Casuarina Torulosa Shohin

[matty-j]

hey everyone

this is a troulosa that i have been working for about 6 months now, just thought i would start a progression on it hope you enjoy
any advice, thoughts or comments are more than welcome

before

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as of today

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cheers
matt

[alpineart]

Hi matty-j , mate your've done a great job on this one . I have a few tubes stock but they have been very neglected like a lot of things around here . I plan to set up a native grow bed that way neglect won't harm them like i do .

Cheers Alpineart

[matty-j]

Thanks alpine much appreciated, if its possible after you finish the grow bed post some photo's i would love to see it

cheers
matt

[hugh grant]

nice one matt!
its coming along nicely

Hugh

[Jamie]

the left hand shot of the apex shows a "flat cut" if you angled that cut down to create a better line and wired up the apex main branch a bit you will have a much nicer line in the tree in the future.

good luck its come along well, Im starting to like the cassa's but have always manage to kill the buggers, maybe its time for another crack.

[Steven]

Looking great Matt
These are great to play with and you can see how fast they respond. I'm looking forward to seeing how you progress it and what pot you choose.
Don't go too small yet as there is still a bit of development needed in your branches and foliage. A bonsai pot will slow it down a bit.

Regards,
Steven

[matty-j]

nice one matt!
its coming along nicely

Hugh

thanks hugh

the left hand shot of the apex shows a "flat cut" if you angled that cut down to create a better line and wired up the apex main branch a bit you will have a much nicer line in the tree in the future.

good luck its come along well, Im starting to like the cassa's but have always manage to kill the buggers, maybe its time for another crack.

thanks for the advice jamie much appreciated, i was looking at the cut the other day and was thinking the same thing i saw that the cut was starting to roll over under some dead bark so i was going to get in there and remove the dead bark and dish out the cut some more so it will heal over nicely, ill be doing a full wire at the end of spring after more growth and wood hardens off

Looking great Matt
These are great to play with and you can see how fast they respond. I'm looking forward to seeing how you progress it and what pot you choose.
Don't go too small yet as there is still a bit of development needed in your branches and foliage. A bonsai pot will slow it down a bit.

Regards,
Steven

hey steven i was planning on putting it into a pot soon but it may stay in a plastic one for a while the pot that i'am thinking i will put it in is a janet selby pot i picked up at the Illawarra bonsai show, what do you think??

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cheers
matt

[matty-j]

hey everyone

its been a while since i posted a photo of this tree, its coming along nicely hasn't skipped a beat since it repotted into a bonsai pot and into a diatomite mix, the only thing that is strange it the colour of the foliage! its a maroon/purple colour it doesnt seem like anything is wrong, lots of new growth and new growth tips, and another of my torulosa's has the same colour foliage, but they were a very nice green at the start of spring, new growth would be the maroon/purple colour not all the foliage is with only a touch of green needles here and there.
any thoughts?

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cheers
matt

[Boics]

Interesting re. the foliage colour.
I have two Torolusa's both of which have different bark colour and foliage.

Don't want to alarm you but one such Cas (the darker one) ended up looking like it died.
All the foliage dried right up and were it not for some green to be seen when the cambium was scraped this one was cooked.
I persevered and kept it well watered and lo and behold it's popped a few new needles a couple of weeks later and appears to be back on the mend.

I have absolutely no idea why the tree did this.
Furthermore I have absolutely no idea why the colour difference in the foliage between my two trees either?
I have never noted a change in colour on any of my tree's except for the one that pretended to die!

PS your tree is coming along really well.
Don't you just love the bark on these guys!

[matty-j]

Thanks for the reply boics!
These natives like to play tricks!!! The bark on these guys are fantastic, should be used a lot more for bonsai i think!

cheers
matt

[bamboos]

Hi Mat
In Vincent Serventy's book "Australian Native Plants" he mentions under the sheoak section that --" some species have male and female flowers on the same tree. The male flowers cluster on the tips of the branchlets , the larger female flowers being deeper in the tree and in clusters on short stalks. Sometimes the masses of male flowers give the tree a reddish tinge and can mislead people into believing that the plant is dying."
So maybe you tree is having a good time
Steve

[Steven]

G'day Matt,

Your tree is coming along nicely! The colour change is normal. Enjoy it
The pale brown tips on some of the leaves are a sign that it has dried out too much. Keep the water up.

Regards,
Steven

[matty-j]

Thanks for the replies!!!

Much more reassured i was a little worried
I think the brown tips you see on some of the leaves is from poor pinching I let it thicken to much then when I pinch I don't get a clean break, and it dies back to the next leaf, BUT! i think your right in saying the tree needs more water, i was thinking of placing it in a small water tray, but i have not used them before, once the pot is placed in the tray, the water level should be just above the bottom rim of the pot? can this cause root rot?
I know they do love water tho!!

Cheers
Matt

[Shane]

So, I got some tube stock casuarinas from the new Native club here in Vic. They have about a foot of 1cm neck before any foliage. How do these trees respond to a hard trunk chop with no remaining foliage? That will be the only option initially. Thanks for advice.

bonsai was meant to keep me away from the computer

[Boics]

Hi shane mine are torolusa.
They respond and backbud very well.
Even on old and barked wood.