AusBonsai

G'day,

A nursery near me is closing down and had some cheap plants for sale, naturally I saw a couple I liked.

I'm undecided on which way to go with this hibiscus so looking for some experienced opinions.





Which of the two would you keep?

The right hand one would introduce a bit more taper and the left hand one does have a bit of a long straight section so leaning toward keeping the right hand one myself, thoughts???

Cheers

Chris.


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The left one for me
Keep the right as a sacrifice

IMHO a larger tree is better for a hibiscus
Ken

Would you chop above where my hand is in the last pic and use the branch in my thumb as the new leader?


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Decided to air layer off the top too.

I know it might be a little late but being tropical I hoped it might take pretty well in summer?



Will keep you posted.


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MacGuyver wrote:Would you chop above where my hand is in the last pic and use the branch in my thumb as the new leader?


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Yep

Ken

Hibiscus, are rarely used here,but I don't know why not.I have been growing them for about 25yrs.Summer,[now] is the perfect time to do any work you want.If from a nursery, or collected,get rid of all existing soil, and pot into a coarse potting mix.They cannot have wet feet.Don't bother about arial layering,as they grow quickly from cuttings,any size of thickness.I have rootpruned all mine last week,[in the lower mountains,] and they are already shooting back.They respond, the same way as boug's.You will get growth spurts all over the tree,which gives you the oportunity to grow new branches all over.Yes, you will be left with stick branches but cut those back short, or off to grow new ones, with better taper,There is nothing worse, than seeing a good tree ruined, by thick heavy branches at the top of the tree.Expose the lower trunk, nebari, to develop really good root structure.The better species to work with are the Chinese hibiscus,Hibiscus senensis, smaller leaves and flowers.The colour range is not so good,mainly red or white,but new ones are being developed.The Hawaiian one is good ,with a vast range of colours,but you need a larger tree.Try growing them free form also,as it is difficult to get them standard Japanese shape.The Australian ones are also good, but larger leaves and beautiful yellow flowers. Some of the species also have great bronze- red leaves in summer and autumn,a standout when this happens at the same time.One of the great, overlooked choices for bonsai ,I am afraid...Lee.