THE MEL PROJECT

[Ryceman3]

Another question if I may. Are you reducing the tops as part of your repotting/root work?

Not a lot of foliar reduction for the most part terryb. I did do some though, as I had a number of leaders well over a metre in length, and these get very annoying after a while on my racks. Those got cut down a bit to get them beck in control - it will probably mean thickening is a little slower but I have to make that compromise. In an ideal world (where I have actual space) I think I would have preferred to leave as much on as possible. I have wired the lowest trunk sections for movement, which is set for the majority of these so now I really want to thicken as much as possible before I chop back to regions near this movement and move into the next stage of development. I think I had enough root mass left after repotting to accommodate the foliage above on the healthier, more robust trees without any need to reduce the tops so I would've left it all if I had a choice. They'll still be fine regardless, just a little slower.

[Ryceman3]

With one day to go until winter - here is an "end of autumn" update for each of the species I have going in this project. The pics are of trees I consider average (in terms of size/growth) for each kind. I expect growth to slow down, but not stop over winter and then back into it in spring.

Mel Proj_1.jpg

Mel Proj_2.jpg

Mel Proj_3.jpg

Mel Proj_4.jpg

Mel Proj_5.jpg

Mel Proj_6.jpg

[Ryceman3]

It's been a while since I've done any updates on this thread, so since I repotted a few today I thought I'd show how they are travelling.
Generally happy with the development of all these guys ... I can see how thickening could be achieved a lot quicker with more room, but unfortunately I am limited both with bench space (isn't everyone?) and also how tall I can let things grow. It means I lose quicker thickening of the trunk as I need to check the heights of my sacrifice branching and therefore lower their impact.
Anyway, today's repots were for the M. Stypheliodes. Given all I said above, I included a few close up shots of the bases that show how much the sacrifice branches are still being effective, as well as the value of creating these sacrifice branches down low on your base (not just growing out the apex/top branching. I'm expecting them to almost double in thickness by this time next year ... and that's where things should start to get a bit more interesting.

Mel Styph-RP IG_2.jpg

Mel Styph-RP IG_3.jpg

Mel Styph-RP IG_1.jpg

Mel Styph-RP IG_4.jpg

Mel Styph-RP IG_5.jpg

[terryb]

Thanks for the update R3. One of the advantages of using young material and cranking the curves in early. The few I have are getting very tight and really need a bit of TLC.

[Ryceman3]

A couple more repots.
These ones below are the M. Cuticularis ... going well, I particularly like the windswept looking clump style thing in the second image.
Again ... low sacrifices are doing some good stuff on a lot of these.

Mel Cut-RP IG_1.jpg

Mel Cut-RP IG_2.jpg

[Ryceman3]

Next up are the M. Halmaturorum ... slightly slower than some others.
I cut back one in January to see what would happen and the back budding was pretty decent. This goes against what has been documented about this species in relation to backbudding so either it isn't an issue when they are young, or these are something else ... dunno!

Mel Halm-RP IG_1.jpg

Mel Halm-RP IG_2.jpg

[Ryceman3]

Last post for this repot session ... M. Nesophila
Also not as prolific as some of the other species but hanging in there.

Mel Neso-RP IG_1.jpg

[Ryceman3]

Final repot session this afternoon to get the M. Rhaphyiophylla into some new mix and slightly bigger containers to continue to grow.
Of the mels I have right now in this project, these and the M. Cuticularis are probably my favourites. Bark is already beginning to develop and they have put on some nice girth. I think a few of these will develop into some pretty nice trees if I can keep them on the right path.

Mel Rhaph-RP IG_1.jpg

Mel Rhaph-RP IG_2.jpg

[Ryceman3]

Update on a few of these Mels ... it's been a while but the recent discussions on styling and repotting natives in other threads reminded me.
I think I did a pretty reasonable job of showing my repotting process in a few earlier posts for those interested, so maybe have a look back through if you want a reference. There are many ways to skin a cat, so this is just what I do.
Anyway ... the trees. Heading towards a repot for some in a couple of weeks...

MelProj IG_01.jpg

MelProj IG_02.jpg

MelProj IG_03.jpg

MelProj IG_04.jpg

MelProj IG_05.jpg

MelProj IG_06.jpg

[Ryceman3]

Update on a few of the M.stypheliodes after a bit of a cut back below.
Things are taking shape, although generally when I look at these "day to day" I don't really see a lot of advancement, which is why it pays to have a progression thread I guess! Lots of growing out, then cutting back right now to try and build a bit of volume/ramification.
Rather than a "before" shot, I have put a picture of each tree from above after the "front" image which I think helps to show the distribution of foliage and the trunklines a little better.

MelFrSeed_Mel Styph IG_01.jpg

MelFrSeed_Mel Styph IG_02.jpg

MelFrSeed_Mel Styph IG_03.jpg

MelFrSeed_Mel Styph IG_04.jpg

MelFrSeed_Mel Styph IG_05.jpg

MelFrSeed_Mel Styph IG_06.jpg

[Ryceman3]

Jumped back onto these in the last couple of weeks but just getting around to posting the updates.
First up are a few of the M. cuticularis.
These have had a pretty decent cut back on the whole, expecting some reasonable back budding based on past years but it's always a bit disconcerting to remove a lot of foliage. Nevertheless, that's what happened!
Very hard to get good photos of these but on the whole they have some interesting bends and curves developing that I hope will put them in good stead as the smaller branching grows in and things start to come together in the next few years.

MelCut_01 IG_02.jpg

MelCut_01 IG_01.jpg

MelCut_02 IG_02.jpg

MelCut_02 IG_01.jpg

MelCut_03 IG_02.jpg

MelCut_03 IG_01.jpg

MelCut04 IG_01.jpg

MelCut04 IG_02.jpg

[melbrackstone]

Wow, such great examples of why our native plants are just so perfect for bonsai.

[Ryceman3]

Wow, such great examples of why our native plants are just so perfect for bonsai.

Thanks Mel, I think so too!
There is a lot to like about many of the natives we have on tap to explore as bonsai subjects, and I'm not just talking about melaleuca (although, technically in this thread ... I am!). In any case, a couple more.
These are M. stypheliodes, quite a bit smaller than than the M. cuticularis, these are both within shohin size. I've recently removed the sacrifices I had building their bases and will now let them kick back in to growing with a loose plan to repot onto a proper pot in a month or so.

MelStyph01 IG_01.jpg

MelStyph01 IG_02.jpg

MelStyph02 IG_01.jpg

MelStyph02 IG_02.jpg

MelStyph02 IG_03.jpg

[Patmet]

That clump is a beauty. That is going to be a very interesting tree. Bright futures ahead for these.

[Nickbb]

1st pic posted on the 13th, m.steph!