identification and advice

[Ces]

Hi all,

i am new to the forum and to bonsai. I have probably gotten a bit over excited but my mum was doing some work on her farm in the cobbitty area of NSW and there were two trees set for demolition that i had to save. One i have pretty good idea of the species, it's some kind of Persoonia or geebung as my mate calls it. From some brief searching on the forum i have a pretty good idea of what to expect in terms of its survival (i essentially collected it and placed it in a pot with the original soil and a layer of sandstone drainage at the bottom).

the other plant however is more of a mystery... i'm pretty sure it is a Casuarina, however most of the Casuarina in the area are Cunninghamiana and have deeply fissured bark. other trees around it that looked the same age had this bark effect but this tree has much smoother bark (the tree is about 60-70 mm in diameter at the base and i was comparing to other trees about the same size).

it's too dark for me to get a picture now but everything else about it (needle foliage, seed/nut structure) looked the same asthe Cunninghamiana. i will try and get a picture up soon but can anyone take a guess based on this description?

secondly, whilst it has great movement... it's practically a stump at this time (there's one leader branch near the apex that is no use that i have left on to let the tree establish). So... if it is a Casuarina, is it likely to back bud from old wood when the growing season begins?

appreciate any help.

[Dario]

Hi Ces, and welcome to the forum
I am not much chop with id's, but I am sure you will get some help tomorrow (later today? ).
As you know, a pic would really help and you would probably get more responses that way too
If it survives collection, casuarina generally will back bud on old wood no dramas.
Sometimes they can take a while to respond after collection etc so don't give up on it if it chooses to have a sulk.
Sorry, I wasn't sure...have you collected it yet? If you haven't, is it urgent that you get it now? I only ask as some do collect this species in winter and others prefer warmer conditions...see what the experts say tomorrow?
Best of luck and please let us know the outcome good or bad.
Cheers, Dario.

[Ces]

ok, sun is out and i have some pictures to help. Sorry but they're not great and i haven't worked out how to flip pics i've taken with my phone yet.

any way thanks for any advice

2012-06-14 11.38.23 (800x600) (2).jpg

the collected 'casuarina'

2012-06-14 11.38.39 (2) (600x800).jpg

close up of the bark

2012-06-14 11.39.53 (600x800).jpg

the full joog with hard to see foliage at top

2012-06-14 11.41.01 (600x800).jpg

Persoonia Pinfolia (and IKE the bulldog)

thanks again guys

[Ces]

woops, worked out how to rotate pictures before i posted

[kcpoole]

Ha Funny that!
I collected a Persoonia on the weekend too
Have no idea what they will be like to collect, but the bark colour is rather extraordinary!

I did not get much root with mine thos as it was Very Wet and sandy, We will see

Ken

[Ces]

anyone had success with persoonia?

[shibui]

persoonia are quite difficult as cuttings and I'd expect them to be equally hard to transplant so good luck guys.

[MattA]

Hey Ces,
I have tried to collect Persoonia on numerous occasions, it doesnt matter what season or how much root I manage to get. They will push new growth from stored energy & can last over a year but ultimately die because of no new roots forming. I have given up trying & resorted to buying nursery stock, which are also rare because of the difficulty in propagating, even from seed they are notoriously difficult.

I hope it survives but share my experience that you wont be too disappointed when it finally dies.

Matt

[Ces]

MattA-

that's pretty much what i've read since i collected it. to be honest i hadn't even heard of the species until i looked at it for collection.

i think i'll keep it if its sprouts some interesting growth, until it starts to struggle. i just love the bark so much. i think i'm going to water as normal but pretty much not fertilise and just see how it goes. Complete experiment.

However i dont have much hope for it and it's taking up limited space and i'm beginning to like big bonsai more and more.... so if it doesn't push out anything interesting... its going to have to go unfortunately. i might try and replant it in the ground to save the tree. i've read that they like to send roots very deep and are hardy in the wild.

anyway, thanks for sharing your experience.

[Ces]

ok. i think i've found an answer. my first guess would be Casuarina Glauca...

any thoughts anyone... thanks to everyone who replied so far but my original post was mostly about identifying the 'casuarina'.

help guys

[shibui]

I think you're expecting miracles Ces. Casuarinas are identified first by the shape of the cones and secondly by the arrangement of the tiny leaves around each node of the branchlets (the green bits that look like pine needles) which you will need a magnifying glass to see properly. We'd also need to know the district it came from and whether it was likely to be intoduced there or endemic so we could cross reference the species known natural range. All you have given us is a closeup of the bark and a vague pic of a small amount of foliage - not a lot to go on. Some plants can be identified from an internet picture but not all.
C. glauca would be a good guess but there's several other species in your area.

[kcpoole]

Hey Ces,
I have tried to collect Persoonia on numerous occasions, it doesnt matter what season or how much root I manage to get. They will push new growth from stored energy & can last over a year but ultimately die because of no new roots forming. I have given up trying & resorted to buying nursery stock, which are also rare because of the difficulty in propagating, even from seed they are notoriously difficult.

I hope it survives but share my experience that you wont be too disappointed when it finally dies.

Matt

Thank Matt.
I will leave the ones I got for ages and see what happens. Aorund the same area, are many young trees grown from seed, So I might get one or 2 of them as well.

Ken

[Dario]

I have tried to collect Persoonia on numerous occasions, it doesnt matter what season or how much root I manage to get. They will push new growth from stored energy & can last over a year but ultimately die because of no new roots forming. I have given up trying & resorted to buying nursery stock, which are also rare because of the difficulty in propagating, even from seed they are notoriously difficult.
I hope it survives but share my experience that you wont be too disappointed when it finally dies.
Matt

Thank Matt.
I will leave the ones I got for ages and see what happens. Aorund the same area, are many young trees grown from seed, So I might get one or 2 of them as well.
Ken

Hey MattA and Ken, if you guys have had no luck in collecting this species, perhaps you could try layering the more mature ones in the field before you collect them to see if that makes a difference to their survival.
I know jack about this species, but it does seem to have lovely bark and it would be great to have some success Of course, this may not work but I think it is worth a shot, and you may just come up trumps...nothing to loose that is for sure
MattA, I realise you said...

it doesnt matter what season or how much root I manage to get. They will push new growth from stored energy & can last over a year but ultimately die because of no new roots forming.Matt

...perhaps layering them in the field prior to collection (that is if layering works), will give you the advantage of having a young and vigorous root system (new roots) that will also be in their own fresh airated mix...allowing you to essentialy slip pot them with minimal disturbance when they are potted up at home.
Once again, just an idea. Layering may not work, and even if it does they still may not live when separated.
Cheers, Dario.