Chamelaucium Uncinatum (Geraldton Wax)

[FlyBri]

Gday folks!

Just when I thought I didn't need any more wannabe Bonsai treelets for my overcrowded benches, I came across this lovely Geraldton Wax at the local nursery. I have considered the species for Bonsai culture in the past, but had never found what I considered a suitable specimen. This one jumped out at me with its masses of tiny flowers and lush foliage. The final nail in the coffin was the bendy trunk with plenty of low branching.

G_Wax_Oct_09_01.jpg

G_Wax_Oct_09_02.jpg

G_Wax_Oct_09_03.jpg

The shrub cost me $40, and was about 1m tall before I snapped off the top to get it into my passenger seat. I have subsequently cut the remainder of the long 'spikes' for a floral arrangement. Now all I need to do is work out how and when to try to repot the thing... [EDIT] I have just come up with this little tidbit of information regarding the species. [/EDIT]

Mr Pup?

Updates as they come to hand...

Thanks!

Fly.

[NathanM]

Very nice little plant you found there Fly!! Nice compact foliage, and delicate little flowers. It certainly does have a decent trunk and some decent structure. nice work!

[FlyBri]

Very nice little plant you found there Fly!! Nice compact foliage, and delicate little flowers. It certainly does have a decent trunk and some decent structure. nice work!

Gday Nathan!

Unfortunately, I think I picked the only one without a tag, so I can't tell you what cultivar it is. If I remember, I'll swing by the nursery and track down the specifics. It has by far the densest flowers and foliage of any G. Wax I have seen.

Thanks.

Fly.

[Pup]

G,day Mr Fly with such dense growth and small flower's. I think you might have a Thryptomene.
Of which one I am not sure as there are 20 + there is one from the Grampians though. When you do swing by let know,please.

[FlyBri]

G,day Mr Fly with such dense growth and small flower's. I think you might have a Thryptomene.
Of which one I am not sure as there are 20 + there is one from the Grampians though. When you do swing by let know,please.

Howdy Mr Pup!

You're right (sort of). As you suggested, it is not actually C. uncinatum, but it's not Thryptomene either... Turns out that it is C. floriferum (aka Walpole Wax). In the 2nd worst photo ever in the history of Bonsai Forums (, you will not be able to make out that the sticker on the label says: "SPECIAL RED/PINK FORM". Funny - the flowers seem pretty white to me.

I wonder if I should change the title of the thread...

Thanks.

Fly.

[Pup]

G day Fly I have only seen one of these about 5 years ago as a bonsai it was quite nice. A guy named C.J.Leo owned it I have not seen it since.
He is the guy that grows the Leptospermum Scoparium.

They do come in white and or pink
Pup

[MattA]

Hey Fly,

I picked up a pink form of uncinatum & your thread popped up in a search, then I read & its actually floriferum oh well... any updates on your one?

I also had a look at the link and saw Pup's tips for them... yet another native for me to explore, but how could I resist for only $3

Matt

[Roger]

Hi Fly
Just stumbled upon this thread. It's a bit old. I was wondering how that Walpole wax was progressing? It looked like a great find at a nursery.
Roger

[FlyBri]

Gday Roger and Matt!

Sorry to say that due to circumstances beyond my control (IE: I didn't know what I was doing, and probably didn't afford the tree proper aftercare), the Walpole Wax became an ex-Walpole Wax not long after I pruned and repotted. It could have made nice Bonsai in the hands of another...

Thanks, and sorry...

Fly.

[MattA]

Gday Roger and Matt!

Sorry to say that due to circumstances beyond my control (IE: I didn't know what I was doing, and probably didn't afford the tree proper aftercare), the Walpole Wax became an ex-Walpole Wax not long after I pruned and repotted. It could have made nice Bonsai in the hands of another...

Thanks, and sorry...

Fly.

Hey Fly,

Sounds like more than a few of my trees over the years... kill a few, learn alot and keep trying. I will be taking it easy with this one to begin with, tho best laid plans

Matt

[Roger]

Fly
How sad! Hope you get another one to work on.

When you pruned it, did you do a hard prune, ie leave no green leaves, as one can do with callistemons? Were the roots heavily pruned too?

What other species have you had this happen to? Not wanting to dig up unpleasant memories, but there are some species and sometime just some individuals that are very sensitive to pruning and root pruning. It will be good to document which ones.

Roger

[shibui]

Spot on Roger. We can learn as much from failures as from success so to everyone - please, please update ALL threads where things went wrong and list the circumstances so we can draw conclusions and perhaps not repeat the same mistakes.