AusBonsai

Hi All,

Found a cheap, dead-looking Christmas tree at one of my local nurseries yesterday, it was marked down to $50. I figured I'd give it a go. It had many dead branches that were removed, and a base trunk thickness of 80mm. Now I am still a novice when it comes to wiring, so would be interested to know what I have done correctly and where I've fallen short. I have taken inspiration from some of the old, worn and weathered cypress pines (callitris glaucophylla) in my area.

I've only recently grown a liking to conifers and have done much reading on the order. I will look at potting it into a training pot late autumn some time, after which I will make some more adjustments to the shorter of the two trunks.

Any advice on what to look out for with species or recomendations on potting mixes, feeding program etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you, Fluorine.

You have started OK and as you progress along the journey there will be some changes that you will need to make. For now plenty of water and regular fertilizer (I find liquid best and use just about anything but the current bottle is "powerfeed") and that should give you plenty to work with next year.
Good luck with it.

Watto wrote:You have started OK and as you progress along the journey there will be some changes that you will need to make. For now plenty of water and regular fertilizer (I find liquid best and use just about anything but the current bottle is "powerfeed") and that should give you plenty to work with next year.
Good luck with it.

Thanks Watto. Much appreciated.

Fluorine.

Hello Fluorine.

I think some wire right to the tips of each branch will help.
This will allow you to tame some of the ends which are a bit out of sync with the rest of the tree.

I think a more harmonious pattern where the branches and tips are following a similar flow/angle will improve the appearance of this tree.

Boics wrote:Hello Fluorine.

I think some wire right to the tips of each branch will help.
This will allow you to tame some of the ends which are a bit out of sync with the rest of the tree.

I think a more harmonious pattern where the branches and tips are following a similar flow/angle will improve the appearance of this tree.

Hi Boics,

Thanks for the tip, I will add some more wire to the unwired sections. Though I'm not really after any harmony. Will take my camera out next week and post some photos of of the white cypress pines I'm referring to.

Thanks, Fluorine.

I am very much a novice but when I first saw your tree I immediately envisaged this, with the smaller trunk much closer to the large one. However if everyones trees looked the same it would be boring. You obviously have something in mind and I look forward to seeing your tree develop. Please excuse my drawing.

tygcaldwell wrote:I am very much a novice but when I first saw your tree I immediately envisaged this, with the smaller trunk much closer to the large one. However if everyones trees looked the same it would be boring. You obviously have something in mind and I look forward to seeing your tree develop. Please excuse my drawing.

Thanks Tyg. I think I prefer the tree you've depicted to what I've done. The smaller trunk closer to the large one is certainly a lot more elegant looking and perhaps more natural(?). Hmm... now torn between the two styles.