AusBonsai

Hi all, You know where I am going with this one but how far?

Grant

A brief history,

A tree I grew from seed maybe 15 years ago and it has always been in pots and always is being experimented on.

It has been used for Banksia talks, wound and scarring talks, soil mix talks and more.

It was repotted from a biggish pot down to a very tight fit pot last summer and into a new mix, pulled out in early winter to see how it was doing(doing fine thanks) and then just let go.

Sealed and all for now. The low branch was left for the heck of it and will be removed later.

Grant

Thats the way Grant tear em down and start again. The base alone makes it a worthwhile subject. I would love a blow by blow on how it develops, feeding regime, pruning development etc. I have one and have not been successful with Banskia's so i have a lot to learn. I have found they do not tolerate our winters well.

Love serrata, good to know they dont mind a chop.

Lovely Trunk and going to be a great progression thread. Can you ensure you update this one regularly please. I will add it to the wiki page on Banksia as a reference thread:-)
Ken

kcpoole wrote:Lovely Trunk and going to be a great progression thread. Can you ensure you update this one regularly please. I will add it to the wiki page on Banksia as a reference thread:-)
Ken

Yes no worries. It is very vigorous despite what I keep doing to it.

Grant

Well its just 4 weeks since I chopped the tree down and it has exploded into lots of growth.

i have just rubbed of a whole lot of unnecessary buds to force the growth into some areas I want to keep. I rubbed off all the buds on the lower trunk as I want a branchless lower trunk till what will be the major bend to the right. (remember I will cut of the low branches on the left soon)
I will probably have to do the same in another 4 weeks.

grant

Update and way forward.

After a year of neglect of my trees I finally got around to looking at this tree.
I have just lightly trimmed it and lightly repotted it. It looks very formal at the moment but in summer I will let it grow dramatically and then select a more natural(for a Banksia serrata) style. I will only clip and grow it; never wire it. Still intend to chop off the lowest branch on the left to expose the fabulous trunk. Left lots of growth to get the roots going and settle into the pot and soil before winter.

Stopped fertilising for the season now but will resume in September with Seasol and Powerfeed combined at recommended strength(Full dose). I did put Native Osmocote in the soil as I have a huge amount of it to use up; otherwise I would have used Standard Osmocote.

The tree looked very healthy when I repotted it yesterday; lots of healthy roots.

Pot by Roger H, a Canberran potter.

Grant

Thats a really beaut pot ( and tree )
Steve

bamboos wrote:Thats a really beaut pot ( and tree )
Steve

Each one unique and perfect for natives.

grant

Grant Bowie wrote:

bamboos wrote:Thats a really beaut pot ( and tree )
Steve

Each one unique and perfect for natives.

grant

Agreed, looks very nice! (tree and pot that is )

nice material, looking forward to seeing it develop.

Hi Grant,
Lovely job mate. Looks like you will have a very nice tree. Love the pot. The rustic look goes very well with the tree.

Regards Ray

Hi Grant,

How is this tree doing?