Native Trials 2020

[Rory]

Its that time of year again - to browse the nurseries and stock up on some fun stuff to trial.
I really wanted to try a lot of new Baeckea this year, so hopefully I’ll acquire some throughout the year and add them here as I go.

I will hopefully add a lot more varieties to this thread as the year goes on.

You’ll notice that I have invested more time into Banksia dwarf varieties. I’ve been trialing more of them and forgot to include some of them in the 2019 list. So far my method of repoting them and my after-care has proven 100% successful, so I’m very keen to trial more varieties now.
The one thing I dislike about some Banksia hybrids are the ones with strongly whorled growth that grows down and around, looking like twisted barbed wire. I've trialed these in the past and I disliked this tendency, so I gave them away.

I haven’t found many new exciting Phebaliums to trial this year, but the genus isn’t highly used and thus I may have exhausted the nursery trades’ options.

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Phebalium notii isla gorge

You can’t go wrong with a Phebalium.
Plus, the flowers are tiny and pink on this one.
Plus, its got the word Phebalium in it.

phebalium.jpg

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Calytrix tetragona ‘rich pink form’

Lovely, small compact colourful growth makes me want to try this. Also, its rich in pinkness apparently.
I've not had any success with Calytrix in the past (possums). But I adore them, so I'm trying this one. It might get shuffled off into the possum protection zone.....

calytrix.jpg

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Melalueca tamariscina

Compact foliage and the love of Mels is calling me to trial this one. Also, it has a fruity yet tantalizing name, what could go wrong.

Mel.jpg

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Melalueca thymifolia ‘pink lace’
&
Astartea clavulata x Baeckea astarteoides

Attempt number 2. I love these species' too much. So I’m trialing more of these again, also because I found some nice trunks, so I’ll erect a better bonsai enclosure to see if I can keep the possums out in future.


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Leptospermum lanigerum x

I’m really hopeful for this one. (Disclaimer: Rory has stupidly said this before about other varieties) (Don't be like Rory)
It has smaller leaves than laevigatum, and also appears more dense in its growth, so I’m excited about this one.
Leptospermum can be temperamental, so you’re best off treating any reduction very conservatively until you become familiar with that species.

lanigerum1.jpg

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Banksia occidentalis

To me this would be one of the most beautiful Banksia I’ve ever seen. If this was a lady, you'd propose.
I started trialing this in 2019. It is very graceful and one of the most elegant Banksia I've trialed. Thin leaves add to the lovely look.

occidentalis.jpg

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Banksia integrifolia ‘Angourie form’

A cute little small-leaved dwarf version of integrifolia. It doesn’t develop the nice cut-leaf look of integrifolia but it’s leaves are small and cute.
There is a lot to be said about cute things....but not much more about this one. Its just a mini integrifolia I guess.

integ.jpg

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Banksia paludosa

Another cute small-leaved dwarf Banksia. This is another one I started trialing towards the end of 2019.

paludoa.jpg

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Banksia formosa (showy dryandra)

This is a really interesting Banksia. The leaves on this are similar, but narrower and shorter than Banksia serrata. Hopefully it develops a nice rough trunk too. This is another one I started trialing toward the end of 2019.

formosa.jpg

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Banksia praemorsa ‘high noon’

A good size leaf Banksia species with what appears to have a tendency to grow slightly twisting branches.

praemorsa.jpg

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Kunzea affinis

Just trialing another Kunzea with very pretty flowers.


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Breynia ‘ironstone range’

Beautiful mauve coloured new growth, and wavy leaves. Apparently it grows small berries too. Very intriguing and hoping it proves successful.
Reminds me of Loropetalum, but with Australian citizenship.

breynia.jpg

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Eucalyptus nicholii

No brainer. Small leaved Euc. I’ve grown this before but I can’t remember why I didn’t pursue these more seriously. So now I'm seriously pursuing them. haha


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Bauera rubioides ‘candy stripe’

Beautiful bell flowers. Nice small foliage and just seeing how this genus goes.

bauera.jpg

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Hakea orthorrhyncha var. filiformis

I love this one. Weeping, thin leaves and gorgeous trunks on these. I'm going to play this one really safely, as I love the look of the foliage and bark.

hakea.jpg

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[boom64]

Always interesting to see the new years line up. Quite a bit of variety .
I can vouch for the Calytrix Tetragona ,beautiful tree in flower although mine are a little whiter. Leaf size great also. Bark gets that nice ropey look with age. Winner.
Also keen to see the Kunzea affinis. Flowers look beautiful.
Good luck John.

[melbrackstone]

Looking forward to seeing how you go with them all Rory!

I only know the Breynia, I have a small hedge of the older tri-colour style. Pretty as a picture with the coloured foliage, but beware, there is a particular caterpillar that strips mine every year. It's a 2' long white caterpillar, probably one of the white butterflies that we see here every year. My cat can only eat so many before she's stumped, and the rest lay eggs on the Breynia.

[MPP]

Good luck Rory.

I have one Banksia Integrifolia which was purchased as nursery stock. I did a trunk chop in late November creating the proverbial "stick in a pot" with new shoots appearing about 4-5 weeks later. Unfortunately the new shoots all appeared to have been sunburnt before they could harden off. From your experience is there any chance of the plant re-shooting or has it gone to the native gods?

Mark

[Ryceman3]

Eucalyptus nicholii

No brainer. Small leaved Euc. I’ve grown this before but I can’t remember why I didn’t pursue these more seriously. So now I'm seriously pursuing them. haha

I have seen one or two nice Euc. Nicholii that I think showed great potential. The "small leaf" bit is what makes me most interested in their development as bonsai. Given that I really focus on smaller trees, eucs aren't front and centre on my radar - but this would be one species I would think about trying as I reckon you could make a reasonable bonsai with them around the 50cm tall mark or perhaps less if you can really get foliage reduction working for you.
I remember hearing (or reading?) they are quite susceptible to myrtle rust which might've been one reason you moved on, possum fodder may have been another! ... still, worth another shot - look forward to hearing how all your trials work out.

[Rory]

Eucalyptus nicholii

No brainer. Small leaved Euc. I’ve grown this before but I can’t remember why I didn’t pursue these more seriously. So now I'm seriously pursuing them. haha

I remember hearing (or reading?) they are quite susceptible to myrtle rust which might've been one reason you moved on

I think that was the reason actually. Although I have learnt to better manage Myrtle Rust now. Leaving a lot of foliage on to increase the speed of growth and only occasionally using chemicals and then of course all the usual... open area, maximum sunlight usually has proven quite successful with managing it. With NSW its no longer about eradicating, but rather its now about managing it. Some species never get ontop of it, but I can conclude that very young seedlings of the Myrtaceae family are usually highly susceptible to Myrtle Rust. Fortunately I have purchased quite bushy material to trial, so hopefully this will work out. Mid-winter with low sun will be the true test with Myrtle Rust. Thanks for reminding me of this.

Always interesting to see the new years line up. Quite a bit of variety .
I can vouch for the Calytrix Tetragona ,beautiful tree in flower although mine are a little whiter. Leaf size great also. Bark gets that nice ropey look with age. Winner.
Also keen to see the Kunzea affinis. Flowers look beautiful.
Good luck John.

The Calytrix is so lovely isn't it.
The Kunzea are beacons for vermin, so it will go into the cage.

Looking forward to seeing how you go with them all Rory!

I only know the Breynia, I have a small hedge of the older tri-colour style. Pretty as a picture with the coloured foliage, but beware, there is a particular caterpillar that strips mine every year. It's a 2' long white caterpillar, probably one of the white butterflies that we see here every year. My cat can only eat so many before she's stumped, and the rest lay eggs on the Breynia.

Thanks for the info. The possums have no interest so far, so I'll keep an eye out for pests.

Good luck Rory.

I have one Banksia Integrifolia which was purchased as nursery stock. I did a trunk chop in late November creating the proverbial "stick in a pot" with new shoots appearing about 4-5 weeks later. Unfortunately the new shoots all appeared to have been sunburnt before they could harden off. From your experience is there any chance of the plant re-shooting or has it gone to the native gods?

Mark

Its hard to say. Integrifolia is very hardy. If the tree was in excellent health before the trunk chop, then it probably would have no problem producing a second flush, although sometimes it might die-back a little with the 2nd flush and it could take sometimes up to 8-12 weeks to appear if it has no foliage remaining now. It must have been incredibly hot. They also tolerate a lot of shade so if that was the case you can happily move it to shade in 45+ degree heat forecasts. Just don't overwater it if it has no foliage left now. Hopefully your mix wasn't bone dry on that day though.

I usually don't trunk chop very low anymore unless its for an extreme reason, as the new growth is highly prized in the vermin community. Then something as simple as a trunk chop can become fatal if the new growth is continually attacked or damaged. It helps to leave foliage on as 'insurance' until the new growth has hardened.

[MPP]

Thanks Rory.
The cambium layer still looks positive so I'll keep my fingers crossed. Might purchase another tube stock as a back up.

Mark

[Starfox]

Nice pick up's Rory, I'd be interested to see how the lepto goes(all of them really) as I have a little one too. I've had it since last August and if I remember rightly it's lanigerum 'Silver Sheen'.
It was in a small nursery container but I reduced the roots by maybe a third, leaving the main rootball in tact with and put it into a training pot and I also removed quite a bit of the foliage too, this was late summer, start of Autumn when night temps are still around 20 deg C here. The tree has sulked up until about a month ago and now has a number of new shoots and buds breaking with new growth but so far only on the already extended branches and none lower down near or on the trunk. Possibly there would be more reaction if done early in the summer.
Somewhere along the line I read they like lots of water so I have it in a similar mix of DE that my thirsty Callistemons enjoy and it's seemingly ok with that, at least it's not dead like every bloody scoparium I've touched.

[Rory]

Nice pick up's Rory, I'd be interested to see how the lepto goes(all of them really) as I have a little one too. I've had it since last August and if I remember rightly it's lanigerum 'Silver Sheen'.
It was in a small nursery container but I reduced the roots by maybe a third, leaving the main rootball in tact with and put it into a training pot and I also removed quite a bit of the foliage too, this was late summer, start of Autumn when night temps are still around 20 deg C here. The tree has sulked up until about a month ago and now has a number of new shoots and buds breaking with new growth but so far only on the already extended branches and none lower down near or on the trunk. Possibly there would be more reaction if done early in the summer.
Somewhere along the line I read they like lots of water so I have it in a similar mix of DE that my thirsty Callistemons enjoy and it's seemingly ok with that, at least it's not dead like every bloody scoparium I've touched.

Hopefully L. lanigerum grows well for you in the coming seasons then. They have beautiful foliage.

Oh ..... does that mean those thick trunked L. scopariums have died?
That's a shame. Though you were indeed brave, attempting them of that age for their first root prune. With scoparium I think they are best attempted before the roots have become seriously entangled, and if they are attempted, to only ever gently separate the roots only and not cut them at the first repot attempt.

[shibui]

Another mixed batch of experimental trees Rory.
I heartily endorse Hakea orthorrhyncha as a choice for bonsai. We have one in the garden and it shows great potential. They flower all along the stems - right down to the ground even after 15 years. That's got to be a bonus for bonsai as you won't need to worry about when to prune to facilitate flowering. One hard pruning on our garden tree saw lots of strong buds emerge and grow so it seems this species may have the ability to back bud which is great if you want to grow it on fast the cut back. I have managed to strike occasional cuttings but very low success rate so far and few have survived in pots for long enough to start training. i'm still trying because I think it has great potential.

Callitrix tetragona. I've almost given up with this species. It looks to have great potential as natural plants grow in inhospitable cracks and depressions in rock slabs, leaves are small and they flower profusely. Trunks develop the most amazing ropy texture. The big problem is that I have not been able to induce any back budding so allowing these to grow larger to gain trunk thickness is not possible. Keep pruning.

Banksia praemorsa has been very disappointing for us down here. It is one of those very showy WA species that appears to only like growing in WA. In pots they have only lasted a couple of years. In the garden we have managed a couple of years of flowers before they succumb to a damp summer or some other unidentified Eastern factor. I will be interested to hear how this one responds to North Coast conditions.

Phebalium is one I've considered trying. The plants in the garden are very showy, covered in bright yellow flowers through spring but they appear to be smallish sub-shrubs and I haven't seen any with real trunks yet. Let us know if you manage to produce something worthwhile and I'll be in on this species too.

[Rory]

Another mixed batch of experimental trees Rory.
I heartily endorse Hakea orthorrhyncha as a choice for bonsai. We have one in the garden and it shows great potential. They flower all along the stems - right down to the ground even after 15 years. That's got to be a bonus for bonsai as you won't need to worry about when to prune to facilitate flowering. One hard pruning on our garden tree saw lots of strong buds emerge and grow so it seems this species may have the ability to back bud which is great if you want to grow it on fast the cut back. I have managed to strike occasional cuttings but very low success rate so far and few have survived in pots for long enough to start training. i'm still trying because I think it has great potential.

Callitrix tetragona. I've almost given up with this species. It looks to have great potential as natural plants grow in inhospitable cracks and depressions in rock slabs, leaves are small and they flower profusely. Trunks develop the most amazing ropy texture. The big problem is that I have not been able to induce any back budding so allowing these to grow larger to gain trunk thickness is not possible. Keep pruning.

Banksia praemorsa has been very disappointing for us down here. It is one of those very showy WA species that appears to only like growing in WA. In pots they have only lasted a couple of years. In the garden we have managed a couple of years of flowers before they succumb to a damp summer or some other unidentified Eastern factor. I will be interested to hear how this one responds to North Coast conditions.

Phebalium is one I've considered trying. The plants in the garden are very showy, covered in bright yellow flowers through spring but they appear to be smallish sub-shrubs and I haven't seen any with real trunks yet. Let us know if you manage to produce something worthwhile and I'll be in on this species too.

As always I strongly appreciate your feedback Neil.

Hakea: Yes I will be pursuing a lot more Hakea in future too. These really drew me in. I have you to thank for Hakea admiration.

Callitrix tetragona: Now that you say that, upon closer inspection on these I have noticed that all the new growth appears only on the tips. This will be heavily trunk chopped to encourage the lower branches to keep it compact and hope that the lower branching takes off. That's very good to know early

B. praemorsa: Yes that is interesting that you say that. I do recall experienced growers saying the same about a lot of the beautiful Banksia from WA, being that they don't like the humidity or just being in the East of AU. Ironically, so far I've had more troubles with some of the Eastern Banksias than the WA. Banksias.... but its very early days. There's plenty of time to have the WA banksias wither and die.
B. serrata, B. aemula and B. marginata appear much more susceptible to fungus, rot and damp conditions than any other Banksia I've trialled so far.

Phebalium: The reason I took quite a fancy to Phebalium was the same as you: some of them have lovely Wattle characteristics.
However, I have not had great successes with Wattle over the years. I may try them again now that I approach repotting differently than previous years. But the hardiness of Phebaliums and their natural tendency to shoot all over the tree appears encouraging. I lean towards the ones that don't look like a lollipop of yellow/gold in flower. The ones with relatively subtle flowering look magnificent in my opinion, as you still see the structure of the tree when in flower. Hopefully the trunks thicken as I definitely know what you mean. I have turned my nose at some of the Phebalium species that I haven't trialled because of their very spindly look.

I have been taking photos annually so that eventually I will have progression threads of all the unique stock that were successful and add them to my progression threads on here. This way people will visually be able to see how they develop over time, which I feel is one of the best ways to show them and learn from them.

[Starfox]

Hopefully L. lanigerum grows well for you in the coming seasons then. They have beautiful foliage.

Oh ..... does that mean those thick trunked L. scopariums have died?
That's a shame. Though you were indeed brave, attempting them of that age for their first root prune. With scoparium I think they are best attempted before the roots have become seriously entangled, and if they are attempted, to only ever gently separate the roots only and not cut them at the first repot attempt.

Apologies for the late reply Rory but yeah, those ones and the ones that came after are all kaput. That first bunch at first really seemed to be recovering well, so much so that after a few months I was encouraged enough and added a few more but those ones resented any work done almost immediately and started going downhill. The original ones which at the time seemed healthy enough started to go downhill at that time too, I'm sure there is a normal reason but it was almost like they died in sympathy with the others.
I have tried others since but always with the same fate and that is whether I leave them alone or even try planting in the garden so it is fair to say I'm a bit discouraged with scopariums now.

You may be right about the roots as every one I have had from a nursery have all been heavily pot bound, cutting first up clearly hasn't been successful for me.

I might try again with them if I see them.

[Rory]

Additional lineups now included

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Leptospermum scoparium 'red cascade'

This looks lovely! Very cascading! It grows down out the pot, but still grows up a little.
These will have the same techniques applied that i give all my L. scopariums, as they can be temperamental.
What particularly frightens me is that thiese specimens appear to be dwarf versions of L. scoparium. Thats like a double whammy for sensitivity.
But i'm up for the challenge. I couldn't go past their tantllizing colours, knowing how well this would look like if they succeed.

Lepto.jpg

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Homoranthus papillatus

This is my first attempt at these guys. They naturally twist, so its a no brainer.
I just don't know how well they respond to root pruning and cutting back yet.
Lovely soft foliage. Very pretty colours of the foliage too.
The light in the photo is terrible, sorry.

Homoranthus.jpg

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Agonis parviceps

This is beautiful. Looking forward to seeing how this turns out.
The light in the photo is terrible, sorry.

Agonis.jpg

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Melaleuca incana 'seamist'

Another lovely groundcover. Can't wait to see how these guys fair.
Super soft foliage and very attractive.

Mel.jpg

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Eremophila alternipholia

I know zip about these. Jumping in to see how they go.

Eremophila.jpg

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Hakea purpurea

Seems quite nice and small foliage, so worth a try.

Hakea.jpg

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Darwinia citriodora

My first serious attempt at a Darwinia. This ones trialled for you John, boom64
I remember I trialled 2 different Darwinia about 20 years ago, but they had very small foliage and I don't know what species they were.
They slowly withered and perished. However I was younger and probably removed too much root and foliage, knowing me at that age.

Darwinia.jpg

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Kunzea ericoides

I think this should be good, Its a Kunzea, so worth trying.

Kunzea.jpg

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[Keep Calm and Ramify]

The Homoranthus papillatus looks very promising - great bark texture already.
I've no experience with any of these so thanks for the info

[shibui]

Another batch of great possibilities Rory.

I've been growing another cascading Lepto scoparium from Tassie called 'Jim's Rocky Rambler'. Like yours, very prostrate. In the garden it cascades straight down a retaining wall. Unfortunately very attractive to the webbing caterpillar. If I don't treat for them they can defoliate the plant and really set them back. Slow growing in a pot I find but it can produce a decent trunk. Will Fletcher grew and sold that variety at Island Bonsai near Hobart. I suspect your variety may be the best of this bunch you have chosen.

I have a Homoranthus in the garden. Lovely small bell shaped flowers which would go great on a bonsai. Does not seem to make thick trunks though. have not tried keeping in pots for bonsai.

I tried Melaleuca Incana 'seamist' a couple of times but don't have any now. I forget what happened to those but I obviously could not keep them alive in pots. Another one of those dwarf types that develop really slow.

Eremophilas may not appreciate the humidity in summer. Some, like E. maculata, are more tolerant. We have a number in the garden but I don't know E. alternifolia. One called 'Yana Road' has nice silvery leaves and pink flowers almost all year and appears to be tolerant.

I thought Darwinia citriodora is an Eastern species because it does so well over here but it comes from South West WA Other species appear to be very susceptible to summer humidity and root problems on this side which is probably why you have had trouble with them. This one should survive better. Normally ends up as a straggly open shrub with skinny stems so you may struggle to make a good trunk.

As usual I look forward to any results and conclusions you end up with on this selection.