ace2weather wrote:Great info and I'll take everything on board.
It sounds like I should find a more suitable patient to work with as this one is far too young...
My local bonsai shop want a fortune for plants and don't sell any stock to work with.
Might have to search the local plant shops....
I politely disagree with some of the comments given to you, (just my opinion, and def. not wanting to ruffle feathers). There is nothing wrong with the stock you have pictured. My only suggestions are :
Decide on what you want the stock to look like. Are you going for a tall lanky specimen like you often see in nature, or a thicker, stronger base with low branching. Casuarina has the advantage of having all these traits visible in nature.
I would however grow the specimen in a much larger growing pot and generously add thick pebbles throughout the entire medium to increase the drainage - about 1cm thick pebbles/rocks. I sometimes go with a 30% medium of pebbles and 70% soil. Gives a fantastic drainage, but be conscious of not letting it dry out.
Casuarina will thicken fast if : given full sun, fertilized monthly and NOT allowed to dry out, so don't worry about finding better stock. Just find more casuarina stock to practise and have fun with. They are very rewarding if you follow the Casy basics!
. Don't overwater the stock for long periods, as it can rot the base.
If you intend on keeping the stock as it looks, remove one of the bar branches (branches that radiate from the same point), to remove bulging. Again though, bulging is actually very common on Cas in the wild, as too is bar branching, (each to their own).
If you intend on just 'thickening' the stock, then don't worry about styling or branching, just grow it hard and big, and then you can trunck-chop later below any bulge anyway. Casuarina is best to trunk chop in November / December, and not in any other time of year to reduce die back. Always a good idea to allow the tree to grow as much new growth as it can, as this increases the vigour and in turn, the girth of the base. You only need to prune Casys once or twice a year if you are in the growing phase. And for your stock, I would suggest not pruning or cutting back for 2 years or more. This is why I suggest getting more stock to work with so you don't overwork the tree. Casuarina don't really like to be constantly picked at or 'eaten', as they can overcome this by dying back and starting again from the base in an attempt to combat what is 'affecting' the trunk. But this also will depend more on the particular species.
Remember, a casuarina is like a conifer, as it really requires a lot of sun and relies on this with lots of branchlets for good health.
Just watch for all the sap sucking insects when you have little foliage such as yours. They can quickly decimate a young stock like this.
Unfortunately those who often try their hand at Casuarina often pluck the growth too often, too soon and don't allow the tree to grow, which weakens the tree and makes it more susceptible to disease and so forth and also die-back. Then thinking the material just isn't suitable for bonsai, they give up and move onto a different variety. A shame really that more people don't give them a better go.
Or of course you can get rubbish stock, put some wire on it, make a cut and stick it in the ground to thicken for three years while you learn to play the banjo. In three years you will have learnt virtually nothing about bonsai. The upside is you'll pull the chicks with your banjo.
That me laugh Andrew.
