AusBonsai

This species is in my top favourites. So last year, after waiting a long time for my many Torulosa seedlings to thicken up, I impatiently decided to purchase a lot of advanced stock of Allocasuarina Torulosa. I cut back all the stock and in some cases forgot to take pictures of the stock as it was acquired before the chop. Here are before and after pics of some of the stock that was purchased. Thank you so much to Leon from Bonsai South for going to the trouble to get the remainder of his stock for me. Thanks Leon! All the stock that I got from him was in fantastic condition. Luckily they must have only been repotted a few years prior as nothing was overgrown and it was all easily repotted last weekend and today. Unfortunately he doesn't have much stock left now as a result, but if you're a lover of Aussie natives such as this, be quick, because he only has a few left. I will let them sit for a while and contemplate what styles and growth I want to achieve from them. If you have suggestions of course I'm open to hear all angles. Can't wait to start styling them. I think the one that I am probably least unsure of what to do with, is number 32. The others I have a vague idea in mind of what to do.

Some of them are going to be feminine and others masculine. I probably lean more towards femininity when it comes to A. Torulosa, for the main reason that I just love the elegance of them. But considering how many I have, I am sure I will have a Torulosa for every occasion

35

34

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32

23

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31

30

27

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25

24

Fun times ahead.

I think I got one from the same
Batch! Beautiful stock!
I've done nothing but sit mine in H2o and take cuttings!


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Isitangus wrote:I think I got one from the same
Batch! Beautiful stock!
I've done nothing but sit mine in H2o and take cuttings!


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Yeah, it was from the same batch. Beautiful stock. He has about 6 or so of the advanced $30 sizes left I believe, so if anyone wants any more you better be quick.

You can safely re pot now. Just remember the following about re potting:
*Don't grab it by the base, handle it from up top. Otherwise you will break off the fragile bark.
*You can cut up to 40% to 45% of roots off from the pot that Leon sells them in, but make sure you don't leave too much foliage for the tree to have to feed if your stock has a lot of foliage. Just cut back the foliage to proportion the right amount of feeding, as you don't want to stress the tree more after the repot.
*Position the trunk how you want it now during the repot, thereby planning for the style of the tree, to make it easier for styling later on.
*Water it twice thoroughly after the re pot, and you can leave a shallow tray of water under the pot, not necessarily placing the pot in the tray to soak up the water, but to give it the evaporation and humidity that will rise.
*In my personal experience I would recommend : DO NOT fertilize it after a repot. DO NOT use anything on it after a repot. It will naturally heal and thrive soon. But this is just my advice. If the soil you are using is high quality bonsai mix, then this is all it needs.
*And most importantly, if you are doing a trunk chop, do not chop below the first branch. Otherwise you can potentially lose the entire trunk, and it will produce suckers from the base, but you will lose the $30 you have effectively paid for the tree and have to start all over again, as the now dead trunk will rot and die off. Thankfully I learned this from experience on my younger stock. It can be devastating on advanced stock.

I wouldn't bother with cuttings as it is too much time to grow them to the point that you can just pay $30 or even $12 from his stock and get stock like you already have. But then again, if you are wanting a lot, or if you are young, go for it. Remember, you can get seedlings for a few dollars with nice movement etc from council nurseries, in particular the Cumberland State Forest nursery. The council nursery at Terrey Hills has casuarina stock, but they are young at the moment, but they feed them well, and in about a year their stock will have nice bases for $3.50. Another problem with growing from such young stock is that a lot of people get attached to certain branches or placements of them, but as the base gets bigger and the tree starts to thicken, the branches are too thick creating unusually thick branches that are way out of proportion.

I am not sure how long you are leaving them in water for, but just be careful because you don't want to rot the roots.

I think that probably the most comprehensive info on them
I've come across!
Re cuttings I tend to keep/take lots of cuttings as a I'm youngish-31, and also use them for our club or give them away/swap. Not doing a trunk chop just gonna start to work the roots and get some branch structure happening etc
When you do fertilise-what's your regime and preference for type of fert?



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Isitangus wrote:Re cuttings I tend to keep/take lots of cuttings as a I'm youngish-31, and also use them for our club or give them away/swap. Not doing a trunk chop just gonna start to work the roots and get some branch structure happening etc
When you do fertilise-what's your regime and preference for type of fert?
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Fair enough in regards to the cuttings. For fertilizer I use Osmocote Native Slow Release fertilizer. You can usually buy this from any garden store, even bunnings sell them. They are great because they don't dump a load of fertilizer on the roots like others do. Do not use any other brand of slow release fertilizer other than Osmocote. I have personally been on the crap end of dodgy slow release fertilizers before. I fertilize all throughout the warmer months and they respond very well to it. I have used seasol before, but I have never seen any real benefits for Casuarina from it.