Discussions about propagating from cuttings, seeds, air layers etc. Going on a dig (Yamadori) or thinking of importing? Discuss how, when and where here.
I thought I'd share a picture of my Wollemi Pine cuttings. I would loke to have more, but the other shoots that have come through along the base of the trunk aren't long enough yet to take as cuttings.
Once these shoots get to around the 3-4 inch mark, I'll look to take them as cuttings.
According to one of the head botanists at Mt Tomah botanical gardens, a lot of the Wollemi pines people have in their homes are not doing so well. From the photos I sent them when asking about the best course of action when taking cuttings from these trees, I did receive a few compliments on the health of the tree. They are a beautiful tree and I'd love to see more of them around, and I thought a bonsai version would look brilliant, particularly with the interesting bark the Wollemi has.
Redsonic wrote:Keep us posted on these please; Wollemi Pines are special.
I sure will. I got the tree when they were first made available to the public, which I think was around 2004-2006. I'm hoping to take a few more cutting once they grow out a bit more from the trunk to increase my chances of taking a successful cutting.
Watto wrote:This was shown at the Goulburn Bonsai Society show in 2014 and is interesting.
Did I mention that the GBS show is on again this coming weekend?
This looks like a very young specimen. One of the great characteristics of a Wollemi is its "coco pops' style bark as you can see here:
The branches and leaves on the upper canopy also droop or weep down. I've not seen too many as bonsai before, so I'm keen to work out how to style a Wollemi.
Hi All
It's been nearly 4 years since these posts were made. I'm wondering how bonsai growers are progressing with the wollies as bonsai?
I'm particularly interested in the results of what shape(s) people are imagining for their trees. Do you aim for a 'standard' myogi shape, or have you worked out a way of making your tree look like a wollemi?
When you say a rip off, have you considered that a percentage of proceeds are utylised for current & future success to study and ensure that these trees are kept safe and in circulation. I think it's pretty reasonable to spend $85 on a 150mm potted tree and you can always propagate from it. Eventually they will come down in price and considering they are more scarce then a polar bear it's not too bad.
I say 'rip off' not necessarily due to the price, although I think I read that the portion of proceeds is supposedly quite small. In the same article, it also discussed the supposed survival of the tree was supposedly due to a particular fungus in the soil of the area (which is why the area contains the trees and no where else). Add to that its susceptibility to disease, and you have a very troublesome tree to grow (again, supposedly). From memory, I think the crux of the article was simply that given how difficult the tree is to grow well, that they should be handing out seedlings like bunnings snags to try and boost the growing population.
I hope they do come down in price (for affordability, anyway), although It is nice to know that at least some of the proceeds are indeed being used to better understand them and preserve the species.
I just saw Wollemi at Bunnings for $85 in 15cm pots, about a foot tall. I think the “official” website has them priced higher. I bought one to try for the heck of it. I do wonder about the way the branches are designed to eventually put out a pine cone and then die… might end up with a bonsai that looks like a palm tree.
Great to read about the people giving wollies a try as bonsai. There are at least a couple growers, one in Sydney and one down in Victoria, that I know of that have great trees, now over well 10 years old.
Pruning is as important for wollies as for any other bonsai. There are two significant places to prune for good results. The first is the pruning of the branches. Good results have come from pruning the current year's growth once it has hardened off, say in late January, early February. This should stimulate 1-3 branches from just behind the cut. So, careful selection of where and when to prune will allow you to create your own interesting shape of crown, and keep it that way. If you miss out on that pruning, you may or may not get branching when you cut. Exactly how old you can have a branch and still get predictable results is something I don't know. I do know that trees in the ground will shoot when their apex is damaged, even when the branch is 5 years old, but that doesn't happen very often.
The second kind of 'pruning' you can do is to actually cut the trunk off, and you can use the upper part as a cutting too. This usually results in several to many new 'trunk's' being produced. From this pruning you get the potential to renew your tree and keep it 'small', as well as to produce interesting shaped trees overall. Most wollies that you will see are single trunks with a cluster of long, un-branched branches only in the top part. However, consider that the wild population of something like a bit over 80 trunks may be coming from just over 40 separate roots, and you can see that trunk 'branches' are not uncommon.
Do keep reporting back on how you are going with your trees. We can all learn from your trials and successes and failures.
Kunzea wrote: ↑July 20th, 2023, 9:35 am
Great to read about the people giving wollies a try as bonsai. There are at least a couple growers, one in Sydney and one down in Victoria, that I know of that have great trees, now over well 10 years old.
Pruning is as important for wollies as for any other bonsai. There are two significant places to prune for good results. The first is the pruning of the branches. Good results have come from pruning the current year's growth once it has hardened off, say in late January, early February. This should stimulate 1-3 branches from just behind the cut. So, careful selection of where and when to prune will allow you to create your own interesting shape of crown, and keep it that way. If you miss out on that pruning, you may or may not get branching when you cut. Exactly how old you can have a branch and still get predictable results is something I don't know. I do know that trees in the ground will shoot when their apex is damaged, even when the branch is 5 years old, but that doesn't happen very often.
The second kind of 'pruning' you can do is to actually cut the trunk off, and you can use the upper part as a cutting too. This usually results in several to many new 'trunk's' being produced. From this pruning you get the potential to renew your tree and keep it 'small', as well as to produce interesting shaped trees overall. Most wollies that you will see are single trunks with a cluster of long, un-branched branches only in the top part. However, consider that the wild population of something like a bit over 80 trunks may be coming from just over 40 separate roots, and you can see that trunk 'branches' are not uncommon.
Do keep reporting back on how you are going with your trees. We can all learn from your trials and successes and failures.
Thank you for the advice. I didn't know that. I will make sure to take a photo before I make any changes. I will definitely try to root anything I cut off it. It already had the apex cut off at some point. that might explain why it has a second baby trunk.
