AusBonsai

Has anyone ever worked with calliandra? Great little plant, have a few here that need to grow on a bit but i would love to get any info anyone has on working with them.

John

My bonsai teacher has a group planting of Calliandra and I have worked on it a bit over the years - from a horticultural viewpoint they are easy to maintain in containers and provided you grow one of the smaller leafed varieties that flower on short shoots they are reasonably amenable aesthetically. They do not seem to branch a lot or densely ramify and every now and then they loose internal branches if you let the top shoots grow too long to flowers. The root pad grows quite densely and in recent years I have been using more of a 'cake-slice' repotting method to introduce new bonsai mix to the group (rather than combing the roots and soil out) as it is in a shallow container.
cheers
Ash

Hey John, I have been working on a calliandra for around 2 years. I agree with ash, but with mine i find that the dense leaf clusters makeup for the lack of fine ramification. To avoid lower branches dying off new growth must be kept in check!

I found mine in a regular nursery and didn't really know how it would go as a bonsai... Very Pleasantly Surprised!, my little calli has given me great joy over the years and just today i found BUDS! (will be its first flowers). It is not so much of a traditional bonsai but definitely one of my favorite little trees! (i find it very interesting how its leaves close up in the evening!)

P.S. Loves water! Grows fast!

Lucas

Hi to anyone out there!
I'm from Victoria .... I know, I know it's not tropical, but it still would be a nice challenge - provided I can get one - to work with it. Just love the flowers! I've got a reasonable size hot house and getting it through the winter or other colder times wouldn't be an issue. The issue is .... where can I get one from
Any help in locating one or advise where I can buy some from is greatly appreciated.
Thanks and regards,
Rudi