tends to result in long internodes. My best results seem to be when the tree itself decides to do a mass flush of new shoots which must dissipate energy across the tree, keeping the internodes shorter. Be interested to hear if you have a technique for controlling things more actively.....

Hi Steve B,
This is a pic is of your species in my backyard. This was taken 8yrs ago. Tree is now app 100yrs old & possibly spread anther 6mts since photo. This is another in my stable & you can see what can be achieved in 3 years-
To answer your question on how I do it- Feed frequently with any organic fert as well as, Osmocote in the soil They come in spurts & you tend to work around these. Let run for 2 sets of leaves( 1- vertical. 1- horizontal) then cut & leave stub, as you can clean these out later. Long internodes will happen, don't panic, as you can go back in later. If, you look very closely, you can find minute junctions of buds between your long internodes & go back to these. You can also cut to the verticals then let grow & then remove top or bottom shoot to suit the extension later.
The more buds you push the shorter internodes will follow.
Good luck.
Regards,
Black Knight
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Excellent insights there Black Knight - appreciate the detailed response! Makes a lot of sense given the experiences I've had and the (slow and painful!) knowledge I've managed to accumulate.

Just for the sake of absolute clarity (me not being that smart and all!), you cut back to 2 sets of leaves as it is still shooting or do you wait for the whole shoot to harden off before cutting back?

Hi Steve B,

Just for the sake of absolute clarity (me not being that smart and all!), you cut back to 2 sets of leaves as it is still shooting or do you wait for the whole shoot to harden off before cutting back?

If you have a softer shooting species, you are best to let harden a bit before cutting back. Harder species not so much hardening needed. Even the harder species will throw soft growths at times within a season. If, you see the real light pink limp extensions they are weaker & you may have to cut back a few times until there is enough strength behind to force a branch division.
Regards,
Black Knight

Update:
After being fried late Summer, growth has been very slow & it will need a miracle to compete!

Kind regards,
Black Knight