AusBonsai

Are you selling any pots of Neil's winner?

I try to propagate every now and then but not sure if there are any left at the moment. They do sell well and a watering malfunction affected that section a month or so ago.
Will try to remember to check the benches.

I try to propagate every now and then but not sure if there are any left at the moment. They do sell well and a watering malfunction affected that section a month or so ago.
Will try to remember to check the benches.

Ok, ta

Thanks for the information Neil.

Yes, your Mt Buller grandi looks like mine. It doesn't seem strong here.

I like the rotundifolium trunk, but I also find them slow. L. obavatum is local, and stronger. I think the whole genus can make interesting trunks given time and some cold-blooded clip-and-grow.

Thanks again,

Gavin

I have a couple of Leptospermum not mentioned yet. L. morrisonii 'White Opal', bought in 2002 as a three year old plant. Has largish white flowers in summer, never prolific but that's probably due to my pruning to keep the tree looking tidy. Has beautiful textured bark. I have never done a hard pruning. Severe trimming will cause some shoots further back at random, but never on the main trunk in my experience. The small branches damaged by hail in January 2020 died. The nursery can take credit for the tree's unusual twin trunk structure (which I love), as they created it by taking cuttings for the next generation of nursery stock. I was put off from trying Leptos in my early bonsai days after being told their woody root systems were difficult to work with. L. morrisonii probably has the woodiest root system of those in my collection, but it's manageable with the help of a strong jet of water and good pruning tools. I sit my Leptos in a saucer of water for some time afterwards (thanks for the tip, Gavin)

The new leaves of Leptospermum nitidum 'Copper Sheen' are coppery red and it has deeply textured bark. Occasional new shoots closer to the trunk than the main foliage, but I have not pruned hard.

This Leptospermum laevigatum was obtained from Grant Bowie as a small plant. After 10+ years of in-pot growth, I was unable to resolve a structure I was happy with. Andrew Ward sorted that out during the 2013 AABC convention workshop.

This Leptospermum lanigerum was also sourced as a small plant from Grant Bowie. I have mostly let it grow its own way, with minimal wiring of some larger branches. it is much less woolly than Will Fletcher's tree donated to the NBPCA, which caused me to question the identity, however L. lanigerum is a variable species and the new leaves do have a fine coating of hairs. I have not tried to develop organised secondary branches - when I look at its growth, it just seems too hard. I am happy with well-placed foliage clouds with 'undefined' internal structure.

Leptospermum obovatum is a case of 'be careful what you wish for'. Trees that grow quickly and shoot all over the place sound great, but can quickly get out of control which is frustrating in mature bonsai. I have let this one (5 or 6 years old) get shaggy to speed up development of woodiness in secondary branches. This one was tube stock in August 2019. It lives in a saucer of water and powers along. Cut back/trimmed a few weeks ago.

Last but not least - a mystery that may not even be a Leptospermum. Some seedlings that appeared in one of my pots, scooped up and grown on in a plastic pot and recently transferred to this 'Roger pot'.

Last but not least - a mystery that may not even be a Leptospermum.

Need to wait for flowers. I have one that also germinated in a pot with another tree. It has also done very well as bonsai. For years I thought it likely a Lepto but this year it flowered and now I am confident mine is a Kunzea.
Yours is still a lovely bonsai whatever it turns out to be.

RuthMcL wrote: ↑March 29th, 2021, 4:22 pm This Leptospermum lanigerum was also sourced as a small plant from Grant Bowie. I have mostly let it grow its own way, with minimal wiring of some larger branches. it is much less woolly than Will Fletcher's tree donated to the NBPCA, which caused me to question the identity, however L. lanigerum is a variable species and the new leaves do have a fine coating of hairs. I have not tried to develop organised secondary branches - when I look at its growth, it just seems too hard. I am happy with well-placed foliage clouds with 'undefined' internal structure.Leptospermum lanigerum v2 (2001).JPG

This one is just going to get even more beautiful as it ages and the finer branching thickens more and it develops out further.

RuthMcL wrote: ↑March 29th, 2021, 4:12 pm This Leptospermum laevigatum was obtained from Grant Bowie as a small plant. After 10+ years of in-pot growth, I was unable to resolve a structure I was happy with. Andrew Ward sorted that out during the 2013 AABC convention workshop. Leptospermum laevigatum (c. 2002) (2).JPG

Oh wow. That is beautiful.

To quote a 70’s term “Strewth Ruth!” You’ve got some lively trees!


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There is a leptospermum stream on Bonsai mirai running atm by Hugh Grant:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97-qK6ni8P0

This was a L. trinervium (never heard of it before) screenshot from the Mirai stream by Hugh Grant from Tree Makers:
This was a collected tree which has been in a grow box with the roots stabilised and reduced over 7 years until this iteration. The design concept was pretty interesting regarding how Hugh defined the "Australian" aesthetic for the lepto, mel and callistemon species. A summary of this was:

- Line based design that centres around blending straight lines with undulating curves
- Australian trees tend to have much more elongated proportions and thinner, lankier trunklines
- Branch lines tend to be more vertical/upright and closer to the trunk
- Secondary structures are similar to deciduous in an arrow formation
- Fine branching tends to be arranged as flatter pads in the lower sections of the tree
- There tends to be multiple apices and they have an upright parachute structure where the branching are akin to parachute strings under a foliar dome