[360°] Callistemon 'Captain Cook'

[Steven]

G'day,

I purchased this Callistemon from Ray Nesci earlier in the year after passing it up 12 months ago. It was one of those threes that I always regretted passing up and to my surprise, when I was last at the nursery, Ray ducked out the back where he had it put away for me .

callistemon-6.jpg

The entire centre of the tree, which was the original trunk, is stone cold dead and just crying out for some aggressive carving
It stands 900mm from top of pot to top of tree, is 550mm wide and the trunk is 160mm think at the base.

Click here to see the tree in 360°

If anyone is interested in having a go at a virt, here are some shots from different angles;

callistemon-1.jpg

callistemon-2.jpg

callistemon-3.jpg

callistemon-4.jpg

Or you might prefer the following;

callistemon-7.jpg

I'm considering taking this one along to the Salvatore Liporace workshop at the AABC Convention this weekend. I am however concerned that it might not be the best choice as I don't think Salvatore will know anything about the species. What does everyone think? Should I take it and give Salvatore a crash course in Aussie natives or would I be better off taking something that he would be familiar with like a Juniper or Pine?

Maybe Grant would like to have a go with this one in his workshop?

Regards,
Steven

[Watto]

My two bob's worth - give Salvatore someting that he is familar with, and that the callistemon to someone tallented with Aus Natives.

[Pup]

Here's and Idea Steven not a virtual but one I am working at the moment. No excuses for the Shari wiring just lazy. The carving has to be refined and the hollows allowed to go right to the bottom hole. They are not treated yet, as nature helps a great deal, in making cracks in the wood for you to follow.
That way it is more natural looking. I hope this helps, cheers Pup

P1090940.JPG

P1090941.JPG

P1090942.JPG

P1090943.JPG

P1090944.JPG

P1090945.JPG

P1090946.JPG

[MelaQuin]

My experience with international masters... don't confuse them with Aussie Natives. They may be top notch with what they are familiar with but understandably approach our natives with some trepidation as they often simply don't know how the plants grow. You get better value for money working with a species they are familiar with and leaving our natives to a local master.

[MattA]

Love this tree.. so much potential & so many directions you could go.

I agree that Salvatore may prefer to work with something he knows... BUT.... is the workshop about how to care & grow a species or is it about styling? If its styling then really what difference does it make if its pine, juniper or callistemon?

I know I am showing my ignorance here but maybe someone like Salvatore might actually enjoy being put out of his comfort zone with a species he has probably never worked on before.. Is there any reason why a workshop facilitator cant also learn something from the experience?

J2MC

Matt

[craigw60]

Hi Steven, At the end of the day I guess you have to ask yourself what are the differences between our natives and exotic trees. To my mind they are not great. Basic bonsai practices transcend international boundaries. OK our natives have some different pruning techniques but so do pines and maples, we root prune them in different seasons as we do with other tree species. Their feeding requirements may vary a little from other trees but thats not an obstacle. Salvatore is an accomplished bonsai artist who will be used to working on many different tree species, I am fairly sure that with a few pointers on the vagaries of our natives he will be more than able to work on your tree.
Often the Melbourne clubs drag me out to do talks on native plants and my approach is always to highlight the similarities (and they are many ) rather than the differences. I reckon this approach encourages more people to grow them.
Could be a good subject for a future thread
Craig

[anttal63]

I have to agree with you Craig! It is us that have created the confusion in the past. We now need to leave the myths and legends behind and get on with, that they are trees just like any other trees. Steven i think this is a great canidate to get sorted by Salv. Warning; you are now entering CAT CITY!!! The stuff bonsai is made of. Have a ball i will see you in there!

[Leigh Taafe]

I too agree - native or not - this is great material for Sal to get sorted - should make a fine specimen.
I must admit, however, I wouldnt have thought of taking a native. In fact one person who booked his spot hit me up for some material and I went straight for an ezo spruce.
Either way - I reckon as long as the material has substance (native or not) Salvatore will help you create something special.

[bodhidharma]

I also agree in the affirmative. A master is a Master and if he is a professional demonstrator he would have worked on lots of species. I reckon it would help if you took a photo of one in flower to show him, so he can allow for that when he styles it. By the way, nice tree you lucky Bugger

[bodhidharma]

So Steven, tell us, how did it go?

[Amanda]

Hi Steven, was this worked on over the weekend?

[Steven]

Hi guy's,

I decided against taking this one to the workshop and instead took my Juniper squamata styled by John Naka in 1977. The Callistemon will require a lot longer than a 3 hour workshop to style.
I'll update the squamata thread with some pics as soon as time allows.

Thanks for your interest!

Regards,
Steven

[MattA]

Hey Steven,

I think the water swept idea is the way to go but with your front somewhere between shot8 and 12 of the 360 shoot. Before you do anything tho I would be treating those ants, I find ant sand is the most effective & thorough, then you can rip into it Or you can let me rip into it for you

Matt

[archie1979]

Hey Steven,
They wouldnt be the little buggers you showed Matt and myself yesterday would it. I would use some of the little plastic ant traps you can get from the supermarket I think they are a version of ant rid. You need to make sure they contain permethrin though as its actually less toxic than salt. For organics anyway. The ants look like coastal brown ants from the brief look I got yesterday. You could also try using a chopstick with some bushmans insect repellant on it and push it down into the hole the little buggers are coming from. I dont really know if its bad for natives but in the almighty wisdom the military provides it for soldiers in the field to repel insects and I belive we are pretty native and it doesnt seem to hurt us YET!!!.

Or repot and kill them with a heavier duty killer.

It was great to meet you and Matt

Take care

Archie

[Steven]

G'day,

It's been 3.5 years since I last updated this thread. Time for an update.

I was fortunate to get a chance to do a Peter Adams Design Program on this tree back in July 2011. Following is how it was looking prior to the workshop.

2011 June (a).JPG

Peter and I discussed the tree at length and we agreed that the leaning trunk looked best. He proceeded to sketch his rough design.

2011 July (a).JPG

2011 July (b).JPG

2011 July (c).JPG

After a few hours work the initial styling was complete. The framework has been set with 6mm wire and it's now time to focus on the branching.

2011 July (d).JPG

After a couple of weeks I received Peters drawing and notes for the future development of my Callistemon. The drawing is now framed and proudly sits on my office wall.

2011 October sketch by Peter Adams.jpg

2011 October Sketch and future by Peter Adams.jpg

I commissioned a crescent pot from Penny Davis which I potted the tree into in March 2012. The pot is absolutely beautiful but I didn't think it was the right choice for the tree.

2012 March (a).JPG

The small trunk on the right was always too straight despite Peter and I putting a bit of movement into it. You can see in the picture above that there are a few small shoots that have popped on the branch and my plan was to encourage them to eventually replace the straight section.

6 months later and I shaped the foliage to follow Peters design. I wired some of the secondary branches including some of the new shoots.

2012 September (a).jpg

I pruned again in late March 2013 but then let it grow untouched so it could flower - From Pup's thread Bottle Brush Pruning.

2013 October (a).jpg

With the extra growth and flowers the current pot was really not matching. I looked around for a suitable one and decided on an old Pat Kennedy pot which I had on my bench with another Callistemon in it.
I repotted and gave it a hard prune in December last year and also cut off the long straight right hand trunk at the same time and wired up the new section to form the little apex. The new pot is a better fit but I think there still may be a better one out there somewhere.

2013 December (a).JPG

A month later and the tree has responded really well with a flush of new growth and lots on back shooting. There are some new shoots that have popped on the cut off little trunk that are in better positions to use for the small crown. I'll encourage them to grow and will probably end up replacing that foliage again.

The following picture was taken this morning after I gave it a light prune to shape. I'll continue to work on the ramification, improving the pads and the smaller apex. Also will keep an eye out for another slightly larger pot.

2014 January (a).JPG

Regards,
Steven