A tree for all zones and styles

[Scott Roxburgh]

Excellent trees Pup!

I have a question for you...

Which mel. would you suggest for the first step into the unknown, good back budding 'relatively' easy to care for?

also any specific watering requirements for Mels?

Cheers

Scott.

[ozzy]

Very interesting, I'll have to take a closer look at all those natives I pass by on the way to getting the exotics.

[daiviet_nguyen]

Hi Pup,

I like the clump best

Best regards.

[Ash]

G'Day Pup,
Great to see this Pup. Hey I will corroborate your thoughts- they are perfect up here tropical Queensland too. Some of the local coastal ones have pretty big leaves (leucadendra, viridiflora, argentea) but handle the culture well and the nursery cultivars are just great. Up here they really love a god regular drink and must be well watered and nice and turgid before repotting.
Great trees you have- captured so many different Melaleucas I have seen.
Has anyone here obtained and grown Melaleuca foliolosa or M. tamariscina? They have tiny leaves or cord like shoots.
ciao
Ash

[Pup]

Great work, Mr Pup!

It's nice to see all(?) your Mels in the one thread, as well as some photos of your collecting grounds. I look forward to seeing them (and the Pup clan) in the flesh in October - maybe one of your Mels will find it's way into my onboard luggage for the trip back to Melbourne...

Thanks!

Fly.

G,day Mr Fly That is a nice thought. Also that is not all of them. I do have some for sale PUp

[Pup]

Excellent trees Pup!

I have a question for you...

Which mel. would you suggest for the first step into the unknown, good back budding 'relatively' easy to care for?

also any specific watering requirements for Mels?

Cheers

Scott.

G,day Scott I would suggest Bracteata or any of the Hybrids of that one. Ericifolia if you can get it rhaphiophylla.
I consider that to be the best, also quinquenervia, is an excellent one its leaves reduce readily and handles harsh treatment. All mels will handle dry conditions, in nature, but not so in Pots I water regularly.
Some in shallow pots get to sit ON not IN water tray's filled with gravel in summer, this allows them to have cool roots. In the case of the miniatures always on the trays. If it a really small tree then it gets pushed into the gravel which is wet all the time. I hope this helps Pup

[teejay]

Thanks for the info Pup, and the pics (especially the shohin as I hadn't see any of them before). Your mels have certainly pushed me into melaleucas and I've been collecting them ever since. But I just cannot find large material! I have to buy small trees and feed the bejesus out of them. Or air-layer. Luckily they seem to respond well to heavy feeding and I've grown a small stypheloides seedling to around 5 times it's width in one season! So I bought another recently to make a shohin.

How well suited do you find them to field growing? I've put a couple in the ground recently and I'm a bit wary of their roots traveling too far (as natives do).

[Ash]

Hey teejay,
If I grow them in the ground I water them frequently to keep a nice close rootball. stick a spade into the ground round them every now an then. Haven't dug one up yet but I feel the roots are quite dense and in close. How bout you Pup?
Ash

[teejay]

Cheers Ash, will do.

I was going to spade around then a few months before lifting but maybe it'll pay to lift them each year when they've stopped growing, and re-plant them again???

[Pup]

As you can see I have a big open paddock of pre grown. I have never had to put them out like that what I have done is as you suggested Tokay, feed the bejasus out of any that have needed it. The re in the main quick growers when young.
By putting them in the ground and feeding and watering well you will get a tight root ball. That is then an easy preposition to lift root prune and return to the ground if necessary.
Might I suggest if you have sufficient land that you create a swamp or bog garden this way you can have the beauty of a native garden while growing them on.
Also at the early stage put some movement in them as most of the nursery specimens lack.
I have been lucky with a Quinquenervia one of the few I have bought it had movement just needed a prune of some way ward branches and is coming along nicely.

I have been asked many times if I sell. I do but I do not sell my Shohin natives. All tree's that I sell as far as freight goes is up to the individual to arrange.
I will take them to the freight yard but you will have to arrange payment as I am just a poor pensioner. I do have tree's in the Buy sell and swap column.
I hope this has helped you Pup

[Ash]

There is a new cultivar in the nurseries called Minnie Quinnie, it is a dwarf form of Melaleuca quinquenervia, in the pot it has smaller leaves, not sure if it is a weakling or not (some dwarf cvs are) but it might be worth a crack. Hey Pup can your sale plants be sent to Qld from WA? Would like to try a rhaph.
Ash

[Pup]

There is a new cultivar in the nurseries called Minnie Quinnie, it is a dwarf form of Melaleuca quinquenervia, in the pot it has smaller leaves, not sure if it is a weakling or not (some dwarf cvs are) but it might be worth a crack. Hey Pup can your sale plants be sent to Qld from WA? Would like to try a rhaph.
Ash

As far as I know there is no restriction I would check with your local authority first though. Cost might be a factor though. There are some in the sale column
The only requirement when they went to the National Collection was a green snail clearance which I have.
I will maybe look for that one.

Scott there are some excellent. M, styphelioides as Bonsai in Victoria. Also if it possible to get hold of some Copies of the now defunct.
Bonsai Australis there were unfortunately only 3 copies. There are some good articles on Natives in them. In the number 3 issue is an article by the late Nell Saffin on
Melaleuca styphelioides which makes me want one.

Also in this copy is an article on English elm by a gentleman by the name of Max Lehey. Which has a picture albeit BW of a very familiar Broom styled tree.
May be Grant can enlighten us if he reads this.

[bodhidharma]

Well done Pup, have just comeback from a preparation dig...gonna take it up next year and just did some prep work on it, and have read your article. Great stuff, looking forward to meeting when next i visit. May i post a photo of a mel that i have so you can identify? Thanks mate.

[FlyBri]

Hey Mr Pup!

What are your thoughts about approach grafting with Mels? I know the bark can be quite thick and fibrous, but I have a branch that's really close to where it needs to be, and I'm curious if I can make it work... I'm prepared to cut into the 'stock' part of the tree in order to expediate the process.

Thanks in advance!

Fly.

PS: You well know that I'm likely to give it a go before you get a chance to answer.

[Pup]

Well done Pup, have just comeback from a preparation dig...gonna take it up next year and just did some prep work on it, and have read your article. Great stuff, looking forward to meeting when next i visit. May i post a photo of a mel that i have so you can identify? Thanks mate.

Please do try to get a high resolution close up of the foliage if possible even better if it has a flower.
Look forward to catching up as with any one who visits our wonderful State. Pup