Melaleuca bracteata

[Craig]

Thanks Jamie, Agree to Disagree Great advice , none the less, Cheers mate

[Jamie]

gday craig

sorry if I seemed quite front on with my opinion, I didnt know any other way of saying it! so yea it is just my opinion on the tree in situation

[GerhardGerber]

Hi All

We had a long weekend, so Friday was was my potting.re-potting day for the spring....or at least my first since I didn't get to everything and all the trees aren't ready yet.

The Melaleuca was a problem, as expected the (big) nursery bag was full of roots. The biggest problem was 2 huge roots on the side of the dead trunk that were also dead.
The roots were a mess, while sorting this out and removing the dead roots from the mix I was forced to remove more than I wanted, probably 2/3's

It's been growing strongly, back-budding everywhere, but today the new growth is wilted and most of the old leaves on top are dead already.

I don't think I could've handled it any other way, it was not material worth taking 3 years just on the roots, I gambled and I think I lost, but time will tell.

There were some new roots close to the trunk, so I have some hope at least, if it survives and all the top dies off it's no great loss.

Cheers
Gerhard

[Craig]

Circumstances gerhard, did it dry out too much, was it hotter more sunny today, did you fertilise it at all , are you saying that after repotting it was ok then 2 days later it wilted?, if so i wouldn't worry too much just yet,. Questions and answers

[GerhardGerber]

Hi Craig

My "display area" is a bit problematic (rented flat) so I moved all the repotted trees twice a day to avoid the sun, today I'm back at work so so they had to endure about 2 hours of full sun.
The potting mix is sand, cut/shredded coconut hair, some bone meal and pelletised chicken poo - not enough to burn roots I think.

Sorry, I was a bit unclear - there was lots of new growth following the last photo.

It had wilted a bit by Saturday, by yesterday the top growth looked mostly dead. Lower new growth is still wilted but alive.

[Craig]

, sounds like maybe you've overdone the sun a little , pinch out the wilted parts and if you are moving the pot around make sure the tree is not moving .tie it in or something so the trunk stays fairly still while it recovers. As long as it is receiving good light ,not necessary to have full sun yet really,These day i dont move my trees around chasing the Sun, it's not really worth the time wasted,, keep it well watered ,personally i'd be staying clear of any more bone meal and pelletised chicken poo for the time being aswell.,, It hopefully will recover but might take a few weeks

[GerhardGerber]

Hi Craig

Thanks, the mix is light on the fertilizers, done on purpose when I saw what I had to do with the roots.

I had one thought after my last post: I believe bone meal is a source of phosphate.......and I seem to remember something about Mel's not liking phosphate?

As of this morning most of the new shoots are dead & dry, BUT there is still some hanging on, so let's hope.

[Pup]

Gerhard put it in a water tray with some vitamin B as in Barroca, or Seasol if it is available. When so much root work has been done to a Melaleuca you have to treat it like a collected tree it needs to stay in water for about a week.

Melaleuca bracteata are one of the hardiest species and do take a lot of hard work and rebound well. You tree is just sulking after working so hard.

They will shoot back very well. Never assume a Melaleuca is dead until the wood has completely dried out. I have had them shoot back after 18 months. I have one here now that if any one else looked at it they would throw it out ( eh! Craig ). It is still Green underneath so there is life there.
Will post some pics for you tomorrow.

Cheers Pup.

[Craig]

. I have one here now that if any one else looked at it they would throw it out ( eh! Craig ).

Yep, dead as a doornail, now, give it a few more weeks maybe longer and