Eucalyptus parvifolia, anyone used it?

[Hornet]

I'm about to sow a bunch of E. parvifolia seed. It has small leaves, very nice smooth bark and i'm think it would make a nice bonsai, has anyone else ever tried it? Would love to see pics of mature bonsaid specimens if possible.

John

[lackhand]

I was just wondering the same thing, and can't find any info on the site. Anybody?

How did your seeds grow John?

[Rory]

Going by a quick google search certainly sounds promising:

Eucalyptus parvula (syn. E. parvifolia). SMALL-LEAVED GUM. New South Wales
Distinctive features of this tree are attractive, opposite, bluish juvenile leaves not much more than an inch long and inch wide. This juvenile foliage is persistent, but the mature leaves, when they come, though longer (about 2 ½ inches), are even narrower. Consequently, this tree is recognizable instantly. The bark is smooth leaden-gray and peels in long strips. Untended specimen are just east on the Recycling Center on Serra St., below the two Angophoras and above the drain, and at 3185 Alpine Road. The latter tree (growing on the site of the author’s radio astronomy research mapping temperatures of the Sun and studying extragalactic nebulae) developed enormously long and heavy branches descending to ground level, once referred to in a Stanford publication as resembling a wave rolling over the parking lot. In its native habitat it endures frost every night in winter and is one of the eucalypts that doesn’t mind living in Britain, though this may be due to ability to survive lack of sunshine as much as to frost tolerance.

I have just bought quite a few Eucalypts from a state nursery, but I must have missed this one. Might go back and give it a try, it certainly sounds like good bonsai stock.

[lackhand]

Well, I just ordered one from a nursery so I'll let you know what I think when it gets here.

[GavinG]

It looks to be good value, keep us posted.

Gavin

[lackhand]

I just posted my maple twigs, so might as well put this one up too.

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The leaves are quite small, and I think these are considered the juvenile leaves, with the adult leaves supposedly narrower. Time will tell. Not much to work with as a trunk. My first impression is that this seems like a good species to work with, although only time and work will tell if it tolerates bonsai treatment well.

It's got a lignotuber at the base, which is a new thing to me. Should I:
* bury it and hope it roots?
* layer the plant above it?
* just ignore it?
* go for more of a mallee style and let it go nuts?

Not really sure, and I've read lots of conflicting info. I'm not in a hurry to decide really though as this just needs to grow for quite a while. The real decisions for now are do I put it in the ground or not, and do I wire some movement into the trunk or chop it and grow a new leader. Pretty excited for my first eucalyptus, though I still want to get my hands of a river red gum.

[GavinG]

No real decisions necessary... Ignore the lignotuber. People go to great lengths to get precisely nowhere with them - they just are. Chop to the first branch, plant at an angle, and grow LOOOONG to get thick. Next spring, cut back hard, pick one or two buds, let them grow long, and thick, keep going. You will evolve a trunk, not design it. Plant it into gradually increasing pots, with good drainage, rather than the ground, until you are happy with repotting - Eucalypts have different rules. A number of growers repot in the heat of summer (when any sensible Eucalypt will go to sleep) - some growers cut off all the leaves at the same time. Some growers get away with bare-rooting with this procedure - main thing is to water 3-4 times a day if you can after watering - called "flooding". Search will throw up some stuff. Best of luck, keep posting.

Gavin

[lackhand]

No real decisions necessary... Ignore the lignotuber. People go to great lengths to get precisely nowhere with them - they just are. Chop to the first branch, plant at an angle, and grow LOOOONG to get thick. Next spring, cut back hard, pick one or two buds, let them grow long, and thick, keep going. You will evolve a trunk, not design it. Plant it into gradually increasing pots, with good drainage, rather than the ground, until you are happy with repotting - Eucalypts have different rules. A number of growers repot in the heat of summer (when any sensible Eucalypt will go to sleep) - some growers cut off all the leaves at the same time. Some growers get away with bare-rooting with this procedure - main thing is to water 3-4 times a day if you can after watering - called "flooding". Search will throw up some stuff. Best of luck, keep posting.

Gavin

I really like the idea of evolving a trunk on this tree instead of growing one. It needs to just run wild for a few years, so that fits perfectly. I'll probably look at it for a few more days before deciding where to chop.

Should I at least keep the growth pruned off of the lignotuber to keep it from becoming a huge bulge? Is a sacrifice branch growing from it a good idea or a bad idea?

Thanks!

[GavinG]

Certainly keep shoots off the lignotuber, because they will tend to dominate, and the trunk may die back... When you cut back, once it has started shooting (everywhere, hopefully) rub off all but a couple, where you actually want the trunk to go. A few strong shoots will grow long (=thick) more quickly than a jumble of little shoots. Then cut them back again, shoot, select, and grow long. While you are watching the growth, you can get a feel for how the leaves and branches naturally group and relate, to guide you when you start building branches.

Gavin

[Roger]

Gavin's spot on the advice. You will evolve an interesting trunk with character.

Re the lignotuber. Certainly leave it. As the trunk eventually thickens, it and the trunk will pretty much blend together into a characterful feature. I've done this with snow gum. The seedling had two lignos separated by about 15-20 mm. That was 25 years ago and now they have swollen greatly, fused into one huge mass, from which the characterful trunk emerges.

I can't be definitive about whether to leave alone or remove the various shoots that will develop from the lignotuber. It depends a bit on the species. Some species will shoot 50 or more stems, but by the end of 18 months you will be lucky to be left with more than 3. I had five for several years (after 50+) - aiming for a mallee look, but slowly the weakest ones died leaving just one in the end. During this time, the ligno developed great character that you could never 'design'. By removing the buds as you see them, you are forcing the one(s) you leave behind to be the trunk. No problem with that either. I do both, though on different plants .

The National Bonsai Collection has a couple of E parvulas in the Arboretum in Miniature collection. It is still too early to say how they are going, apart from reporting that they are growing well in their pots. They came as a bit weak specimens so were left alone last potting season, but will be repotted into shallow pots this year. Otherwise they look great.