Baeckea virgata 'Clarence River' 1

[Rory]

Progression thread: Baeckea virgata 'Clarence River' 1

This species is one of the greatest material to use for Bonsai, just like many of the Baeckea family.

The best all-round species of all the Baeckea I have tried.
The foliage is very thin and short, only about 10-20 mm long. They are very hardy, tolerate a heavy root reduction and can grow in both light and heavy mediums. They tolerate all levels of sun and tolerate constant cutting back.
The will shoot back from anywhere after a cutback and usually with a lot of new options of growth.

B. Clarence River 1-01 06Dec2019.jpg

06 Dec 2019

B. Clarence River 1-02 10Jan2022.jpg

10 Jan 2022

[boom64]

Greetings Rory ,great updates and some nice progress. Agree with you about the Clarence River Baeckea .Picked up some mature stock from a grower mate. Sold on most ,but wife insisted i keep one. Beautiful in flower .Look forward to see how yours turn out.
Hot moist weather and first sight of Myrtle Rust .This stuff is the pits. Any your way?
Regards John.

[Rory]

Greetings Rory ,great updates and some nice progress. Agree with you about the Clarence River Baeckea .Picked up some mature stock from a grower mate. Sold on most ,but wife insisted i keep one. Beautiful in flower .Look forward to see how yours turn out.
Hot moist weather and first sight of Myrtle Rust .This stuff is the pits. Any your way?
Regards John.

Hi John, I hope you are well mate.

Myrtle rust has never once bothered this material. Perhaps the variant I am growing are highly resistant to it. I presume there may be slight differences in all species and perhaps I have one that has better resistance to it, but it has never been affected. I am growing 6 of them and even on the ones I keep very small and constantly cut back... there has never been a problem or even a visible sight of Myrtle Rust at all.
The myrtle rust is absolutely everywhere where I live, all the grass is constantly affected by it.
Perhaps you'd like one of mine if yours seems to be affected. Although on the flip-side perhaps your strain of Myrtle Rust is more aggressive than up here?

To me they look absolutely beautiful just before the flowers open up. That sea of small white balls all over the tree is just so beautiful.

[boom64]

Hi Rory ,I thought i had Myrtle Rust bad down my way ,but it sounds a lot worse your way. Spoke to a plant grower today and he has a bit of luck using Triforine on it. Keeping it at bay at least. Actually the Clarence River has had no problems with M.R ,several M Linariifolia "Snow In Summer "have the dreaded orange glow although i have several "Claret Tops " beside them and they are showing no signs of it . Have to be a bit more selective on species in the future. Getting a bit to old to be making the same mistakes. Regards John.

[Rory]

Hi Rory ,I thought i had Myrtle Rust bad down my way ,but it sounds a lot worse your way. Spoke to a plant grower today and he has a bit of luck using Triforine on it. Keeping it at bay at least. Actually the Clarence River has had no problems with M.R ,several M Linariifolia "Snow In Summer "have the dreaded orange glow although i have several "Claret Tops " beside them and they are showing no signs of it . Have to be a bit more selective on species in the future. Getting a bit to old to be making the same mistakes. Regards John.

When myrtle rust first started to appear I started using Triforine yes. It was the most effective at killing it. But there is no point. The myrtle rust is everywhere now. It just comes back, and then you're constantly spraying a rather toxic spray all the time. If you spray it on young foliage, it can kill the new growth. And if the concentration is not strong enough, it doesn't have much effect on the myrtle rust.
I now simply let evolution dictate what I grow. I have lost an absolute tonne of myrtaceae species to myrtle rust that I simply cannot grow.
This is another reason I ditched wattles (apart from root work dissapointment), and switched to Phebalium. Most Phebalium are super resistant to myrtle rust.

Of the 50 tree species I now have left in my personal collection, the ones that really struggle with the myrtle rust are:
Melaleuca linarifolia 'purpurea'
Leptospermum laevigatum 'foreshore'
Eucalyptus nicholii (can be hit and miss, depending on levels of sun and constant rain / humidity)

Most varieties of Leptospermum scoparium can tolerate it, but you need to make sure they get plenty of sun and not to over-water them and kept open and free of shade.

Of the other gums I have growing, the ones that tolerate myrtle rust well are
Eucalyptus meliodora, crebra and punctata.

[Rory]

I've heavily cut back the roots to start a shohin for this. Although, it might be a tad high for shohin.
They are so hardy and easy to work with.
This was repotted in September and is powering and flowering.

I realize its not quite yet 01.01.2023, but its easier to post that its 2023, so looking back people can easily distinguish that its a year apart. Its only 1 day before the actual date.

B. Clarence River 1-03 01Jan2023.jpg

01Jan2023

[Rory]

B. Clarence River 1-04 03Nov2023.jpg.jpg

03Nov2023

This one has had a bit of a change of direction.
Its been placed into a Sam Miller pot (USA)