AusBonsai

This is a Gumby Gumby, which is a tree native to inland Australia that was used by Aborigines as a medicinal plant.
I purchased it from Neilsen's Native Nursery for $16 in February last year. It had 3 trunks, 2 of which were straight, and the third had heaps of interesting twists.
When I repotted the tree in April, I discovered the 3 trunks each had their own roots, so I separated them into 3 trees. One died after repotting, I sold the second for $30, and this one, as you can see, is clinging to life after almost karking it post repotting. A very dubious candidate for a contest, but it is my third entry and the only other plant I have that would really qualify.
The only work it has had is the separation as described above, and it has been planted over a CD. Let me know, Rory, if that disqualifies it.

Redsonic wrote: Let me know, Rory, if that disqualifies it.

Hi redsonic,

Good stuff. Looks great, can't wait to see what you do with it. That's all fine.
Remember if any submitted entry dies before 31 January 2019 you can submit a new entry.

Rory wrote:

Redsonic wrote: Let me know, Rory, if that disqualifies it.

Hi redsonic,

Good stuff. Looks great, can't wait to see what you do with it. That's all fine.
Remember if any submitted entry dies before 31 January 2019 you can submit a new entry.

Mine will probably dies Feb 1st

This tree has shown some steady growth. I chopped it just above the three shoots seen in the first photo and have been lightly pruning it for ramification since.
Thickening up a little:
I pinched out a couple of root suckers but am hoping this little bud will grow out into a sacrifice branch. Not doing anything yet, though:

This guy has done nothing all winter. The bud at the base came to nothing, so no sacrifice branch as yet.

Finally, a spring bud has formed so hopefully I will get some growth soon:

Redsonic wrote: ↑October 21st, 2019, 8:42 pm This guy has done nothing all winter.

Looks like the base of the trunk has expanded considerably since April

Thanks KCR, I can see the thickening now that you point it out. Hopefully, I'll get some real growth now it's warmer.

An update on the Gumby Gumby. It seems to have 2 brief flushes of growth per year; Spring and Autumn. I pegged down a few branches last Spring to try to get some movement, but the tree only grew from upright buds.
I did finally get my sacrifice branch, and the base is starting to fill out and look interesting.

A pleasant surprise is the corky bark developing.
I plan to repot it as soon as it is warm enough, and hopefully get enough growth to prune it back more.

Mate, that is going great. I love it.

It's a lovely example of a tree "becoming itself" - the natural language of some of the funkier branches looks like it will tell you all you need. Nice barking up, I hope it keeps on doing it's thing in your care.

Gavin

Thanks for the encouragement Rory and Gavin. I am really enjoying this competition, especially seeing what people do with the more unusual natives. There are just so many species out there; we Aussies are in such a lucky position, and having Ausbonsai to share knowledge really helps.

The Gumby Gumby hasn't been doing well since the last post. It fell victim to very small caterpillars which attacked the growing tips (they seem very common on my garden Callistemon too). Thinking it needed a repot, I waited until I saw bud swell this Spring, which only happened 10 days ago. The roots were very sparse; it came no-where near filling its pot. It has been dropping leaves since the repot, and looks very sad, but some shoots are opening up. Fingers crossed it is on the mend, but a couple of the new shoots are browning off at the tips. Any ideas?

Fortunately, this little guy bounced back from its repot, and I have been tip pinching it to try and increase the density of foliage. I have continued to use pegs (no wire) to direct some of the new growth where I want it.
I won't be putting this tree into a bonsai pot by October, as I wasn't happy with the roots at repotting and did a bit of a (under)ground layer to try to get some shallow root growth.
The bark continues to cork up nicely, and another little bud has formed low on the trunk, so back budding seems to be a possibility with this tree. An interesting species, and I look forward to bringing it on further.

Wow, that's come on well, hasn't it! Love that it's barked up so nicely!

Pegs are a very useful tool I love pegs...and old underpants elastic