AusBonsai

i forgot to ask....

when i planted these tubes - i didn't prune off the roots at all - i get its too late now but SHOULD i have pruned them off at all? or was it OK to just plant them after giving the roots a little tease?

also - with these natives are they OK for alot of sun and alot of water now? or better to let them dry out mostly before watering and not too much sun?

cheers!

I usually give tubestock a bit of a root prune when repotting out of the tube, particularly the tap root if it has one since you want shallow roots, not a big thick one going straight down, but I think you'll be fine to do this later.

From what I've read you want to keep up the water to eucalypts after repotting. I've stuck repotted/rootpruned native tubestock in full sun straight away and generally they haven't skipped a beat. Sometimes the leaves droop a bit; I move these guys to shade for a few days until they perk up then back into full sun.

greg27 wrote: ↑February 20th, 2020, 8:38 am I usually give tubestock a bit of a root prune when repotting out of the tube, particularly the tap root if it has one since you want shallow roots, not a big thick one going straight down, but I think you'll be fine to do this later.

From what I've read you want to keep up the water to eucalypts after repotting. I've stuck repotted/rootpruned native tubestock in full sun straight away and generally they haven't skipped a beat. Sometimes the leaves droop a bit; I move these guys shade for a few days until they perk up then back into full sun.

nice one thanks greg.

After the fact i thought i probably should have given them a cut because i had to plant them fairly deep giving the tubes are quite long. ah well i know for next time now.

will also keep the water up - i've seen in a few threads they are thirsty trees but the soil hasn't seem to dry that quickly yet but will an eye on it and ensure it doesn't dry out.

Remember that you have increased the size of the pot. The soil is staying wet because the root mass is not using all the water you are giving the tree. As the tree grows, the roots expand to fill the pot and you will notice the pots drying faster.

So all seem to have settled well except the red gum that I have bent the trunk.

As you can see the leaves near the top are very limp and droopy. They feel really thin and limp.

Any ideas why? The other trees seem to stand much taller and are more dense.

Not enough water? I watered the other day and there seemed to be no difference thereafter?

Over water? Not enough sun? This plant isn't get more than a few hours I don't think each day.

Quick update. These two eucalyptus have gone nuts. Particularly the river red gum. It has grown quite unbelievably in a short time. The trunk has thickened substantially the it’s shot up with growth everywhere.

The sideroxlyon hasn’t gone as well but looks good. This one seems to have out a lot of growth at the base of the trunk. Is this an issue now? The little bulb at the base is growing thicker.

Thoughts?

River reds are great, I have a few of these now and they're all powering along. I vaguely recall seeing another Adelaide user say that they stand their E. camaldulensis in water all year round (possibly terryb? can't find the post now).

The bulb at the base of your sideroxlyon is the lignotuber; an energy store that's common on many species of eucalypts (and others). I generally rub/scrape off any buds that appear here because any branches here aren't really going to contribute to the width of the trunk, and if they're left to go too strong my understanding is that the tree may decide to drop your main branch.

greg27 wrote: ↑April 7th, 2020, 5:57 am River reds are great, I have a few of these now and they're all powering along. I vaguely recall seeing another Adelaide user say that they stand their E. camaldulensis in water all year round (possibly terryb? can't find the post now).

The bulb at the base of your sideroxlyon is the lignotuber; an energy store that's common on many species of eucalypts (and others). I generally rub/scrape off any buds that appear here because any branches here aren't really going to contribute to the width of the trunk, and if they're left to go too strong my understanding is that the tree may decide to drop your main branch.

Thanks Greg, really helpful. i will pinch off those shoots coming out from the lignotuber tonight. They didnt look quite right so low down on the tree.

The River reds are my favorite species at the moment, growing like crazy!The one i tried to wire and bend the trunk - not doing so well.

greg27 wrote: ↑April 7th, 2020, 5:57 am River reds are great, I have a few of these now and they're all powering along. I vaguely recall seeing another Adelaide user say that they stand their E. camaldulensis in water all year round (possibly terryb? can't find the post now).

I don't currently grow E. camaldulensis but I do stand the two Eucalypts I grow in water year round; these are in colanders though. Given that E. camaldulensis grow on the banks of rivers with their roots in the water, they obviously don't mind it too much.

MJL wrote: ↑February 17th, 2020, 7:05 am Ha! Nothing truer on seedlings or mature tree - that moment you pushed too far! And more frustrating - the times I have bent a branch or trunk .... been satisfied and then for some reason returned later and tinkered a little more and .... doh!! Or a word starting with F.

When I am bending a branch I care about, I now listen and watch carefully .... often you can hear the a branch telling you enough is enough; listen carefully and you can hear a slight crack before it is too late .... sometimes .


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Tony Bebb has said on numerous occasions, when bending branches: "Use maximum force, with minmum velocity" - sums it up really (gives time to register the faintest creaks and cracks).

Hi all
This is my growing river red gin update.

I am growing to obviously thicken the trunk and then down the track chop and grow.

Question is now do I just let this thing go crazy? Or it is better to clip the tips of the tree to not let it get too big and high? What helps thicken best?

Grow way long now, to thicken - don't pinch anything. You're not forming ramification yet. Cut very hard in November or so, plant it at a different angle so it grows in an interesting way, and stand back. Build the trunk for a few years, there won't be any problem with it shooting branches all over the place.

Gavin

GavinG wrote: ↑April 27th, 2020, 4:09 pm Grow way long now, to thicken - don't pinch anything. You're not forming ramification yet. Cut very hard in November or so, plant it at a different angle so it grows in an interesting way, and stand back. Build the trunk for a few years, there won't be any problem with it shooting branches all over the place.

Gavin

Thanks Gavin. Sounds great, and simple!! Appreciate the help.

Update on this river red gum.

growing like crazy at the moment. it has dried out a couple of times but come back strong.

the base trunk is quite thick now i would say 2.5cm in diameter. pics attached. the height of the tree would be close to 180cm.

the plan is still to grow and do a trunk chop - i think the time is nearing for this - would this be right?

Would you also root prune and re-pot at the same time as the trunk chop usually?

You've had good growth. I repot my Eucs in November, cutting roots and top back hard, planting at a different angle so the new shoot looks interesting, and plant it in something bigger if you want a thicker trunk. You need to rub off about 99% of the mad number of buds that shoot - that gives you the chance to put branches where you want them. If you want to keep thickening the trunk, only leaves 3 or 4 growing tips - each one will become long and thicken the trunk well. Because River Red leaves are relatively large, you could aim for a tree 50-100cms tall - grow it hard and long to get a solid, interesting trunk, and remember to make the angles and curves three-dimensional, not just wavy side-to-side. Which is mostly what I did. Sigh.

Please keep posting.

Gavin