Melaleuca from SA

[milly.abrahams]

Okay, so I've been mostly lurking around here for a while now and making a comment here and there.
The thing is I've really grown to love what you do with your Mels so I've been hunting for something good in our nurseries and I think I've found one.

[milly.abrahams]

Some more pics...

I love the base and the movement in the trunk.
Would love to get your opinions.

[Pup]

G,day Milly, that looks more like a Callistemon, but they are considering putting them into the Melaleuca genus, some states have done that already, some are still talking about it.

I think they will retain the common name of Bottlebrush though as it hard to break old habits.
Yours has the potential to be a nice tree.

Cheers Pup

[Andrew Legg]

Pup . . . think its a Melaleuca bracteata. It's definitely not a Callistamon. I have one at my place now, but can't read the label as I'm at work. Milly, is it a Joburg Gold?

[Brian Bishop]

Congrats Milly,
On a good purchase.It looks like good stock and should give you a heap of pleasure in the future.
I have attached a pic of what I would do with the tree initially and then grow it on some more before deciding what to do with it stylewise.
Cheers...........Brian

[Neli]

To me it also looks like the trees I bought labeled melaleuka, after Pup infected me with the melaleuka malady. I have several varieties...some like this...some with red leaves and some with yellow (Johannesburg gold)...some are weeping and some are upright. Calistemons in my part of the woods have larger leaves...but then Pup is the man that knows better.
If you want a second tree you can airlayer in spring...my mels are so fast to root.

[milly.abrahams]

Hi everyone.

Thanks for your input.

This was labeled by the nursery as 'Melaleuca' and is what is commonly referred to as 'Johannesburg Gold' by SA nurseries.
Mr Pup we know many of your indigenous trees very well here [some have even become naturalised but that's another topic altogether], and the various Callistemons is amongst that but this tree is not a Callistemon.

Cheers
Milly

[dansai]

It's a botanical nomelacuture (naming) thing.

Callistemon and Melaleuca have near identical flowers so it has been proposed, but not necessarily universally accepted, that all species from the genus Callistemon be moved to the genus Melaleuca.

Most people will still refer to them by what they know and Callistemon and Melaleuca are used a bit like common names like Bottle Brush and Paperbark. The main difference that people use to distinguish the 2 is the bark. Melaleuca has papery bark, hence the common name Paperbark, and Callistemons have fissured bark like yours. These carachterics aren't necessarily botanical distinguishing features as these are largely based on flowers, hence the reason for the change.

It may be that the nursery you sourced these plants from have accepted the name change. Either way it doesn't matter what they want to call it, you have good material to produce a great Bonsai.

Happy Bonsai
Dan

[Pup]

Hi everyone.

Thanks for your input.

This was labeled by the nursery as 'Melaleuca' and is what is commonly referred to as 'Johannesburg Gold' by SA nurseries.
Mr Pup we know many of your indigenous trees very well here [some have even become naturalised but that's another topic altogether], and the various Callistemons is amongst that but this tree is not a Callistemon.

Cheers
Milly

Thank you for clearing that up for me Milly

[Bebbas]

Fantastic response Dansai.

Very gracious Pup....

[milly.abrahams]

Mr Pup, if you were a lesser man I would probably have offended you. I am sorry, it was not my intention.
Dan, thank you for the info.

B R
Milly