2020 Australian Plants as Bonsai - Trialling Native Material

[Joshua]

CASUARINAS
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They all love sun. If you can provide full sun, they love it.
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Albino torulosa
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The main differences are that littoralis will not tolerate low levels of sun...

Casuarina cunninghamiana

Very hardy, but it really needs at least half-day sun to be in good health.

Hi Rory,

Thanks for the post.
I was considering getting a casuarina at some point. You mention on your "lack of sun" post ( viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18044 from a while ago) that the Cunninghamiana tolerate

lack of sun, too much sun, harsh swear words, children, and dog bites.

But here you seem to suggest otherwise. I suppose you mean it can tolerate most conditions but more sun would be optimal?

I've got a balcony with I'd say a good half-day of full morning sun, or less depending on how crowded it will get .
But in general I'll try to favor species that are the least fussy for the sun requirement.

Would you say that the Torulosa can better tolerate lower levels of sun than Cunninghamiana ?
Also, is one of them more frost tolerant than the other?

Any other specific recommendations for this kind of environment?

(as a bit of an aside, apart from a few things I have going, I'd like to eventually try a melaleuca armillaris, m. quinquenervia and s. smithii, as natives, as well as chinese elm as trident maple as typical beginner trees)

[Rory]

Casuarina cunninghamiana can ‘tolerate’ low sun, but it usually won’t be in great health. Tolerate is the emphasized word.
If you can give the tree half day sun it will be fine, same as Allocasuarina torulosa.

However, low sun is not half day sun. Low sun, means barely a few hours, and combined with strong shaded canopies so that the light doesn’t get through well.

All casuarina want full sun. That’s a given. But if you can give it half day sun, that is enough for any Casuarina.
Sorry but I have no experience with frost, as we don’t really get that where I live.

Most Melaluecas in general do not tolerate very low sun and will usually begin to decline in health.

The best genus I have found for tolerating low sun, including a few species names would be:

Phebalium (squamulosum and variants)
Casuarina (glauca and cunninghamiana)
Leptospermum (lanigerum and scoparium and brachyandrum)
Banksia integrifolia (the best of the banksia for low sun)
Melalueca thymifolia (but get the specific dwarf variant which has dark pink flowers and very short internodes) if you need a Melalueca fix.
Thryptomene saxicola (and also the dwarf variant)
Breynia cernua ironstone
Prumnopitys ladei
Port Jackson Fig

Allocasuarina torulosa will not be in good health with low sun, but will be fine with half day sun.

But if any of these get even half day sun, they’ll be fine and usually in good health.

[GavinG]

Joshua, I have no problems with Cas. torulosa, litoralis and cunninghamiana in Canberra, where the frosts are fierce. If you are growing them on a balcony there is added protection from frosts.

The Melaleucas should be fine - feed then strongly, grow them long to thicken the trunk, then cut them back hard somewhere around June where you are, I would guess.

Best of luck,

Gavin

[Rintar]

Replying to keep saved in my info

Very much appreciated