Callitris collumellaris and Callitris rhomboidea

[bonsaibontanist]

Hi this is my first post on this great forum, so hi to all the forum members.

I have a number of Coastal Cypress pines Callitris collumellaris that were saved from an area earmarked for clearing.
Some of them were grazed by horses and so have compact foliage and others were growing in harsh conditions with full sun in a quarry amongst clay and rock.
The largest tree has spectacular taper and some dead branches and must be quite old (see photos).

I also recently collected a couple of Callitris rhomboidea Bribie Island Pines from sandy roadsides near the coast.
One of them has been run over by a 4wd in the past and has a large shari at the base and and some deadwood at the apex (see photos in following post).

I am very excited about the bonsai potential of these native conifers.
At the moment I am looking after them so they survive transplant and doing some pruning and jinning of existing dead branches.
Cant wait to do some more work on them once they are growing well in training pots.
Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

[Bougy Fan]

Hi BB and welcome. What kind of mix do you have them in - is it really free draining ? I have found that natives like a free draining mix, lots of seasol and sun to survive. My other piece of advice is to join a bonsai club. If you live on the Northside we have our monthly meeting of Bimer at Chermside at 1.30 pm today. Good luck with the collected trees

[Rory]

Callitris rhomboidea loves sun, so I have never had much luck, as we live on the wrong side of a hill.... so unfortunately, they made great Cretaceous tooth picks. The ones I have tried my hand at never recovered from cutting back, and thus I gave up on the species.

[bonsaibontanist]

Some inspiration from magnificent coastal cypress pines Callitris collumellaris south of Wardell Northern NSW.

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