AusBonsai

Hi there. I'm new to this.

Decided to cut back this small hedge up against a fence at home and have a go at turning it into bonsai.

After cutting it back hard (full wheelie bin) this is what I have.



Suggestions please on further shaping! I'm planning on giving it some basic shape then maybe in winter transplant it to a pot.

Thoughts?

Thought I'd take some more.off to get a better view









To be honest I have no idea what I'm doing or what to.do next lol. Should I wire it while it's in the ground?

Your next step is to get it dug up and let it recover before doing any more work. Winter is a good time for digging deciduous trees, but most natives prefer that sort of work to be done when the weather is warmer. Some people even report best success with Eucalypts is during the middle of summer.

I'ld use a spade to cut around the root ball about 20 cm away from trunk, wait for the tree to put on a spurt of growth and allow that to harden off (shouldn't take long this time of year) and then dig it up. This will allow the tree to form new roots closer to the trunk and by having foliage on it when you dig it up, it should recover pretty quickly. I have repotted large, pot bound Lilly Pilly's and taken large amounts of root off without any problems, but the only ones I have dug were from really crappy soil and didn't get any fine roots and still had reasonably success. I think being a garden plant you should be fine.

dansai wrote:Your next step is to get it dug up and let it recover before doing any more work. Winter is a good time for digging deciduous trees, but most natives prefer that sort of work to be done when the weather is warmer. Some people even report best success with Eucalypts is during the middle of summer.

I'ld use a spade to cut around the root ball about 20 cm away from trunk, wait for the tree to put on a spurt of growth and allow that to harden off (shouldn't take long this time of year) and then dig it up. This will allow the tree to form new roots closer to the trunk and by having foliage on it when you dig it up, it should recover pretty quickly. I have repotted large, pot bound Lilly Pilly's and taken large amounts of root off without any problems, but the only ones I have dug were from really crappy soil and didn't get any fine roots and still had reasonably success. I think being a garden plant you should be fine.

Thanks, sounds like.grear advice

Yes that's why I figure this would be a good tree to try as they respond well to normal pruning.

Wish me luck!

you seem to have lots of branches coming from one area down low--could cause a bulge ( reverse taper)-perhaps one of those branches could become the new leader after cutting out the main centre trunk(suggestion only)

tgward wrote:you seem to have lots of branches coming from one area down low--could cause a bulge ( reverse taper)-perhaps one of those branches could become the new leader after cutting out the main centre trunk(suggestion only)

Where would you suggest cutting?

you need to first decide the height of the final design and whether the total main trunk is needed--there should really only be one branch coming from any one area of the trunk -if more than one as it matures a bulge will most likely develop at that spot.

Cool I'll.start with that then