AusBonsai

There's still plenty of green there, I don't think there's anything to worry about. I'm sure she's loving the sun and fertiliser, and will come back well.

Cheers for the encouraging comment, I needed it

It looks like it will survive - the green bits look healthy enough. You are trying to grow it waaaaay outside its comfort zone....

We tend to to repot natives when the weather warms up - say September here. I think your March would be a lot colder than our September - maybe leave it till May or June to repot it next time, and keep it warm. Like, move here.

Best of luck,

Gavin

A couple of days back I noticed new buds (and before that greener foliage) on my Casuarina - I'm beyond happy!(my wife not so much...)

A couple of days back I noticed new buds (and before that greener foliage) on my Casuarina - I'm beyond happy!(my wife not so much...)

LOL! You get that.... glad to see it's shooting again!

Late summer update from Sweden. My Casuarina has fattened up quite a bit and grown bushy! She's still in development so I'm letting her grow wild. However she's going indoors soon and I thought some advice was needed. As is. New grow tent frame outside old bamboo frame.Mylar and grow lights inside.

My Casuarina is about 1 metre from floor to apex-tip and the saucer/plastic pot about 26 cm in diameter.
The grow frame is 90 cm high and 65x65x92 cm.

She can't fit inside the grow tent!

My plan is to let her stay outside for as long as possible here (we're down to under +10C at nights now) to get some "winter rest". After that, bring her into the tent and gradually up the light hours to simulate a spring and summer.

In regards to pruning: One big chop or many smaller? Timing: Now or wait until "indoor summer"? As stated, developmental growth is the goal.
Any other ideas or comments are welcome, cheers

Well that's a huge improvement on the June photos!

I'd hesitate to offer any suggestions, since this is the danger time where I've lost a few Casuarina from trunk chopping. Perhaps thin out the foliage a little so that the light can get further into the tree, chop off some of the top so it fits into the confines of the mylar, and look at heavy chopping next Spring?

In regards to pruning: One big chop or many smaller? Timing: Now or wait until "indoor summer"? As stated, developmental growth is the goal.

Casuarina respond well to both light trimming and also to hard chops so use whatever will achieve your goals best.
I have not done enough Cas cuts to have a good grip on timing. I guess most of my pruning is in warmer months when Casuarina is active but most trees respond to pruning any time of year as storms and grazing animals are not always seasonal. Response to pruning is just a little quicker when the trees are active and I guess the same will apply to this species.

Cheers for the replies!
Grow tent update:
I chopped the top for size and to let light in and gave her a prune. After a couple of weeks I concluded the light (two LED grow strips designed for seedlings) wasn't enough (partly beacause water wasn't moving through the tree fast enough). So I bought an additional full spectrum grow light (+a fan for circulation). It seemed to do the job with faster drying out and more growth. I must say I really enjoy how much I've gotten to know my tree just through daily care. I'm much better at diagnosing symptoms and I can almost sense when she's too dry. I can imagine this must be quite powerful if you've had a tree for 20+ years..

I tried some chemical long-term fert pellets 16-5-13 on my Casuarina one week ago. The box claims "one dosage lasts the entire season". The dosage was one heaped tablespoon for a pot my size (22+ cm) but I applied a little less than a full spoon.
Then I re-read Rory's Cassy growing notes about some brands being dangerous... Some of the pellets were soft whilst others very hard.

Today (a week later) I missed a watering by about 12h and I find parts of the mid section yellowing. I think the foliage is a bit limp as well. The branchlets are dry at the tips, otherwise soft and yellow. One, light green, branchlet dropped off. (there's some pumice in there..)
I removed all the pellets I could find and gave her a good watering.

Since the move indoors I've had some ( a handfull of needles) yellowing in the mid-section from time to time - nothing like this.

I haven't fertilized at all since she moved inside two months ago. Before that organic liquid fert once a week.

Diagnosis? Thoughts? Did I just miss a watering and the fert made it worse?

Don't read too much into or try to connect 2 unrelated aspects.
Yellowing and drop off is a normal part of plant growth.
Evergreen leaves still only live for a few years. Older worn leaves die and drop while newer leaves take over the task of making energy.
Yellow laves can be a sign of other problems but, usually, if it is oldest leaves/ needles are affected it will be normal old age.

Cas do not seem to be affected by fert so my guess is the tree was affected by some other problem.

All that shibui said....plus these things are sent to try us.

You're doing something most of us here in the antipodes would never consider, so you're the one leading the way, and learning as you go. It could be that the change to the light tent is making it rethink!

Good luck!

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm hoping it's an adjustment to the grow tent - it is a very special environment: Most light from directly above, very hot close to the lamps and some "wind" from a fan 15 minx3/day. I've noticed I get some condensation on the inside of the tent.
Anyways

Reckon you might need to run that fan a bit longer, or more often. The humidity might be too high.

Just a thought.

Just a quick update:
The yellowing and dropping of branches has been going on but at a slower pace than at the beginning.
I'm fairly convinced it has to do with only light from above and branches growing horizontal/downwards - since it's those that drop from the bottom and up. I'm confident she will recover when she gets back outside in about 1-2 months. For next winter I'm going to install two more light-tubes down low in her tent... (and cut her back more before going inside). Her living quarters. I hand pump the run-off away with this brake fluid pump. She gets about 2,9 liters of water (every other day) and the run-off is about 1,5 liters each time. I leave half a centimeter of water on the tray and it gets sucked up within hours. I can't really get her out in an easy manner so the top grows unchecked up into the lights - I'm guessing this also affects the branch dropping lower down.
I'll try and get her out as soon as the risk of frost is over.