Norfolk pine

[MattA]

A friend bought an advanced Araucaria heterophylla a while back & I have been trying to convince them it would be a great large bonsai. Lots of pestering & Success, At the moment it stands about 5metres tall & very top heavy in a 40cm pot. I plan to cut it down to a cluster of growth at about 140cm high & putting it in a big (90x60x30cm) pot that i recently acquired from another member. From my experiences with other Araucaria I will not be giving this the kill or cure rootwork of usual, rather just teasing the ball apart round the edges & shaving enough from the bottom to fit in the pot.

Is anyone else growing one? Would love to see some pics of other Norfolk bonsai. Any tips or hints for their care?

Thanks in advance
Matt

Ps Pics to come when the big day arrives.

[Jamie]

gday Matty

mate I havent tried the norfolk but I do have a hoop pine which is part of the same family, its around the 40-50 years of age and is going very well since being in my possesion for the last 5-6 years or so. the do shoot out reasonably well and have some good attributes, I have been trying different things to get branch development which isnt easy but being ontop of it enough and cutting back does get branches to shoot back. I have also cut of branches completely with it and they have reshot from the stub.

will get some pics for ya bro

[MattA]

Hey Jamie,

Your experiences with the Huon are similar to mine with Bunya's, in general they are very forgiving but not kind on my hands, thank the mice Norfolks have softer leaves.

When do you do major pruning & repotting?

What fertiliser do you use? I have used Osmocote native so far but wondering if I could use a general fert instead...

Matt

PS Any chance of a pic of your Huon?

[Jamie]

hi mate

yea will definately get pics for ya.

as for pruning it is just as it is needed, I let it grow out then when it gets to heavy thin it out hard. I have done this at all times of the year with no problems. as for feeding I have never used a native mix on it, let alone an organic fert for that matter either, just whatever fert I get that is in my budget and feed it along with all my other trees at the same time, this is done nearly all year round. occasionally if we get the cold spurt I will not fert for a while but it doesnt take that long.

will get pics tomorrow as it is dark now

[MattA]

Thanks heaps bud, it all helps add to the brainbanks...

I really do envy your growing conditions... the bunya's put out one good spurt a year then crawl thru till winter & stop.. I pruned the small bunya earlier (August) to see if I can get any more growth out of it, budding has been good but wont get me a second flush in a season...

[MattA]

My friend ended up planting the tree in the ground but today thanks to freecycle I have a new candidate.

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The tree was collected, at Mayfield in 1995, as a small seedling and repotted into a large square terracotta pot approx 10yrs ago where it has lived ever since. It has been reduced to 2.3m and the roots are a solid block 60cm high & wide. Unlike most of this seasons collected pieces this one will go back into a pot to maintain the fine feeders that are so pronounced in pot grown as opposed to ground grown trees. I hope to be able to squeeze it into a large cream tray I have, it will all come down to what heavy roots I find under the trunk.

I would like to style it as a classic formal upright with apical jin, simple but not easy to pull off well. The lateral branches naturally have a limited life but I think given appropriate pruning a very high degree of ramification will be possible with the allowance that a branch may die whenever it feels like it.

Matt

[MattA]

I hooked in this morning & got to work, from the roots it has been in 2 previous pots & each time was slipped up to a larger pot without much attention to them I would have liked to get a bit more off the bottom but ran into a large fused mass below the base of the tree, it was enough to drop her into the pot I had hoped, all being well I shouldnt have to touch the roots again for a fair few years.

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While the tree did stand on its own, a pair of ropes have been brought up from under the pot & tied to make sure it doesnt go anywhere soon. It will be shortened by about half again once its recovered & growing strongly.