AusBonsai

Gave this tree a haircut yesterday.
My intentions to repot before summer came around didn't eventuate, but I will revisit that idea in February/March because it's definitely required.
Not huge changes, probably just elongating the apex as the foliage develops in that area which I think fits in proportionally quite well. I need to get the moss off the trunk also (vinegar will do it, just got to apply it) ... hopefully opening it up a bit to sun and airflow might help with that issue too.

Ryceman3 wrote: ↑January 17th, 2024, 4:09 pm My intentions to repot before summer came around didn't eventuate, but I will revisit that idea in February/March because it's definitely required.

It’s sitting high . It’s quite amazing just how much these natives in one year can fill a pot . You have the branching looking just right .

After 12 months it was time today to repot again for this tree.

Didn't bother with a before shot, but here's a couple of "afters". I gave it a bit of a trim about a week ago because it had blown out again. I'll let it recover for a few weeks and then might refine the silhouette to get it looking the goods as we come into winter.

I like the new angle where it appears to have been tilted slightly, and now showing all three trunks separately.

Such a great and natural looking tree!

it seems like you do trimming of your Melaleuca's in the lead up to a repot to stimulate a foilage growth response before repot, do you find this also triggers fresh root growth. Do you have ay special after care as far as watering, shade, etc... Do you have any Melaleuca repotting tips?

Can you explain the logic for autumn repot rather than spring repot for Melaleuca's.

tgooboon wrote: ↑March 14th, 2024, 8:53 am it seems like you do trimming of your Melaleuca's in the lead up to a repot to stimulate a foilage growth response before repot, do you find this also triggers fresh root growth. Do you have ay special after care as far as watering, shade, etc... Do you have any Melaleuca repotting tips?

Can you explain the logic for autumn repot rather than spring repot for Melaleuca's.

I only trimmed it because the volume of foliage was way over the top. I would describe the trim as "conservative" just to balance with the root reduction somewhat. A lot of leaves and a reduction in roots would throw out the balance, so I reduced the foliage mass to keep equilibrium. I don't really have an issue with encouraging fresh root growth. This will go in a shallow tray and based on previous years I can expect to see roots coming out the drainage holes in a month or so. It goes back in the same spot it was in before. No real special treatment with respect to shade or watering.
In terms of repotting tips, nothing out of the ordinary comes to mind. You can see the kind of reduction I do in the photos from the last repot (2023), it's pretty much the same each time.
The logic behind a late summer/autumn repot is that I get good growth on Melaleucas over autumn ... similar to what occurs during spring so they don't seem particularly put out by having their roots pruned at this time. I have also done it with Casuarina succesfully, and a couple of Leptospermum too. As with anything, whether or not it is a good idea for everyone will depend on climate, environment, after care, tree age possibly etc etc...
The other reason I like to do it now is that by the time I have repotted deciduous, pines and whatever else in winter/spring I'm kind of over the whole repotting gig. At least repotting my natives now breaks it up a bit!