Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

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Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

Post by boom64 »

Hi All,
I collected several Kunzea ambigua on December the 25th last year (yes Christmas day) and thought I would put this one out to collect a few idea's.
It did not miss a beat and for the last 2 months has been in full sun and loving it !!!!!
The main trunk is a bit of a mystery to me, it more or less collapsed when I re-potted it. The small trunk left has bark on it but I am unsure if it is still alive?? Most of the growth comes from around the area where it layered itself. There is great shape in the twisting trunks. The 4 bamboo pieces are holding up 3 live branches and rest of the growth is cascading over the left hand side. I am unsure as to where I should start. Maybe protection on the original trunk and branches. I think it is healthy enough to start applying some wire.
Any idea's would be greatly appreciated
Cheers John :lost:
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Re: Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

Post by Elmar »

Sorry, not much help but, Man!, what a problem to have (like too much money or being too healthy)!

Very dramatic - showing a tough life. Could almost go into a cascade… I keep being drawn into the first picture.
Cheers
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Re: Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

Post by kcpoole »

A raft / Clump style on a slab.
I would start by bringing the foliage back closer in to the trunk and see if you make it self supporting rather than relying on the bamboos.

Love the trunks / branch movements. Reminds me of Bodhi's shadow picture.

Ken
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Re: Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

Post by cre8ivbonsai »

reminded me of the style of this tea tree from the Vic Native show viewtopic.php?f=25&t=17134&hilit=native&start=30
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Re: Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

Post by marcela »

Hi John,
We at the Vic Native bonsai club went on a dig in October last year and collected quite a lot of these also but we've identified these as Ericoides, I wonder which of us in incorrect in identifying these?
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Re: Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

Post by Neli »

Nice find!
Perhaps You can try and put a ring around the base and try to ground layer it in spring? I see a cascade with tons of potential.
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Re: Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

Post by shibui »

Not surprising you have picked these as the same Marcella. Apart from the range- ambigua confined to the coastal belt, The only difference I can see is that ambigua has sessile (no stalk) flowers while ericoides is described as having pedicels 3-6 mm long so you would need to see them in flower to distinguish between the 2.

Both are tough, should be easy to transplant and keep in a container. ericoides is noted for its ability to invade both bushland and cultivated areas.
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Re: Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

Post by boom64 »

Hi all ,Thanks for the feedback I was originally thinking cascade ( Cheers Neli ) ,but Kens idea of Clump Raft sounds good, especially after seeing the attachment Ryan put up. :cool:
Hi Marcela ,I am no expert on plants :whistle: is there any give away points to distinguish between Ericoides and Ambigua ? All of my Kunzea have small white flowers and were collected from the south coast of N.S.W.. Regards John.
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Re: Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

Post by boom64 »

Hi Shibui.......Cant get answers much quicker than that. Cheers John.
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Re: Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

Post by boom64 »

Hi All,
Time for an update on this one. A few developments over the years. Lost the back branch that layered itself. Gave it a Lime Sulphur treatment ,by the look it could be due another treatment and a bit of carving. Thankfully the trunk has held out, treated with lime sulphur and then a liberal dose of earls wood hardener every year . A lot of wiring over the years. Needs a tidy up but pretty happy so far growing like a weed at the moment. The first three photos are the front. Any suggestions ,criticisms gladly appreciated.
Cheers John.
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Re: Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

Post by Kevin »

Hello John,

I think the work you have done looks great.
I do love rafted trees and that second last photo is all i see - a raft style. Maybe an option for the future.


Good work,
Kevin
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Re: Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

Post by Boics »

This is fantastic material John.
Love what you have done with this tree.

Have you had any flowers on this tree yet?
I love the delicate flowers on Kunzea and besides the fact I've found them to be very testy with back budding think they are fantastic native specimens!
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Re: Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

Post by Ryceman3 »

Awesome tree John, you've done some really nice work with it.
I actually like your "back" as the front, but I understand things can look different in reality as opposed to an image - whichever way you look at it, great job!
:yes:
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Re: Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

Post by benbonsai »

Tree looks awesome.
Great work.
Love the Jin and Shari work :yes:
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Re: Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

Post by Theodore »

I'm with Ryceman3, from the photos the back does look to be the better front. Reason being is there is way more interest in the jin/shari from this side.

Looks great.

Theo
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