Melaleuca advice welcome

[Rory]

Sorry, but I do not know the species of this Mel, but its foliage is needle-like. I kind of want advice from others before I attempt anything.

I picked up this $15.00 Melaleuca at the same time as the other Mel I have posted, but this one I am in about 5 different minds about at the moment. I do not have a lot of experience with paperbarks, and I do not want to layer it, as I have no patience or time for layering, and to be frank, I am just not interested in trying that. I just don't know whether to trunk chop, or leave as is and just go with it. I would love to hear any advice from people who have any experience with Mels, or at least your opinion. I cut the trunk originally at the point where it suddenly becomes thinnish (is that a word, sorry), and just let it grow, then have cut back the new growth. Now I am just wondering whether to again cut the whole trunk low, or just persist with this and try to improve the flow.

[Bougy Fan]

If you want to try and fix the taper issue you have to let the top go wild. If you keep pruning it back it will take twice as long to fix. Have you recently repotted and did you root prune ? If not I would feed it and give it lots of seasol and then select a new leader down low once it has shot back.

[Rory]

If you want to try and fix the taper issue you have to let the top go wild. If you keep pruning it back it will take twice as long to fix. Have you recently repotted and did you root prune ? If not I would feed it and give it lots of seasol and then select a new leader down low once it has shot back.

Yeah, I am yet to see any new growth on the top, it has only shot out at the large cut. It was cut at that top already (as it had been broken off higher), so I am hoping it will eventually shoot from there too. No, I haven't repotted yet or root pruned. I have given it lots of seasol already, which I think is what gave me some new growth that you can see. Why would you give it a new leader down low? Do you mean, if I trunk chop a melaleuca, then to select a new leader, or if I don't trunk chop, then to select a new leader. Is there something I'm not aware of with mels?