Eucalyptus rubida 'The Deer Stick '

[Ryceman3]

Cracking tree Sno, I'm impressed with what you have done, it has got some great character and movement in it which speaks of where it came from... very nice effort.

[Rory]

Yeah I agree with everyone. I don’t know anything about this species, but it’s lookikg great Sno

[treeman]

Well I have to disagree with everyone. BTW this is no reflection on the abilities of Sno, but it's a gum tree stump in a pot. Not a bonsai. I don't understand what all the excitement is about. Yes the lower part of the trunk is attractive but that's it. How it be possibly be claimed that it is a ''great tree''? Are we lowering standards to fit in Eucalyptus? Let's keep some perspective here.
5...4..3..2..1..and go.....

[Waltron]

Last year I repotted a E. rubida in late October and by May it had become so severely pot bound I lost all the lower branches, they went from healthy to dead very rapidly. Just a word of warning to keep a close eye on it.

[melbrackstone]

I don't think anyone said was a great "bonsai." It was quite clear to me that sno was showing us a work in progress... and as a work in progress I reckon it's a beauty!

[Kevin]

Hello Sno,

I also think this little Euc is making great progress too.
What's your updated thoughts on the deadwood?
Personally i like the directional change in the main trunk and think a nice big rolled over Uro would look great, something like the below image for your native parrots.

Deadwood 008 - 1.jpg

Just my from afar.

Kevin

[treeman]

I don't think anyone said was a great "bonsai." It was quite clear to me that sno was showing us a work in progress... and as a work in progress I reckon it's a beauty!

I didn't say that. I asked how it could be claimed to be a great tree. (see below)
It simply is not that....yet. It is merely a stump of which there are 10 trillion in my street alone. It does not get any better because it's in a pot.
Again, this has nothing to do with Sno or his thread. It's about the observations made.

''Nice tree''
''lovely''
''Great tree''
'beautiful''
''a beauty''
''cracking tree''
''looking great''

[melbrackstone]

but it's a gum tree stump in a pot. Not a bonsai.

you did say that.....and no one else did say it was a great bonsai...

I'll amend my "it's a beauty"

It's a beaut looking stump in a pot that has great potential!

[baldtwitlion]

Is it possible that this is the Australian style of bonsai



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[squizzy]

Well based on the likes this tree has got, treeman should let us know the street he lives in. I'd like to go down and dig up an average stump or two like this.

I think it's pretty good sno. Whatever it's classed as.

Squizzy

[Sno]

Ah the controversy . Well I was going to agree with Mike, that it' is a gum tree stump in a pot . But actually it's not any more . Two years ago yes it was . Now it's a gum tree trunk in a pot . It's definitely not a bonsai yet in the way that people think of bonsai at the moment .
I appreciate everyone's encouragement , and I am pretty chuffed with its progress .the trunk now has character , movement and taper . Things that we look for in a great trunk and it's in pot ( don't worry I've touched wood ) . Not bad for 3 years effort . ( touch wood ) . I am not sure I have the skills or the knowledge to get it to the next level yet ( time will tell ) .
For me it's been the horticultural side that has been my interest up till now . I hadn't heard of some one digging an established Eucalyptus of this size before so I wanted to give it a go .
Hi Kevin . My updated thoughts on the dead wood ? Long term (20 years ) it's got to go . At this stage the story of its origin adds interest.
Hi Waltron . It's a shame to hear that about your tree I was very interested reading your thread . I was gonig to let this one grow longer last year but I got nervous and chopped it back earlier than planned . These trees want to grow . My climate may be more easier to grow them in because my season would be shorter than yours . ( never thought I would write that )
Cheers Sno







ts origins adds interest .

[Sno]

Treeman . Come over to the dark side .

[Rory]

I do love this forum and reading everyones thoughts. Its what makes us all human.

I clearly see what Mike is talking about. I have well over 50 great trunks in my collection but not one good bonsai yet. I probably get a bit carried away and project the 'potential' from the start of a tree (the trunk) and visualize the rest in my head. So for me this is what I was referring to also.

It might end up looking like some of those gorgeous sno gums you have up there 'sno'....with their twisted and wild growth.

I have experimented with ramification and development of branching on many different gums over the years, which I have found is far easier on some species of gums than others.
I don't take on new material anymore if the leaves are too big, its just not worth it and you only end up fighting a fruitless battle. Some large leaf varieties reduce very well though, and others just don't.
But on the whole they don't seem too difficult to bonsai. For my area, its more the pests and diseases that I find restrict good development.

[treeman]

Is it possible that this is the Australian style of bonsai



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I don't think there is such a thing as ''Australian style'' There are just good bonsai and bad bonsai. By ''good'' I mean a tree which ticks the boxes of a sense of age, ramification, balance, movement, naturalness, interest, etc. I don't mean trees which may be seen differently according to taste. If this tree can be made to reach that stage, I will be the first to sing it's praises. I'm not convinced that it will. Not because of Sno's lack of skill, but because I don't think these trees are very amenable to training. I have yet to see a Eucalyptus bonsai which is truly impressive. Usually, they look like trees which are always fighting to do what we don't want them to do. I tried a few early on and none of them worked out. I might try again? If you remember my thread about movement to length ratio, these trees do not want to comply. When training any tree, you want to be able to form branches with total control over them. If you can do that, then you are free to allow the tree to grow as it likes because you know a certain technique will always give you the results you are looking for. If you cut a branch at a certain place, you need it to continue growth from that point, not some other place. I will never say it's impossible but I haven't seen it yet. One of the biggest issues with gums is that most of them fall back on their ability to sacrifice old branches and replace them from young buds so it's one step forward and two steps back. So no not Australian style, what we want is to grow a Eucalyptus which looks like a miniature version of a mature Eucalyptus, not a tree which constantly renews itself from the trunk.

[treeman]

"Rory"

I have experimented with ramification and development of branching on many different gums over the years, which I have found is far easier on some species of gums than others.

So which ones are the far easier ones Rory? Can you show an example where you have say cut a primary branch say 4 or 5 times and have it ramify 4 or 5 times?

But on the whole they don't seem too difficult to bonsai.

So where are they all?
Here's what Google spits out....Dot very inspiring

https://www.google.com/search?biw=1920& ... seGCTuQ2Sc