AusBonsai

Hey all, hoping i can tap into the extensive knowledge for this lovely group, i recently got my hands on a 23 yearold Lilly Pill. A just a few questions, species? i live in canberra thoughts over winter? And also is it normal for it to be rebudding at this point? Thanks all heaps in advance! !

Wondering why it lost leaves in the first place--if it's reshooting that's good --keep it in a frost protected spot and let it rejuvenate---I would also tend to get rid of that groundcover(spider weed?--really takes over and harbours pests) and keep only the moss.

Lilly Pilly will grow whenever it can so not unusual to see shoots at any time of year, especially trying to recover from losing leaves. Feed it to encourage healthy new growth.
They are a bit frost tender so you will need to find a very protected spot to keep it over winter. I don't know whether they will survive inside the house like the figs can.

I agree with Guy. Get rid of the weeds in the pot. I can see starweed which spreads like mad and also some liverwort which can take over the surface and make it difficult for water to penetrate.

To get rid of the weeds without killing your tree. Spray liberal amounts of rid/insect repellant (the type that you spray on yourself) on the weeds directly.


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Ok thanks everybody really as in personal repellent? Ok and keep feeding even over winter?

really as in personal repellent?

Yes, the personal insect repellant does kill weeds. I've tried it a couple of times and it certainly killed the weeds and so far has not harmed the tree.

and keep feeding even over winter?

Definitely. Most evergreens, particularly our natives, are active over winter and feeding in winter does make a difference to growth rates and health of the tree through the winter and especially next summer.

Hi All
Something I learnt from a friend of mine the other day , to get rid of weeds esp. liverwort take a small paint brush the type artists use and paint vinegar onto the weeds directly takes a few applications but does the job . make sure you don't let it drip onto the soil
regards
peterb

A lot of natives have a rest during the hottest months and grow most other times of the year in flushes. Probably won't grow much over winter in canberra. Most of my lilly pilly's have put on a burst of growth just recently and is hardening off. Even if you can't see top growth happening there is probably active root growth happening so they will benefit from winter fertilising.

Your tree doesn't look like it is in the best of health. It could do with some light fertilising and some seasol on a regular basis until it regains some vigour. They also bud back readily on old wood so don't be scared of cutting it back hard once it has some more vigour, probably in spring and eliminate all the straight sections and excess branches.

I loosely wire the new branches for movement after the leaves harden. They can swell quickly and wire will bite in so keep an eye on it. They do set well. The lower branches you can allow to extend to thicken the branch and then cut back harder for more movement and taper. Upper branches can be cut back to a pair of leaves after each flush of growth to build ramification.

They are better in full sun to keep the internodes short.

As for species, there are a lot of cultivars of Syzygium smithii and S. australe with some possible hybrids. My guess would be a australe caulitvar.

also you seem to have a few lower branches coming from the same area of the trunk and looks to be thickening more than the base-possibly creating reverse taper---If it shoots below the first branch I would leave them to grow for a couple of seasons and use them to thicken the lower trunk .

Isitangus wrote:To get rid of the weeds without killing your tree. Spray liberal amounts of rid/insect repellant (the type that you spray on yourself) on the weeds directly.


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I just use Roundup!
Either spray on the weeds only without getting in the plant foliage, or if you are really worried, paint it on like Peter suggests with Vinegar.

Ken

ps fixed the title spelling too

Just a quicky!

Are they typically Apically Dominant?

What does 'Hardened-off' leaves look like?


Cheers
Elmar

Syzygium Aust. Winterlight

We just got this one and as you can see, it's leggy! I wanted to take cuttings and bring it right down to the bottom 3 inches (75mm) above the ground in the hope of developing ... something.

Just noticed either a graft, or more likely removed bar branching that has caused some reverse taper... Your thoughts? Apart from "they're out of sequence"...


Cheers
Elmar

Hi Elmar

CoGRedeMptioN wrote:Are they typically Apically Dominant?

Not necessarily. Depends on cultivar. Some have tree like growth and will be, whereas others are very shrubby and have been developed to be used for hedging so will produce multiple buds all over the tree/shrub.

CoGRedeMptioN wrote:What does 'Hardened-off' leaves look like?

New growth will be a soft and a different colour (red, pink, purple, bronze, light green depending on cultivar/species) and will come in a flush of 2, 3 or more sets of leaves. These will go harder and turn green, usually before another flush of growth occurs. Your photo shows this on the ends of the branches.

Also the swelling looks like where some low branches have been cut off to produce a clear trunk. I doubt its a graft as most Lilly Pillys are grown from cuttings. You could cut it down to just above the shoots lower down. As it grows keep the top shoots trimmed to allow the lower branches to thicken the lower trunk. Or you could let it grow as is to thicken and trunk chop it later. You could also air layer the top off to have a head start on some growth.

It is important to remember that plants with a PBR such as this cultivar cannot be legally propagated without permission. If you take an airlayer for your own purposes it should be fine, but if you take cuttings, especially if you then offer them for sale, you open yourself to prosecution. Unlikely, but possible. PBR is a form of copyright on plant material.

Thx dansai,
So to

dansai wrote:cut it down to just above the shoots lower down.

- which line would you be referring to?


Cheers
Elmar

I was thinking to the green line and if you want to air layer somewhere around the blue