What do you think is the staple Australian Bonsai species?

[Rory]

Man! Some of the material you see just on the side of the road is gold. However I have dug a few in the past, even on my own property, but not many.

When I started seriously growing casuarina, it was very hard to acquire good stock, but eventually over the years, some council nurseries and/or bonsai nurseries in my area had ample stock to choose from that I just bought stock from them instead.

Because they don't have noticeable flowers, they are often overlooked as material by the average gardener, who usually prefers the native floral displays of callistemon/euc/banksia etc. But for their trunk and foliage casuarina are just gold for bonsai.

Just to spice it up as well. Corymbia citriodora has got to be the most impressive of the Euc/corymbia family I know of. Its prolific in your area, and I highly recommend them. They are very hardy, and the aroma they give off is spectacular. You can smell the leaves from 20cm away, you don't even have to crunch them up or touch them. If you do, the scent is so much stronger too. It is also one of the easiest native material to work with in my opinion. The leaves reduce very well and they tolerate many soil conditions. It will thicken quickly and is reasonably resistant to myrtle rust as long as its not a seedling. The trunk develops a nice gnarly look to it over time too.

[Charliegreen]

Your awesome Rory, Many thanks for the Info. Should be a sticky

[GavinG]

Sheepdawg, I don't have any fit to photograph, but if you search Eucalypts, Eucs, and Gums there are a number of mature bonsai on this site. Give me another 10-20 years or so. PeterH and FlyBri are some of the main culprits.

Gavin

[Sno]

I've seen some of Gavin's eucs and while they are still stock he is taking the time to make interesting trunks . Some of the trunks I think could be put into pots now . When he eventually puts them into decent pots they are going to look great . He is a lot braver than me and treats them quite rough . His trunk chopping skills are legendary .

[shibui]

Do you know much about collecting these guys? Where do they grow? I've only ever seen them in coastal areas tbh

Casuarina cunninghamiana (River sheoak) grows naturally from Cape York down to Southern NSW - mostly along rivers both inland and coastal. http://www.florabank.org.au/lucid/key/s ... amiana.htm
Allocasuarina torulosa (forest oak) also extends from Far north Qld down to Southern NSW. More coastal forests but there are some spots it grows up to a few hundred km inland. torulosa, as the name suggests grows mostly in forest, often away from creeks and rivers. https://www.florabank.org.au/lucid/key/ ... rulosa.htm

I'm not sure about how well either species transplants but I'm pretty sure Steven has collected some from private land in NSW. You should be able to find more info by using the search button on this site (top left)

PS. Please don't start stealing plants from public land. Always get permission from the land owner before digging any plants.

[Graeme]

Since the question was what the staple Australian Bonsai species was, I reckon I'd have to go with the Ficus. Don't think there would be to many Australian Back yard Bonsai collections that don't contain at least 1 Fig, with many holding more than one. I reckon, at least in the Southern States the old Olive would be creeping up there in popularity as well.