AusBonsai

Saved this Allocasuarina torulosa from a road kill December 2010. In the last 18months I have reduced the height, and this is the result.

Interesting piece of material there i hope you reduce it further and introduce movement to the trunk to mimic the raft.

A tree called Snake !

Hi aussie,

Great piece of material, it is rare to find one of these with movement from the ground up.

I would be interested to hear more about it. How big is it? What aftercare did it receive? Did it have a good root system when you got it? When did you shorten it? Repot, etc etc?

There is very little information on this species as bonsai so anything you can share will help all of us.

Thanks in advance
Matt

Hi Matt
In answer to your questions:
How big is it?
In the second image 713, height to the first branch - 360mm
Height to above the scar on smaller trunk - 200mm
The raft base is 240mm at potting mix level Did it have a good root system when you got it?
The tree was growing in a grey sandy clay about 60mm deep with a tightly-packed gravel conglomerate.
The root system was poor so I kept the clay around the roots.
It seemed like it was only surviving on the clay, though it had roots going down in the conglomerate.
When did you shorten it?
I trimmed it down at the site to its lowest branches on both trunks and sealed the cuts before removing.
When new growth started lower down on the trunk, (as the new growth on the small trunk)
I would start trimming the top growth, keeping enough growth to support the trunk.
When the bottom growth was big enough, I would cut it back and start again.
What aftercare did it receive?
Any broken roots hanging out of the clay were cut back and sealed.
The root base with the clay was placed in the poly box (first photo) with a layer of potting mix top and bottom,
and a couple of rocks on top to stop any movement.
Fertilizing began after new growth started.
Only a little dynamic lifter & sea-sol was used.
When Repot, etc etc?
I repotted last weekend.
It was lifted out of the foam box with most of the mix and placed in the pot.
Some surface mix and roots were removed to lift it higher.
What’s next.
I would like to lift the big end more to give a more wind-swept look.
The main trunk is very old, and is possibly the reason why I am not getting any lower growth.
Also with broken branch stubs and dead wood running down the trunk,
I’m sure it would snap if I tried to bend it.
I would like to get the branches sweeping down on the main trunk.
I hope this is helpful.
Barry

H i Aussie4bonsai , ripper piece of material you have there . I'm on the lookout for a few bigger ones of these , one day i will get a few and play havoc .I purchased a few tube stock but that's a long term plan .

Cheers Alpineart

Wow absolutely love this tree wish I had it in my possession!!!