AusBonsai

FlyBri wrote:I might try to get a pic or two if the weather clears today.

Well, it is far from clear today, and earlier this week, Melbourne had its wettest September day since the 1950s... Never mind.

Please find updated pics of my River Red: I haven't lost nearly as much growth as I had feared, but I think the first LH branch is a goner. Never mind - it was starting to present as a bar-branch in conjunction with the second RH (grafted) branch (which needs a restyle as well).
Thanks all, and GO PIES!!!

Fly.

Thanks.

Fly.

Beautiful movement on the trunk Fly. I am watching its progress as i want to see what the foliage is going to do in the future. If it reduces, becomes denser etc. This thread is helping me to develop my red gum. It was repotted its second time and survived so i am learning

bodhidharma wrote:Beautiful movement on the trunk Fly. I am watching its progress as i want to see what the foliage is going to do in the future. If it reduces, becomes denser etc. This thread is helping me to develop my red gum. It was repotted its second time and survived so i am learning

Gday Bodhi!

Great news about your RR! Have we seen pics of it here?

Regarding the treatment of the foliage: I think I'm almost at the stage where I can begin to simply trim for ramification and leaf-reduction, and then we'll both know what the foliage will do...

Thanks me old chum!

Fly.

What an amzing progression. Thankyou FlyBri for taking the time to post progression photos. How is it going???

Josh

Gday AusBonsai! Long time, no post...

kidsandall wrote:How is it going???

Thanks for asking, Josh! I find myself off work with a sinus infection, so what better time to update?
So, that's my River Red as it stands this morning. The leaves are still dull and faded, and I expect them all to drop before the next flush of new growth. The new soil mix seems to be draining extremely quickly, but that may change as the sifted attapulgite breaks down (or doesn't).

I hope to update once there is some new foliage.

Thanks all!

Fly.

Twiins

This is lovely Fly
Thanks to Josh for requesting an update
Fly, any thoughts as to why the foliage lost its sheen and colour?
You mentioned that it is a sign that something wasn't quite right...so did you establish what it was, and will the repot fix it?
Was it soil compaction?
Cheers, Dario.

Dario wrote:You mentioned that it is a sign that something wasn't quite right...so did you establish what it was, and will the repot fix it?
Was it soil compaction?

Gday Dario!

I guess "compaction" is a good term to describe the issues here: the attapulgite (Chandler's Kitty Litter, sifted to within an inch of its life) had broken down to such a degree that water was not draining nearly as well as it should. Looking at the 4th, 5th and 6th photos, there are no new (white) root tips, meaning that the roots aren't growing (they SHOULD be, given the time of year). While we've had a wet Winter, I suspect that the compaction of the soil has prevented water (and AIR) from penetrating to the roots, and therefore the upper growth has suffered.

For this re-pot, I sifted the old mix for fines (less than ~2mm) and topped it up with some sifted potting mix (2-6mm), and watered heavily in order to flush out any fine particles that might have escaped the sifting process.

I look forward to seeing if I know what I'm doing.

Thanks.

Fly.

Hi There.

Wow that bonsai is the closest to the real tree that i have ever seen. Good job

Regards Johan.

Wiring eucalyptus is very touchy. You could experience branch die back. Interesting material for bonsai and a nice gnarled trunk.

Thanks for updating.

I'm curious about the roots - are you expecting to see growing roots at this time of year? When do RR roots grow? and stop growing? Does it matter for root pruning?

Hope to see good growth soon.

Gavin

Thanks for the update Flybri. Great to see you sorted the issues before it became a big problem. This is an awesome tree. I love river red gums as a tree and this is a great recreation of one.

Josh

G'day FlyBri great tree and progression . When I use fresh attapulgite after I sieve it I lay it out on some old fly screen and hose it. A percentage melts straight away (different for each bag).What is left is a lot more stable. Do you use attapuglite straight or mix it with other stuff? Love that silhouette .
Cheers Craig

Johannes wrote:Wow that bonsai is the closest to the real tree that i have ever seen. Good job

Thanks Johan!

I have been taking inspiration form the big, old River Reds in my area. There's still a long way to go, but it's beginning to resemble Bonsai.

Brian wrote:Wiring eucalyptus is very touchy. You could experience branch die back. Interesting material for bonsai and a nice gnarled trunk.

Thanks Brian!

I've heard it said that wiring Eucs can be a risky exercise, but never experienced an issue with this particular specimen in 15 or so years. In this case, I half suspect that the finer branch tips are already compromised and expect them to die back to some degree.

GavinG wrote:I'm curious about the roots - are you expecting to see growing roots at this time of year? When do RR roots grow? and stop growing? Does it matter for root pruning?

Gday Gavin, and thanks!

You may recall from your visit that many of my River Reds in training pots were growing strongly in mid-Winter - and they continue to do so. As far as I can gather, when the top of a Euc is growing, the roots tend to be growing, and vice versa. I believe I've postulated here that Eucs - at least the ones I've played with - can grow year round in my climate, given correct soil conditions and watering. Of course, there are optimum growing times during the warmer parts of the year.

The Koreshoffs (used to(?)) advocate that Eucs should only ever be re-potted when they appear to be dormant. So - except for the time of year - this recent re-pot/root-prune was done "by the book", as there were no sign of active growth, to the point of drying/wilting foliage. That said, I have successfully worked many of my River Reds' roots while they were growing strongly. I don't know that I can discern an ideal timing for root-pruning my River Reds, except to say that I would avoid doing any major root work too late in Autumn.

Sno wrote:When I use fresh attapulgite after I sieve it I lay it out on some old fly screen and hose it. A percentage melts straight away (different for each bag).What is left is a lot more stable. Do you use attapuglite straight or mix it with other stuff?

Gday Sno!

Great idea! I've often thought about doing this, but in the heat of the moment - when my tree is out of its pot and threatening to dry out I have always bypassed that option. I'll wash my kitty litter next time. At the moment, attapulgite makes up perhaps 30-40% of my mix, which is more than enough to clog my mix if/when it breaks down. Other components are sifted basalt (bluestone, blue metal), sifted potting mix and sifted granite sand in ever-evolving proportions.

Thanks again folks, and I hope to report back soon!

FlyBri.