Native Trials 2020

[shibui]

Forgot to attach a photo for you:

IMGP6378.JPG

For scale the retaining wall is around 1m tall. We cut the ends of this one back each year to keep it just clear of the ground.

[boom64]

Hi Rory ,Great selection and plenty of variety amongst them. Good luck with them all.
The Kunzea looks pretty good ,plenty of low branches. Well on the way already.
Hope this Darwinia citriodora is a little bit less touchy than mine [Fascicularis]. I have moved to a mix with a fair bit of sand and this has seemed to help. Cheers John

[Rory]

Wow Neil, that’s not cascading, that’s a vertical drop! Haha
Very nice, I can imagine what lovely material that would have made for some specimens.

As always I strongly appreciate your input. I did notice that the internet warned about humidity on the Eremophilas too.
Hopefully I haven’t bummed out there, as the central coast is certainly ripe with humidity.

I still haven’t found some new decent Backea to try, but I might give Thryptomene another go now that I have a possum cage.

Fortunately the 2 native nurseries that I frequently buy from, seem to have a strong desire to source rarer and more unusual material every month. I’m loving it!
Though I have learnt that if I find something really special, I buy a lot of them, because it’s usually years before they get more in

I can say the same about Australian potters too.
If you find a lovely Aussie pot from one of our unique potters, BUY it, don’t procrastinate.

Those Astartea from the 2019 trials are going well so far Neil. My gosh they have one of the most gorgeous simple pink flowers I think I’ve seen. Beautiful material, and now that they’re not getting eaten I’m excited to see how they go.
Though I’m holding off my excitement as I learned my lesson from you with the Micromyrtus. Speaking of which, I have managed to keep 2 Micromyrtus alive. They appear to be in good health, but required almost 80% river sand.

I was introduced to Homoranthus from a native wholesaler on the coast here, and he recommended them to me years ago, but I’d forgotten about them. I can’t remember the variety, but the trunk was like a buxus, and reasonably thick. But it was being grown in about a 20 inch tub by memory?
Hopefully growers don’t have to resort to that for trunk thickening. They certainly grow creepy, but time will tell.

[Rory]

...Some last minute stragglers that have joined the party.

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Melaleuca nesophila

I love paperbarks that have the soft paper bark.

nesophila.jpg

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Melaleuca fulgens

Very pretty foliage.

fulgens.jpg

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Melaleuca halmaturorum

I've been told these are quite hardy.
I'd bought some tube stock years ago, but was too lazy to repot them and they died, so starting more.

halmaturorum.jpg

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Leptospermum laevigatum 'foreshore'

I don't recall having attempted the main species laevigatum before, but I liked the trunks on these compact dwarf forms.
I noticed on one of these it has a lot of aerial roots developing. I've not seen aerial roots on a lepto before.

foreshore.jpg

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Angophora costata

I've still got 1 last A. bakeri that is now protected and doing better, so now I'm 'branching' out into another one.
The new cage doesn't stop the gall wasps, but at least the foliage can grow freely now.

costata.jpg

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[Ryceman3]

I too love the soft paper bark of certain Mels and for this reason collected and just planted some M. Nesophila seed. Looking forward to the germination!
Apparently my research suggests the jury is out on their ability to back bud, only one way to find out!

[Rory]

Just a quick update as Spring has started very early for us North of Sydney. The natives have been growing well since about 15th July.

Phebalium notii isla gorge:

Starting to power up strong, excellent resilience to root pruning.


Calytrix tetragona ‘rich pink form’ :

Not the best, both have not done well over winter and the low sun levels. Was savaged by pests.


Melalueca tamariscina :

Still alive, but sulking. However, I over-potted these. (stupid i know)


Melalueca thymifolia :

Excellent. Growing incredibly well and strong growth throughout winter too.


Leptospermum lanigerum x :

Slowly growing throughout winter. One died after the repot, and the other is thriving. However, they were both savaged after the repot from pests and presume this is what killed the second one.


Banksia occidentalis :

I'm still hurting from these. These need full sun, but may have been left too long without a water. Both dead.


Banksia integrifolia ‘Angourie form’ :

Fantastic. Didn't blink from a hard root prune and kept growing strong. Attacked by pests yet doesn't care. Very hardy. (don't use liquid fertilizer)


Banksia paludosa :

Incredibly hardy. Tolerates heavy root prune and growing fabulously. (don't use liquid fertilizer)


Banksia formosa (showy dryandra) :

Was growing fabulously until I left it too long between waterings. Dead.


Banksia praemorsa ‘high noon’ :

Not sure what happened here. Initially did well after root prune, then just slowly deteriorated.


Kunzea affinis :

Lacked interest in it and have moved to the 'indifferent' pile.


Breynia ‘ironstone range’ :

Interesting. Initially this didn't blink an eye after a root prune. However, winter has not been kind on this. It appears there are spots of die-back all over both. Will wait and see how it responds throughout the strong growing periods.


Eucalyptus nicholii :

Beautiful tree. Probably my current favourite Eucalyptus now. Tiny foliage, and responded well to a medium root removal. The trick so far, has been to leave all the foliage on the tree. It hasn't had any die-back and myrtle rust doesn't get hold if you leave plenty of foliage on the tree.


Bauera rubioides ‘candy stripe’ :

Initially responded well after a root prune, but then slowly deteriorated.


Hakea orthorrhyncha var. filiformis :

Excellent. Extremely hardy. Responds well to everything and grows well throughout winter here too. Booming with new growth now.
Not sure how the leaf reduction will go, but a lovely specimen either way.


Leptospermum scoparium 'red cascade' :

Hasn't been great over winter, but has flowered. I initially lost 50% of these after even a careful root prune. But the ones that survived have been battling myrtle rust, but are growing well now as the nights are warming up. Beautiful flowers, as they are smaller than the double petal varities, which makes them more attractive.


Homoranthus papillatus :

One died, but I'm pretty sure because it was accidentally left in almost full shade since a root prune. The other is growing fabulously all throughout winter too.


Agonis parviceps :

One died, as I let it dry out. (head slap). The other is growing fabulously and all throughout winter.


Melaleuca incana 'seamist' :

Fabulous, very hardy and slowly growing during very cold winter nights, and now pumping out strong growth. Very hardy.


Eremophila alternipholia :

Gets savaged by pests, but very hardy at root removal.


Hakea purpurea :

Very hardy, but also getting attacked by pests.


Darwinia citriodora :

Beautiful tree. It did not fair well after a root prune, as the myrtle rust got hold and is struggling. The other, I will wait to repot in about October when its growing strong. But I may have allowed the first to get a bit too dry at one point.


Kunzea ericoides :

Beautiful colours on the trunk. Lovely small foliage. It has sulked since a root prune though, but is slowly looking a little better with some buds appearing.


Melaleuca nesophila :

Haven't repotted yet. Too busy.


Melaleuca fulgens :


Haven't repotted yet. Too busy.


Melaleuca halmaturorum :

The hardiest Melaleuca I have ever grown. This bad boy doesn't flinch after a root prune. It has also grown extremely well and was unfortunately in a strong shaded position throughout winter and didn't really let the soil get properly drained. After all this, it continued to grow, and is now booming with new growth.
Beautiful bark, lovely small foliage. This is the greatest Melaleuca and is now my favourite of the Mels overall.


Leptospermum laevigatum 'foreshore' :

Was a little slow to respond after a root removal. However I probably should have waited until about November to repot, but I was too eager and didn't want to wait that long. I repotted and root pruned 4 of these in February.
The myrtle rust tries to get hold, but they're quite resistent. (disclaimer: I didn't remove any foliage, and I generally do not remove foliage on natives after a root prune now) They are now growing well and all buds have started shooting.
Absolutely adorable bark and lovely small foliage. Some of them have aerial roots too.


Angophora costata :

Gall wasps combined with myrtle rust have slowly destroyed all my Costatas. I will not pursue them.

[matlea]

Let us know how you go with the nesophila re pot. I've got some growing from seed. Had mixed results with lifting after ground growing. But need to repot the ones started and grown on in pots.

[boom64]

Hi Rory ,insightful as usual. Agree with you 100% about the Melaleuca halmaturorum ,fantastic species. Beautiful bark, great size foliage and responds to aggressive wire work without a problem. Like then so much i picked up another dozen tube stock. .Possible to get a half decent bonsai in a very short time. Even picked up a few Banksias.
Pretty mild winter down the south coast natives are powering on ,flowers are a couple of weeks earlier than usual. Hopefully a good season for us all.
Regards John.

[Rory]

Hi Rory ,insightful as usual. Agree with you 100% about the Melaleuca halmaturorum .... Like then so much i picked up another dozen tube stock.

.... Even picked up a few Banksias.

Noooo. You bastard. I wish I had a few dozen more. They’re so cool. I only have this one, but will definitely try and acquire more. However..... I am at a new point in my bonsai life.
I have reached the point where quantity no longer interests me.
I keep my best stock and am continuing to dwindle down my collection so that I can concentrate more on my favourites.

We are hoping to move soon, and I want to be down to about 50-60 trees. I will be selling a lot at the next market day for those interested in unique native material. But my vast native trialling days are over. It’s too much work and detracts my time from my better stock. It’s also a pain in the butt to have to continue checking up on so many different trees and watering / pests etc etc.

As I get older I find its not as enjoyable when you have over 100.
I can’t imagine what it would be like running a nursery.

What Banksia did you get John? Do tell. Probably the best looking are B. marginata because of their small leaves. But Banksia integrifolia ‘sentinel’ and ‘angourie form’ are hardy and also with small leaves. From looking at your regular material you post, you seem to prefer the smaller leaf varieties of natives too, thus my suggestions. B. Ericifolia ‘little Eric’ is very hardy too, and Banksia spinulosa is quite hardy and reduces well.

[Rory]

Let us know how you go with the nesophila re pot. I've got some growing from seed. Had mixed results with lifting after ground growing. But need to repot the ones started and grown on in pots.

To be honest, I may not get round to them.
I’ve already got a lot of Mels that I love, with better attributes than nesophila, but I’ll definitely update if I do.

Trialling natives was to promote their amazing and vast diversity, but also for my own personal gain to try and find new and unique Australian material that make better bonsai than traditional genus or regularly tried species. I’ve certainly found a lot of wonderful Native material For bonsai and am at a stage now where I don’t have the energy to embark on such large scale trials.