Euc repotting

[GavinG]

I've only slip-potted these up till now, from tubes up to 20cm pots in stages over two years. This summer, I've repotted half conservatively, and half bare-rooted. Search FlyBri's posts for the technique.

E. bridgeseana:

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Thickening well, nice solid base, barking up early. I'm assured that the ugly lignotubers will grow out some time in the next thirty years or so.

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Some lovely colour tones in the fresh shoots. Each Euc. seems to be different, some are spectacular:

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I'm not sure about whether old rugged-barked trunk and immature foliage forms go together - I'll tell you in twenty years when I make up my mind.

Another strong species has been E. punctata:

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Well-coloured shoots:

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And interesting colours in the branches:

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E. crenulata is also growing well:

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Again with beautiful shoots.

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They were kept in some shade, watered twice a day, and did not a lot for two weeks until the heat hit - now they've all gone mad.
Another E. bridgesiana:

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And another E. punctuate:

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I'll be rubbing off most of the buds soon, and keeping only a few to grow long, get fat, and build taper into the trunk. In particular, the lignotuber shoots must be rubbed off, as they will take over, and you will lose the top of the tree. I've cut the trunks back hard, as you can see, and maybe left one branch only - at this stage, and for the next five years or so, I'll be building a thick, tapering trunk with interesting bends. Hopefully by then I'll have figured out what I want to do with Euc branches - they certainly don't suit pine-tree-type flat level branches. Many in the wild have rising parallel sub-trunks, reticulating into almost vertical branches - maybe that's a way to go.

But they've survived their first big hit, and look to be promising. I'll be looking for 1.5 - 2metre growth each year to thicken the trunk, cut back hard each year. I have a few in the ground as well - I'll dig them each year, probably around now, and bare-root them. E. rubida, mannifera, elata and cinerea are looking interesting as well, although in hindsight, I probably should have picked species where the juvenile foliage is not startlingly different.

I've just noticed that this is my 1000th post. Thanks to everyone on this site whose shared information has made it so enjoyable and useful.

G

[woody]

thanks for the pics GG.
Love the euc. bonsai. Great bark texture for sure. Maybe get them into a wider growing pot will help you with a wider buttress.
woody

[Jason]

Thanks for posting Gavin, look forward to seeing where they go

Have just rubbed all the shoots of my few I have developing, after that heat wave a few of the tips strated to die off, causing them to shoot like crazy from the lignotuber's.

I kind of like the gnarly looking lignotubers, think its very aussie they can come out looking very odd sometimes though, like on my Corymbia citriodora... it kind of looks like my plant has 'male parts' I can't think of any other way to describe it