United States Elaeocarpus- Help Needed

[drew33998]

After scouring the web I have come up short on anyone hat has turned these into bonsai, until I cam across your site. I live in zone 8-9 so the tree will need some winter protection. I am looking for advice on repotting, trimming, and general advice on this species. Below are pictures of the tree I have. Not bad for $30 US

japaneseblueberry3.rotated.JPG

[Elmar]

G'Day Drew,
Welcome to the site, mate just a quick search on this site will link you up with a plethora of existing posts that'll assist you and can put you in contact with those that have tried or are trying them. Have a read of these:

Literati
Reticularis
Blueberry Ash Flowers

Looks like you've had a carve of this one, feel free to share more pics (all round) so we can have a proper look. Unfortunately I don't have any experience with the species but am interested to see what comes of it! Awesome nebari, for sure. Good luck ...

[kcpoole]

Nice Stump!
Welcome too.

I think i would remove the right hand side branch and thin down the trunk at that point to reduce the flat top there.
Will improve the taper at that point too.

Ken

[Rory]

I think i would remove the right hand side branch and thin down the trunk at that point to reduce the flat top there.
Will improve the taper at that point too.

Ken

yeah, I agree.

[treeman]

I worked on one of these for 10 years or so. It was ok but too small I think. My only suggestion would be to grow quite a large tree of this species as it has big leaves and rather course branching so IMO it should be at least 0.8 to 1 MT (2-1/2 to 3 feet) high to be satisfying. The flowers and fruit are very beautiful. It will handle temps down to just above freezing but not much lower.

[PeterH]

Hi Drew,

I have one as a Bonsai and one as a control tree. My conditions in my climate are -7 to +38 deg C. In the past I have bought the bonsai inside during winter until the frost had gone. Now I leave it under shelter outside during these months. It does get some leaf burn but during the warmer months it puts on new leaves. I have re potted several times generally around late spring early summer. I have also done this after flowering, mid summer. Flowering compared to the control tree has been poor and I have put this down to the re potting and pruning as the control tree had none of this done. I have also defoliated several times and the foliage has reduced in size marginally.

Regards,

Peter

[drew33998]

Thanks for the replies guys. I literally chopped this one in half. But I was scared to go any further because I have no experience with this species. I agree removing that branch would improve the taper. I also want to repot it. We are right at the beginning of our summer

[drew33998]

Here is the other side. When I do repot this I am going to need a damn winch! I don't know why it keeps posting these sideways. They are saved in the upright position on my cpu.

japaneseblueberry10.JPG

japaneseblueberry9.JPG

japaneseblueberry8.JPG

[drew33998]

Here are some more pics. Not sure if it is the same exact species that you guys have but it def is an elaeocarpus.

japaneseblueberry13.JPG

japaneseblueberry12.JPG

japaneseblueberry11.JPG

[PeterH]

Hi Drew,

The new growth on the reticulatus has a golden colour and as it matures turns to green and the older leaves have what looks to be salt line around the edge.

Regards,
Peter

[shibui]

Hi Drew,
You may have picked up in Peter's remarks that, like most of our Aussie trees, these seem to do better when repotted in the warmer months - late spring through to mid-summer. Not sure how cold you get in your part of Florida but repotting should be ok as long as nights don't go below freezing. Warmer would be even better.
Most also seem to develop better with regular light trimming rather than drastic pruning. I think Elaeocarpus will probably produce buds on older wood though which is always a help when starting out with older stock.