Unknown Kunzea

[melbrackstone]

This is a Kunzea I've been fiddling with for a couple of years now, thanks Gaye! Its type is unknown to me, and I don't even know if it flowers! I guess if it does, it's not doing it for me cos I never let it grow long enough, and from the main shot, you can see why! I don't know if it's overly happy on the slab, but it's certainly thrown out lots of new growth up top.

Any suggestions welcome.

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[Sno]

Hi Mel . With out seeing the flower it’s a bit of a guess but the other characteristics bark ,leaves and growth habit I would say K ambigua , Tick Bush .

[melbrackstone]

Thanks Sno, that was my thinking, although they're very thin on the ground up here. Hopefully it'll flower one day and I'll get a definitive answer.
Cheers

[boom64]

Hi Mel ,i think Craig is on the money looks very much like the mighty K ambigua .If you have not pruned it in the last two months or so you might sneak out an odd flower. Cheers John.

[melbrackstone]

Thanks John. It all helps, but no one up here seems to have Kunzea!

[GavinG]

There is so much crazy going on in the branches, I think the straight trunk just holds it all together - I wouldn't be desperately keen to crack it and bend it. Junipers/pines/conifers have resinous trunks that split fairly easily - I'm not sure Kunzeas agree with such behaviour.

All great fun, I can't wait to see what you do with it next.

Gavin

[melbrackstone]

There is so much crazy going on in the branches, I think the straight trunk just holds it all together - I wouldn't be desperately keen to crack it and bend it. Junipers/pines/conifers have resinous trunks that split fairly easily - I'm not sure Kunzeas agree with such behaviour.

All great fun, I can't wait to see what you do with it next.

Gavin

You're dead right there's lots of crazy going on Gavin, and the straight trunk just isn't crazy enough in my eyes! I'll keep looking at it over the Summer and see if I can resolve the "In my eyes" problem. Thanks for the input, and yes, Kunzeas are maybe not able to cope with a split. Trying to recall if Ryan did something at the Vic Native Club convention, and whether the tree survived. That'll give me something to look into also.

[GavinG]

Not everything has to look the same on a tree. I've seen large Melaleucas with telegraph-pole trunks, and the funkiest branches falling away from them. At first I thought "I don't like that", with my proper bonsai mind, and then I figured that maybe the tree didn't care... i think you could get an interesting balance between straight and funky, but it will be a complex exercise.

Best of luck,

Gavin

[melbrackstone]

Not everything has to look the same on a tree. I've seen large Melaleucas with telegraph-pole trunks, and the funkiest branches falling away from them. At first I thought "I don't like that", with my proper bonsai mind, and then I figured that maybe the tree didn't care... i think you could get an interesting balance between straight and funky, but it will be a complex exercise.

Best of luck,

Gavin

Thanks Gavin, I like your thinking. I might go out looking for weird Melaleucas over Summer too.

[melbrackstone]

Had a good long look at this tree today and remembered it had a nice little curve, which was not visible in the previous quick shot I shared. I repotted it today in this Marie Hewartson container, and used pure Akadama. I had used 100% Akadama at the last repot onto the slab too, and the roots were incredibly fine and well ramified, so that's what I'm hoping for again. Not much need for pruning the roots for this repot anyway.
Kunzea ambigua!

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[vteryter]

Hi,

I have a question whoever is reading this thread of mine please answer it I know my question will be strange but still tell me can we use kunzea as furniture?

[Stevie_B]

Not with the trees we deal with mate, sorry.

Mel, can you get Kunzea up here in South East Qld easily? I haven't come across any easily.

[melbrackstone]

Mel, can you get Kunzea up here in South East Qld easily? I haven't come across any easily.

The only one I've seen for sale is Kunzea baxteri, Stevie, but I haven't checked out the various Native Plant nurseries in a long time.

[melbrackstone]

The first two pics are from a workshop I did yesterday with Steve Cullum. He suggested a smaller pot like a nanban, but I didn't have one the right size, so I've put it into a pretty Ian Baillie container.

When I took it out of the Marie Hewartson pot I noticed that the mix was almost completely dry! Despite this, the foliage was fresh and happy and had been shooting madly. I'm wondering if they prefer drier conditions than most other natives, since I have been having trouble keeping this particular plant watered, as the very fine roots had completely filled the pot so well.

I haven't finished the dead branches yet, but you get the picture.

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[Sno]

Nice result . This pot suits it really well , that’s a beautiful glaze .
I wouldn’t be surprised if the tree forms a natural shari underneath where you jinned it , they tend to do that .