Kunzea ambigua ideas ??

[boom64]

Hi All,
I collected several Kunzea ambigua on December the 25th last year (yes Christmas day) and thought I would put this one out to collect a few idea's.
It did not miss a beat and for the last 2 months has been in full sun and loving it !!!!!
The main trunk is a bit of a mystery to me, it more or less collapsed when I re-potted it. The small trunk left has bark on it but I am unsure if it is still alive?? Most of the growth comes from around the area where it layered itself. There is great shape in the twisting trunks. The 4 bamboo pieces are holding up 3 live branches and rest of the growth is cascading over the left hand side. I am unsure as to where I should start. Maybe protection on the original trunk and branches. I think it is healthy enough to start applying some wire.
Any idea's would be greatly appreciated
Cheers John

[Elmar]

Sorry, not much help but, Man!, what a problem to have (like too much money or being too healthy)!

Very dramatic - showing a tough life. Could almost go into a cascade… I keep being drawn into the first picture.

[kcpoole]

A raft / Clump style on a slab.
I would start by bringing the foliage back closer in to the trunk and see if you make it self supporting rather than relying on the bamboos.

Love the trunks / branch movements. Reminds me of Bodhi's shadow picture.

Ken

[cre8ivbonsai]

reminded me of the style of this tea tree from the Vic Native show viewtopic.php?f=25&t=17134&hilit=native&start=30

[marcela]

Hi John,
We at the Vic Native bonsai club went on a dig in October last year and collected quite a lot of these also but we've identified these as Ericoides, I wonder which of us in incorrect in identifying these?
Regards
Marcela

[Neli]

Nice find!
Perhaps You can try and put a ring around the base and try to ground layer it in spring? I see a cascade with tons of potential.

[shibui]

Not surprising you have picked these as the same Marcella. Apart from the range- ambigua confined to the coastal belt, The only difference I can see is that ambigua has sessile (no stalk) flowers while ericoides is described as having pedicels 3-6 mm long so you would need to see them in flower to distinguish between the 2.

Both are tough, should be easy to transplant and keep in a container. ericoides is noted for its ability to invade both bushland and cultivated areas.

[boom64]

Hi all ,Thanks for the feedback I was originally thinking cascade ( Cheers Neli ) ,but Kens idea of Clump Raft sounds good, especially after seeing the attachment Ryan put up.
Hi Marcela ,I am no expert on plants is there any give away points to distinguish between Ericoides and Ambigua ? All of my Kunzea have small white flowers and were collected from the south coast of N.S.W.. Regards John.

[boom64]

Hi Shibui.......Cant get answers much quicker than that. Cheers John.

[boom64]

Hi All,
Time for an update on this one. A few developments over the years. Lost the back branch that layered itself. Gave it a Lime Sulphur treatment ,by the look it could be due another treatment and a bit of carving. Thankfully the trunk has held out, treated with lime sulphur and then a liberal dose of earls wood hardener every year . A lot of wiring over the years. Needs a tidy up but pretty happy so far growing like a weed at the moment. The first three photos are the front. Any suggestions ,criticisms gladly appreciated.
Cheers John.

[Kevin]

Hello John,

I think the work you have done looks great.
I do love rafted trees and that second last photo is all i see - a raft style. Maybe an option for the future.


Good work,
Kevin

[Boics]

This is fantastic material John.
Love what you have done with this tree.

Have you had any flowers on this tree yet?
I love the delicate flowers on Kunzea and besides the fact I've found them to be very testy with back budding think they are fantastic native specimens!

[Ryceman3]

Awesome tree John, you've done some really nice work with it.
I actually like your "back" as the front, but I understand things can look different in reality as opposed to an image - whichever way you look at it, great job!

[benbonsai]

Tree looks awesome.
Great work.
Love the Jin and Shari work

[Theodore]

I'm with Ryceman3, from the photos the back does look to be the better front. Reason being is there is way more interest in the jin/shari from this side.

Looks great.

Theo