Dwarf NSW Christmas Bush Experimenting

[MelaleucaMichael]

Hi there,

I notice there is not much information in regard to bonsai experiences with Dwarf NSW Christmas Bush / Ceratopelatum gummiferum, (not only on this forum but over the general internet) and I would like to share my own. While I’ve only had this plant for a little over a month, I wish there were more experiences to reference online and feel I have already learnt a fair amount from the plant.

In general, they are a super hardy, sun loving species that grows really well and respond very positively to pruning.

The Chrissy Bush I’m working with is rather small and unfortunately with a small balcony and a housemate I’m unable to keep growing for a thicker trunk, so am instead experimenting with how the plant responds. If it’s successful then one day I’ll hopefully have a go at trunk chopping an older specimen.

Branching:
I have had this 140mm pot plant only for just and have already found it responds mostly well to tip pruning. I say mostly well because while ramification of branches and smaller leaves began almost instantly, there are moments where after node distances of between 0.5cm - 1cm, the branch sometimes suddenly won’t have another node for up to 7cm. It is important to note of course that this is indeed a miniaturised version of the Christmas bush’s natural growth pattern and therefore is probably futile to try work against.

This natural pattern may be wanted by some to replicate the natural Christmas bush, or it may be preferred to be avoided by others who have a different style in mind for their Christmas bush.

As my trunk is rather small and not getting much bigger anytime soon, while I want a natural look I also found some of those longer distances to be unnaturally long given the smaller size of the trunk. Hence my ramification attempts. Every cut I make above a node it has yielded either 2 or 4 new shoots from around that node. No more and no less and never 3. This gives an abundance of option to work with for new leaders and to make denser growth. If you don’t like what a branch is doing you can almost guarantee you will have many options waiting for you, always aided by how insanely fast it grows and reactive it is to pruning.

Leaves:
I have found the leaves to miniaturise a lot faster than expected, at the same rate as branch ramification. While most of the new smaller bright green leaves mature into the dark green glossy leaves and stay small, occasionally some will grow a lot larger when they mature. Removing these bigger leaves as a healthy plant is able to cope with it (don’t take off more foliage than the plant can handle) has shown no stress on the tree and encouraged smaller leaf growth and branch ramification.

Potting:
I had not repotted this plant since purchase form the nursery in 2024 until today (2 feb 2025) as the soil the plant was in was getting too soggy and I didn’t want to keep running that risk. I have today repotted the tree in a mix with equal parts organic potting mix, pumice stone (and that pumice+ grain as I have no grit/sand) and perlite. Being in low quality soil prior the roots did not need any work done. I am hoping it survives the change in pants.

Attached are some photos from:
1. The day mum gave it to me (she thought it was funny cause I ran over the one in our front yard when I was younger which is still thriving)
2. After I pruned the excessively long growth in late December,
3. and 4. Showing the new growth coming in throughout January from tip pruning
5. and 6. Repotting and light pruning today.

Was hard to get good photos of the leaves and branching but will try again for the next update if I don’t kill it.

Thanks for reading and I hope this can be of help to someone or someone can lend me some tips.