AusBonsai

Hey everyone,
I recently acquired a grevillea "Canberra gem" and cannot find much info on its pruning and repotting requirements. Thought its roots were rather interesting so I'm looking to get in there and sort out the nebari. So does anyone have any ideas on how much pruning it can take and whether i can repot it now (perhaps bareroot?) and if so, how much of the roots can i remove?
Cheers, Bruce

Hi Bonsaifreak,

I asked some questions about Grevilleas in general lately and although some people have had success it seems most on here struggle to keep them alive. At the time I had 2, 1 I pruned back very hard and the other half hard. I didn't work on the roots. The one I pruned back hard carked it within 2 weeks and the other carked it in about 6 weeks. Both were fine leaved like yours.

I was told by the nursery man not to cut back too hard as Grevilleas don't like it. He may have been right. In the meantime I have got another larger leaved Grevillea that I have only lightly cut back and it has been growing well since. I also have kept a 'Robyn Gordon' alive for about 3 years and I have some young plants that I have done root pruning to and not much to the top and they have survived.

So my advice, go lightly on top and roots and don't be upset if it curls its toes up and dies on you. Or, plant it in the ground and get another plant to Bonsai.

To copy an earlier post of mine...

With reference to Koreshoff's Aus Natives book.

Pot in open mix.
Required acid conditions.
Deteriorate quickly if kept constantly moist.
Prefer sunny position.
Short cuttings with heels late summer/winter.
Sow seed in spring.

Finer folaiged rosmarinfolia are more suited to the upright styles.

You can also cut the leaves in half or so to make smaller more manageable leaves.

More here: viewtopic.php?f=80&t=16014&start=0&hilit=rosmarinifolia

I've managed to kill all twenty Grevilleas I've tried, another grower in Canberra grows them very well. I noticed that all her trees are elevated, separated and have good air circulation around them - mine are all jumbled together on the ground when they are growing on. It seems that they are very vulnerable to anything like damp, mouldy, poorly drained or overcrowded conditions.

Best of luck,

Gavin

Thanks Gavin.
Keep the experience / anecdotes coming people.
I've started to compile a wiki page to document it...
Cheers,

Thanks guys for your input. Looks like I'll have to go easy on him then.

GavinG wrote:I've managed to kill all twenty Grevilleas I've tried, another grower in Canberra grows them very well. I noticed that all her trees are elevated, separated and have good air circulation around them - mine are all jumbled together on the ground when they are growing on. It seems that they are very vulnerable to anything like damp, mouldy, poorly drained or overcrowded conditions.

Best of luck,

Gavin

Absolutely my experience. I had a lovely 2m Grevillea that brought honeyeaters to the garden when it flowered, but we had a really wet spring about four years ago and that was all it took to tap out and die on us.