They had a few bottle brush and one casuarina that belonged to a student and wasn't for sale, but my persistent looking paid off when I found this. Not that it's the best starter tree, but when I asked about it I was told I could take it for free. I guess it pays to be the only one around that knows melaleucas make great bonsai (thanks once again to AusBonsai and especially to Pup).I'm fairly certain it's either M. alternifolia or linariifolia, I can't really tell them apart even though I have several of both. The bark is a bit different, but I'm not sure if that's because of the growing conditions, or maybe it's actually a different species? At any rate, here are some photos.
Aside from help with a positive ID, my real question is what to do with it. I have four M. alternifolia smaller than this that I've been planning to put together as a forest, just missing a few pieces. This could complete or at least be a focal point for that, but it's also a nice enough trunk to make a decent little shohin, and I'm torn between the two ideas. Any thoughts or suggestions (or virtuals if you feel so inspired) would be much appreciated.
Here are the other forest candidates, after cleaning up a few weeks back. They need lots of growth, but at $1 each, I couldn't say no. Good thing I'm fairly young for this hobby.
