Melaleuca decussata - a continuing story

[Matt S]

Last week during the Bonsai Reshaped event at the NBPCA there were a couple of demos at the After Dark presentation. Tony Bebb worked on a large cascading juniper and Marcella Ferreira shaped an advanced Mel. decussata. Long story short, I fell in love with the Mel and ended up buying it during the auction at the end of the night. Back in the hotel room later that night I searched ausbonsai to see if there was any advice for this particular species, and I came across the following thread: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10363.

So the tree started with the talented PeterH, was purchased for the demonstration and is now in my backyard in Adelaide. So I've started a new thread to continue the story. Here it is in the original and the new angle as it was at the end of Marcella's demo.

Mel Apr 2022 orig.jpg

Mel Apr 2022 tilt.jpg

I won't do much for a while, just let it settle down and get used to the Adelaide water (yikes). I'm keen to get it into a new pot but that will have to wait as it needs a rest and put on some new growth.

Matt.

[Sno]

This tree is definitely getting a pedigree . Looking forward to seeing your direction .

[PeterH]

Hi Matt,

Hope the continuing progression goes well.

Regards,

Peter

[Matt S]

Thanks Peter. Sorry I missed you on the weekend.

It's a lovely tree and I look forward to working with it.

Matt.

[boom64]

Fantastic decision to buy this one Matt . Will enjoy the updates as it moves on. Have two myself and boy , they certainly can put on a lot of growth in a short amount of time. Cheers John.

[terryb]

Saw the tree last evening and the photographs don't do it justice. The bark is wonderful! I can see why you fell in love with it and I look forward to seeing where you take it Matt

[Matt S]

A few months ago I commissioned a new pot from Luke Parsons, and since the Melaleuca was looking healthy and putting on lots of new growth, I decided to repot back in November. It has since put on enough new growth to justify a light trim so it's now looking good for Summer.

Mel Dec 2022 repot.jpg

It's sitting a bit high in the pot but I didn't want to take off too many roots in one sitting, especially since the planting angle was changed, so I'll lower it further on the next repot.

Matt.

[fae]

Lovely tree complemented by a great pot.
Fiona

[Stuartxt]

Nice tree Matt, I look forward to seeing its journey.

[Pearcy001]

Looking great in a fresh set of wheels Matt! Wondering if it will it be tilted back up toward the new planting angle at next repot? Seems it's gone back toward the original angle when it went into the new pot, making those lower branches appear on level in photos again - trees always look different in photos to the flesh. This trees a great pick up, I'm jealous haha.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

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[Matt S]

Wondering if it will it be tilted back up toward the new planting angle at next repot?

Hi Pearcy,

Yeah, it needs to be tilted a bit more. The roots were quite lopsided and I didn't want to take off any more. But looking at the comparison photos, it needs to tilt more than I thought at the time!

Matt.

[Pearcy001]

Wondering if it will it be tilted back up toward the new planting angle at next repot?

Hi Pearcy,

Yeah, it needs to be tilted a bit more. The roots were quite lopsided and I didn't want to take off any more. But looking at the comparison photos, it needs to tilt more than I thought at the time!

Matt.

This happens to me on 90% of my repots haha.

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[PeterH]

This was the tree in 2011 12 months after the initial styling

[kcpoole]

What a lovely tree and Pot!
Ken