AusBonsai

Gday folks!

Some of you may recall that I visited the Goldfields Bonsai Society Show in early November. Here is the unidentified She Oak I picked up for $5, and some of the work I performed on it yesterday:
I'll try to get a better photo of the tree later this morning.

Thanks.

Fly.

Looking good Fri, where's the third trunk gone?

Theres hundreds of these down the end of my street, if I wasn't so lazy I'd go dig some up, do they sprout from a bare trunk or do you need to leave some shoots on them when you chop them back.

ozzy wrote:Theres hundreds of these down the end of my street, if I wasn't so lazy I'd go dig some up, do they sprout from a bare trunk or do you need to leave some shoots on them when you chop them back.

bare trunks no prob mate, get me some

Its hard enough trying to motivate myself to get some for me let alone anyone else

I did actually work up the energy to rock one backwards and forwards to see how well it was hanging on to planet Earth, it didn't move much so I left it be, makes me tired just thinking about digging up trees.

ozzy wrote:I did actually work up the energy to rock one backwards and forwards to see how well it was hanging on to planet Earth, it didn't move much so I left it be, makes me tired just thinking about digging up trees.

ROFLOL That was soooo funny ozzy. Reminds me of me.


Ash

where are these stumps, I might find the energy to go and dig a few up

makes me tired just thinking about digging up trees.

That is very funny. Makes me feel much better about my efforts

Hey guys This species is starting to catch my eye ,at the moment I don't know a thing about them ,very keen to learn Fly I noticed that you bare rooted these guys ,no dramas ? When collecting how harsh ? time of year ? Sorry I could go on with another 20 questions .Like what you have done though
Cheers
Tony

Jarrod wrote:Looking good Fri, where's the third trunk gone?

Gday Jezz!

The 3rd trunk was dead all the way down to the soil line, so I opted to remove it. As you can see in the 3rd photo, the 3 trunks were joined together in a 'raft' style, leading me to believe that this lot was collected as a bunch of suckers from a larger tree. When I removed the dead trunk, some apparently live roots came with it, so I popped it into some well drained soil mix on the off chance that there is still some life there.

bundyfisher wrote:Fly I noticed that you bare rooted these guys ,no dramas ? When collecting how harsh ? time of year ? Sorry I could go on with another 20 questions.

Gday Tony!

I've only been working with She Oaks (Casuarina, Allocasuarina) for a couple of years, so my advice may be a little general. I have had no worries with bare-rooting She Oaks so long as they are immediately placed into a really well-drained mix and watered thoroughly and regularly during the first couple of weeks. Ideally, repotting would be done in Spring in this part of the world, but is only because it is an easier time of year to keep water (and therefore air) up to the roots. I have not collected She Oaks, so cannot comment.

I hope this helps.

Thanks.

Fly.

Hi Tony,
I have had a problem when bare-rooting a more mature specimen as yamadori. It died!
I'm not sure if it was due to the bare-rooting or the fact that it wasn't put back into soil for some hours after collection, or some other reasons relating to my novice collection etiquette!
But I have heard from others that (Allo+)Casuarinas would prefer to keep the soil immediately around the root-ball intact as there are beneficial microbes in the soil (fungi and some bacteria) which shouldn't be removed for greater success. This is also a bonus in disguise as the soil can contain bacteria which form root nodules in some Casuarina spp., aiding nitrogen fixation after root-pruning.
Also, the Koreshoff's say to treat this Genus as you would a conifer & that trees from wet/swampy areas are generally easier to remove than those of drier forest areas. (In their book 'Bonsai with Australian Native Plants')
Hope this has help you somewhat..

Thanks Fly thanks Bonscythe I will grab a couple of these with a bit of a rootball from a wet area (try and maximise my survival rate ,I accidently kill with the greatest of ease ) From what little I have seen and read about this species they seem to have lots of potential. Once again thanks guys.
Cheers
Tony

The reason they say collection is easier in wet areas is due to the plant having a mass of feeder roots right near the trunk while in a drier area it is likely to have search alot further for the same amount of available water. Maybe if you have one you want from a dry area, nurture it for a while in the ground by watering it directly around the trunk (maybe with some seasol or something else to stimulate root growth, once in a while) to try and promote feeder root growth around the base area, then dig after it has has a chance to throw some feeders out around the bottom.
Not sure how well/quickly this would work but it is something that might be worth a shot
Cheers

What happened to the thrid trunk? That dead wood would be fantastic!!!