Seven Little Natives

[gr8bookworm]

Hi all,

As I have renewed my interest in Bonsai I have taken a bit of a fancy to natives (mostly due to some of the trees I have seen on ausbonsai)

I paid a visit to the local council Native Nursery (Sutherland Shire) and purchased seven little $2.10 seedlings. I am going to put them into a larger black plastic pots with a mixture of bonsai potting mix, some river sand and some zeolite to give them some more soil to grow in and keep the water up to them. I plan to just wire the main trunk to get some shape into them before they get too big, is this the correct thing to do now?

I purchased the following species (mostly beacause I either liked the look of the tree or beacuse they were local to the area) and wanted to ask if any or all of them were totally unsuitable for Bonsai as I have no idea?

Allocausurina Diminuta (She Oak), found locally only in West Menai in Ironstone Heath in dry sandy or rock locations. They say it is a rare slow growing, long lived species

Allocasurina Littoralis (Black She Oak)

Tristanlopsis Laurina (Water Gum)

Callicoma Serratifolia (Black Wattle)

Elaecarpus Reticulatus (Blueberry Ash)

Banksia Spinulosa (Hairpin Banksia)

Callistemon Citrinus (Crimson Bottlebrush)

I plan on taking some pics later today and posting them in the progession section so I can keep a track of them and hopefully one day allow other newbies to benefit from them?

If anyone can offer some guidance on what to do to care for and shape these trees it would be greatly appreciated.

Mark

[Edward Scissorhand]

Well done mate!! Cant wait to see the photos.

[shibui]

Don't forget to feed them regularly. the banksia should be the only one I'd use a native fertiliser on. The others should grow better with quite heavy applications of any fertiliser you have available. the more they are fed the quicker they will develop worthwhile trunks.
I'd start looking for examples of these species as natural trees to get a feel for the shapes they naturally assume as a starting point for plans for shaping. The banksias I've worked with (have not tried spinulosa yet) and all the callistemons shoot well from older, bare wood so don't be afraid to let these grow long and big then cut back hard to get a good shape. Have not worked with the other species enough to mke recommendations but use the search button (top right) to gather info already posted and Australian Native Plants as Bonsai group of Australian Plant Society may have some info as well.
Native bonsai show in Canberra in March would be a great source of inspiration and info too - Find the thread on Ausbonsai or see Canberra Bonsai Society website for details.

[MikeB]

Thanks for highlighting the 8th Exhibition of Australian Natives as Bonsai Mr Shibui (Canberra - March 19 and 20). It is indeed a great opportunity to learn more about Aussie natives as bonsai - especially this year as there will be a symposium associated with the exhibition specifically focussing on styling Australian native trees. The symposium will bring together a number of bonsai artists experienced in growing Australian Natives - a valuable source of knowledge, inspiration and challenge. It is being held in the Australian National Botanic Gardens - another avenue through which insight into Australian native trees - in their natural form - can be gained. Visit http://www.cbs.org.au for more information.

[Roger]

Hi Mark
A great list to start your journey with native bonsai. All but the A. diminuta have been recorded as being used as bonsai by the Aust Plants as Bonsai Study Group. A dimin is a bit more widely spread than you note, though subspecies mimica may be what you have. It is reported from the Sydney are and also the Central Tableands (Blackheath to Taralga and Bundanoon). Look forward to seeing what you do with this one. I'll add it to the Study Group records with your name against the 'first record'.

B spinulosa is naturally as shrub with usually fairly slender stems, so you are unlikely to get a bonsai with robust trunks as you would with B serrata (saw banksia) or B integrifolia (coast banksia). There are two broad forms of B s: one from the coastal fringe where it grows with a lignotuber and is usually shortish, say to 1 m or so high, and the other form from a bit further inland and up onto the escarpment which grows without a lignotuber and is usually more slender and taller. There are quite a few cultivars: eg 'birthday candles' (great little bonsai and flowers well too) from the coastal form, and 'Giant Candles' from the inland form. Developing side branches might be a bit more challenging than with the tree banksias, but is possible and worth the work.

You'll find photos of some of these species as bonsai on the ANBG web site (http://anbg.gov.au/bonsai/ ). These are from the National Exhibition of Aust Plants as Bonsai - mentioned in other responses in this thread. If you can get to Canberra for the 8th Exhibition and the new Symposium, you'd probably enjoy it.

Your plan for growing them for awhile is a good one. People usually try to put them in bonsai pots too soon, thus not allowing the development of a good trunk. Pot them up into progressively bigger nursery pots for a while, shaping as you go.

Roger

[gr8bookworm]

Thanks for the info Roger, exactly the type of info I was after. All the tubes have been re-potted, might just grow the Banksia in the garden?

I'll get the pics up soon.

Mark

[Roger]

Mark
Here is a bit of a grainy image from my mobile of my Banksia 'Birthday Candles' with a few flowers. It is a couple of years ago and was about 15 years old.