Casuarina Distyla Group Planting Starter

[Rory]

Casuarina Distyla Group Planting Starter

There is no hiding that Casuarina are close to my heart, so when I stumbled across these babies. I just fell in love with their bark. They exhibit a beautiful shaped bark that resembles the back of a crocodile. Then it gradually goes up the trunk as it ages. Beautiful. I purchased a stack of these Distyla to start a group planting. I only have a few of these as single trees, and they have possibly become my favourite of the casuarina family. I had to throw these into a Pat Kennedy pot, just for beauty's sake. I do not know much about them, other than they seem to be quite hardy so far from the 3 I have as stand alone bonsai.

The needles are quite thick, about 4-5mm thick, but once you cut the tree back hard, it reduces instantly to about 1-2mm and stays this thickness for an entire season. So far, my other 3 have stayed thin well into the 2nd season too. Perfect!

[Jason]

Looking forward to seeing where you taken them mate

Am just starting to explore Casurina's, and am quickly becoming attached to them

[Rory]

Well... it appears I may have cut the main centre seedlings roots possibly too much, as the other surrounding seedlings have all put out new shoots, but the main parent is either sulking or dead.

I have noticed with this species that they do not initially respond with a lot of growth once they have been cut back hard. These seedlings were about 60cm tall when I cut them back. If you let them go unchecked, they have a slight tendency to grow long and fast, but this can be corrected with slight pruning to encourage back budding.

They are a beautiful tree, and can't wait to see how they respond. The needles are a lot stronger than other family members. I have noticed they appear to suffer a little bit of die back at the ends with this species when you cut back.

I have not seen anyone attempt them before, so not sure if I'm venturing into unknown territory or not, but it will be interesting to see how they develop. The trunk is still quite bendable even on older developed bark trunks, up to about 2cm thick, so it has good potential for styling older stock.

[Rory]

Well, the main seedling is deceased, and he took one of his younger siblings with him, so we're down to 5 in this group. The rest have started to shoot and do well. They are not the fastest of the Casuarina family, but I think having a root trim and being cut back hard, slows them down quite a bit. After another 6 months if they follow the norm of our other Distyla, they should be fairing better. They are a very hardy stock that can survive where nearly all other species would perish.... although I'm sure there is a Melaleuca of some kind that could give it a run for its money. These babies can live in really dry, poor conditions and salt inflicted. The only set back is they grow long and thin, but constant pruning fixes this. Once you see the rugged beautiful bark over a few years develop on these babies, and all grouped together, you'll understand why I persist.

[wattynine]

Mate, you don't need a reason to persist. It's a native, it's an until led bonsai subject for the most part, to hell with reasons, go for it. I have some three year old Casuarinas that started like this from a creek bed, they have shot off like you wouldn't believe. I cut them back real hard last year and they shot back quickly and strongly.
We as Australians need to get behind this native.
Nicely done and keep us posted on this one.

[Rory]

Well...it turns out that C. Distyla doesn't like the same amount of watering as the common variety of Casuarina. That is a shame. The bark matched the pot, so I'll have to wait about 10 years before I can put one in here on its own right. They are fairly slow growing at thickening the trunk...they do tend to grow about a quarter the rate of Cunninghamiana.

I have been guilty of neglecting them a bit lately, having to care for my terminally ill mother. They have been overwatered, because I was guilty of probably watering them too much thinking they were younger and required more water for a casuarina. I now have only one left of this group unfortunately. The other Distylas that I have planted on their own from the same time didn't get nearly as much water and are thriving. I should have realized this when the nursery told me they are so hardy in poor soil and survive without much water in areas where everything else will die, that I should have known better than to water them like the other casuarina. You live and learn, ... my poor casuarinas...

[Elmar]

Well...it turns out that C. Distyla doesn't like the same amount of watering as the common variety of Casuarina. That is a shame. The bark matched the pot, so I'll have to wait about 10 years before I can put one in here on its own right. They are fairly slow growing at thickening the trunk...they do tend to grow about a quarter the rate of Cunninghamiana.

I have been guilty of neglecting them a bit lately, having to care for my terminally ill mother. They have been overwatered, because I was guilty of probably watering them too much thinking they were younger and required more water for a casuarina. I now have only one left of this group unfortunately. The other Distylas that I have planted on their own from the same time didn't get nearly as much water and are thriving. I should have realized this when the nursery told me they are so hardy in poor soil and survive without much water in areas where everything else will die, that I should have known better than to water them like the other casuarina. You live and learn, ... my poor casuarinas...

Condolences on all accounts!

I am yet to 'over' water my trees, most die because they are too dry... maybe we need to swap?

[Rory]

Condolences on all accounts!

I am yet to 'over' water my trees, most die because they are too dry... maybe we need to swap?

Yeah I don't usually over water my trees either, but this one I was worried about taking apart the rootball on such young seedlings, as I had already cut them back hard, and they initially appeared to be doing well. However the soil they were in was probably far too heavy for it and I should have added more sand to the mix. At least my other stock is doing well of these. I did notice that every time I would have to rewater my trees, they were still wet, which in itself is over watering, but of late I just didn't have the time to check each one. This is also a sign that I have too much stock.