AusBonsai

Hi everyone.

I got this new Mel yesterday, it has been in this pot a while & was rooted in the ground a bit.
I will need to do some root work overtime, but for now its just getting used to its new home. Ideas/suggestions are welcome.

As it was when I bought it Stump closeup (decent size & taper) After a dead-wood cleanup Thanks
Kane

I'm not sure how they go with root pruning up there. Down here where it gets cold the best time is in summer while they are actively growing. Root pruning in winter while it is dormant can kill.
The good thing about these is that they will shoot on old wood so you can trunk chop wherever you want and you will get lots of new buds coming through the bark. They also grow quite quick so it won't take forever.
I can't see anything really exciting in the trunk that's there apart from size and a little age. I'd probably just cut it and grow a broom style umbrella from the resulting shoots. Keep cutting the new shoots so you get lots of ramification as they grow.

Thank you. I have a few which I have chopped & yes, you are correct they bud back quickly.

I was considering keeping this as a taller tree, but I'm undecided. They die back a bit, but yeah broom style will work best - their natural growing style anyway.


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shibui wrote:I'm not sure how they go with root pruning up there. Down here where it gets cold the best time is in summer while they are actively growing. Root pruning in winter while it is dormant can kill.
The good thing about these is that they will shoot on old wood so you can trunk chop wherever you want and you will get lots of new buds coming through the bark. They also grow quite quick so it won't take forever.
I can't see anything really exciting in the trunk that's there apart from size and a little age. I'd probably just cut it and grow a broom style umbrella from the resulting shoots. Keep cutting the new shoots so you get lots of ramification as they grow.

Not trying to hijack, but just regarding cutting the new shoots, how far back would you cut new growth back to get effective ramification? i dont imagine "cut back to 2 -3 leaves" applies with the way the leaves grow on this species, or does it?

each leaf has the ability to grow a branch

no idea wrote:each leaf has the ability to grow a branch

Any idea of how many shoots is 'best' to cut back to. They get a fair amount of die back hey.


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the die back is from the weaker branches being shaded out. there's a huge one out the back that's about 10m tall by about 8 wide probably about 40 odd years old and about 70-80% of the foliage mass are dead twigs..great for the nesting birds

no idea wrote:the die back is from the weaker branches being shaded out. there's a huge one out the back that's about 10m tall by about 8 wide probably about 40 odd years old and about 70-80% of the foliage mass are dead twigs..great for the nesting birds

That makes a lot of sense, thanks a lot.


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To develop ramification I usually allow shoots to get quite long - maybe 50-60cm? then shear them all off maybe 5cm above the last forks (where you made the initial cut). How much to leave will depend on the size of the tree you are trying to develop. Does not matter if there are leaves or not because these will bud on bare wood.
Allow all new shoots to grow again - 30-50 cm? then shear again 4-5 cm above the last cut point. Each cut will more than double the number of branches/ shoots. Repeat until you have sufficient height, width or ramification, but gradually reducing the length the new shoots are allowed to grow so that you have finer and shorter ramification at each stage.

Finally move to shearing off new shoots when they get untidy - longer than 3 cm or so to maintain the desired silhouette, shape and size.

shibui wrote:To develop ramification I usually allow shoots to get quite long - maybe 50-60cm? then shear them all off maybe 5cm above the last forks (where you made the initial cut). How much to leave will depend on the size of the tree you are trying to develop. Does not matter if there are leaves or not because these will bud on bare wood.
Allow all new shoots to grow again - 30-50 cm? then shear again 4-5 cm above the last cut point. Each cut will more than double the number of branches/ shoots. Repeat until you have sufficient height, width or ramification, but gradually reducing the length the new shoots are allowed to grow so that you have finer and shorter ramification at each stage.

Finally move to shearing off new shoots when they get untidy - longer than 3 cm or so to maintain the desired silhouette, shape and size.

Excellent... thanks very much.