natives

[hugh grant]

hey guys

ive been asking alot of questions lately about natives and collecting them. the reaon is because i havnt had any experience with collecting native species and i want to learn as much as i can about it with natives and different native species. so i thought i would make a post and anyone who knows anything about collecting natives and about different species like casurina and bottlebrush to others like eucalyptus, you can tell me here. so if any of you know anything please let me know and if you know any other info it would be great to know aswell
Thanks so much for everyones previous help, i just want to learn as much as i can.
thanks again

Hugh

[Jamie]

hugh, i have found ficus to be one of the easiest trees to collect, they can take a beating and still come back. i have also seen clerodendrum dug with seemingly no ill effect.
as for casuarina i have tried two trees, and had two failures. they just dont seem to like me for some reason, as much as i would like them to.
eucs i have never tried to dig nor bonsai but am more and more finding myself drawn to getting a couple of trees and trying them, whether they are dug or bought not sure yet, i think the biggest prob with eucs is the tap roots they can produce being rather large? i cant be qouted on that though due to having no experience with them!


hope this helps a bit


jamie

[MelaQuin]

Clerendendron is not a native... of Australia, at least. Since one of its common names is "Indian Privet' it is no wonder it is easy to collect.

The problem with collecting natives is the feeder roots tend to be a long way from the trunk. The successful collecting rate is about 5%. The best places to collect for the best chances of survival are in moist areas where the roots will be closer to the trunk. Another option is to 'cultivate' the tree you want to collect by keeping it well watered and fed around the trunk to encourage roots to develop close in. But that is presuming it is convenient and not at the end of a 30 km walk on a one day visit.

Riverbanks and boggy areas would offer more opportunity for success but in dry areas your chances are slim. You do know that you need permission to collect from government or private lands. Stealth can be successful but the best specimens would naturally grow in public places. Took a two kilometre dog walk in a secluded area where I could have lifted a 30' tree and been unseen and there was nothing, absolutely nothing, worth collecting. Murphy strikes again.

Your best spots to collect natives would be rundown nurseries and country nurseries where older stock would be stashed because it is overgrown and out of fashion.

[Jamie]

i wasnt aware clero wasnt a native, i thought it was my bad!


jamie

[lowlegs]

Try fius rubiginosa or macrophylla there pretty easy to grow,next one would be a leptospermum or tea tree they seem pretty willing participants to bonsai but can only handle one thing at a time ie wiring repotting etc i recommend giving it a bit of time before you get into trees like eucos, just wait till your survival rate is good. also never give up on them (natives)for ive had trees that have lost their leaves and gone dorment for several of months and then have sprouted new shoots just keep an eye on the roots to see theyre makin new ones...cheers

[Joel]

Hi all,

Mel, there are most definitely Clerodendrum species native to Australia. One such example is C. floribundum, which extends down into NSW. There are more up north too. As far as i know, all species can be used as bonsai. Here is a map showing where C. floribundum can be found in NSW. http://pngplants.org/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?p ... loribundum

Hugh, I have collected Ficus, Casuarina, Angophora and Acacia successfully. I have never had trouble with Casuarina, though they were under 3 years old. I just removed wire off the trunk of one and wired its branches. It is a literati. The Angophora were A. costata, and they were also young. The Acacia was just a seedling when i collected it. All came up as seedlings in my backyard. There's also some Eleocarpus (blueberry ash) popping up now that im considering grabbing.

Joel

[bodhidharma]

Hello hugh. If you prepare natives ,as Mel said, then you can collect them virtually the same as other trees.Living on a property makes it easy for me. I start by digging around half the tree to be taken and severing through the large roots. I will then feed the tree close to the trunk and cover it back over. 6 moths to a year later i do the other side. i have collected a 30 year old Toralosa quite easily with this method.

[hugh grant]

tyhanks everyone all your information is helpfull thanks
heres another one: how does bottlebrush goe and with collecting and all , any info.

Hugh

[MelaQuin]

Now you have opened a can of worms re Clerondendrum - I have checked your link and did not realise that we also have them as natives. Interesting. Then I did a very brief check on what mine is billed as, 'Clerondendrum inerme', and the leaf and growing habit is nothing like the tree I have. I really wish botanical sites would show good photos of bark, adult growth, leaves and flowers. Good as in clear and definitive. Guess I'm up for some research when the mood strikes. Thanks for the info.

[shibui]

Hugh,
Callistemon "bottlebrush" make good bonsai. Try the Ausbonsai search to see what others have been doing. Pup has some really great callistemon bonsai, some collected from a park in Perth that he has shown on ausbonsai. At last year's native show in Canberra the demo was on callistemon that was collected from a supermarket carpark garden bed that was being being demolished.
Here's my attempt at callistemon. Trained from a tubestock seedling.

[Jamie]

Now you have opened a can of worms re Clerondendrum - I have checked your link and did not realise that we also have them as natives. Interesting. Then I did a very brief check on what mine is billed as, 'Clerondendrum inerme', and the leaf and growing habit is nothing like the tree I have. I really wish botanical sites would show good photos of bark, adult growth, leaves and flowers. Good as in clear and definitive. Guess I'm up for some research when the mood strikes. Thanks for the info.

i am with ya on that mel, i was under the assumption mine was inerme to but looking at that pic of the leaves on the site it seems that its not, the leaves on mine are far narrower, it is a clero of some sort though, hopefully Rod or Shannon can jump in here because i know they would know what is which.
i will PM them

jamie

[Jamie]

actually after a bit of research it seems inerme is the only match in leaf style. mine have longer narrower leafs than anyother species show and is supposedly native to aust?


jamie