AusBonsai

Howdy,

I was on a holiday last week down on the Great Ocean Road (Victorian Coast) and I kept seeing this tree/shrub while on coastal walks which struck me as a super contender for a bonsai. Great trunk texture, was back-budding everywhere on old wood and had smallish foliage (leaf size approx. 25-30mm) and these white berries which were about 5-8mm or so in diameter (I'm assuming flowering was over - didn't spot any). On average they stood around 1.5-2m tall, a lot were smaller too and maybe the biggest I saw was around 3.5-4m or so. Like I said, they were in a pretty windy/salty environment (Vic coast) so that may affect the height etc... I have had a look through the native section on this site and referenced books since I got back but I cant find any ID which fits this tree ... would love to know what it is and if/where I can pick one up!!?

Cheers,

Ryan

Hi Ryceman , looks like Leucopogon parviflorus .
Cheers Sno

Thanks Sno,

Checked out your suggestion and this is it for sure! Thanks so much for the help, I thought it was some kind of Lepto initially but it seems I was barking up the wrong tree

Next question! Has anybody had experience with using these as a bonsai?

If your planning on trying to grow one of these you should take into consideration that they are highly reliant on symbiotic mycorrhizae. My supervisor used to study these plants and the mycorrhizal fungi which grow with them and said that they pretty well only grew when the fungi was present. So if you want to grow from seed try sowing them in soil which has been taken from around the roots of an adult plant.

I haven't grown them myself but hopefully this might help someone if they try.

by si90 » Today, 7:28 pm

If your planning on trying to grow one of these you should take into consideration that they are highly reliant on symbiotic mycorrhizae. My supervisor used to study these plants and the mycorrhizal fungi which grow with them and said that they pretty well only grew when the fungi was present. So if you want to grow from seed try sowing them in soil which has been taken from around the roots of an adult plant.

I haven't grown them myself but hopefully this might help someone if they try.

Wow, gotta say wasn't expecting that! Not put off yet though, just a bit more research because these trees were pretty amazing ... might explain why they aren't a staple native bonsai though!!?! I can pick 'em! Happy for any further input if anybody knows something.