AusBonsai

Gday folks!

I had a bit of time up my sleeve on Boxing Day afternoon (yesterday) and thought it was high time to address a tree that I had been ignoring for too long: an unidentified Eucalypt that I dug from a lady's garden in the main street of my little burb. Please find attached photos of the tree's progress over the last 2.5 years (mostly recycled from a thread I had at bonsaiTALK):
▼ ▼ ▼
▼ ▼ ▼
▼ ▼ ▼
▼ ▼ ▼
▼ ▼ ▼
I want to check out what's going on under the soil, as growth has slowed to a crawl, but now that I look, there is new growth present, and the 'rules' for Eucs state that they should only ever be repotted when completely dormant... What oh what shall I do?

Stay tuned to find out...

Thanks.

Fly.

I love it.
Shalom Luciano.
http://bonsaistudio.forumvila.com/index.php
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=ho ... b?ref=name

Great movement in the trunk mate.

Shannon wrote:Great movement in the trunk mate.

Gday Shannon!

The trunk movement and taper is what drew my eye to this hidden gem every time I walked my dog past the property in question. The lady who owns the place obviously didn't want a Euc growing so close to her brick fence (and the footpath beyond) so had performed a number of trunk chops over the years, unwittingly creating some great Bonsai material.

luciano benyakob wrote:I love it.

Gday Luciano!

There's more to come, and I hope you'll continue to love it!

Thanks.

Fly.

I was wondering what came of this little gem. Hoping it was still kicking. Looking great and developing quickly.

Show us more

FlyBri

I know traditional 'wisdom' says not to prune with active growth on the gum tree but u can do it if proper aftercare is applied.

After 25 years experience working with gum trees as bonsai in my humble opinion gum trees can be root pruned safely at most times provided that their roots remain wet for 3-4 weeks after repotting. After that normal watering regimes are satisfactory.

regards

Dennis Mc

Magic stuff Fly
I also was wondering at time what had become of this one
Nice to see it has progressed
Ken

dennismc wrote:I know traditional 'wisdom' says not to prune with active growth on the gum tree but u can do it if proper aftercare is applied.

After 25 years experience working with gum trees as bonsai in my humble opinion gum trees can be root pruned safely at most times provided that their roots remain wet for 3-4 weeks after repotting.

Gday Dennis!

I think I recall reading a post of yours that says something similar, and although my experience with Eucs is considerably less than yours (10-12 years) I could not agree more. I'm quite pleased (and a little relieved) to find a like-minded individual when it comes to the repotting of Eucalypts: the supposed need for 'absolute dormancy' creates an unnecessary sense of anxiety that would be enough to put a lot of individuals off trying Euc Bonsai.

Anyway, I did decide to repot: I needed to see what had become of the long, rootless bit of wood beneath the soil. When I got the trunk out of the pot, I found that I had filled the lower portion with large chunks of broken terracotta (I think I was hoping to restrict the space (and thus the root growth) low in the pot, and force roots to grow up closer to the soil's surface).
Once I removed the chunks, it could be seen that there were 2 distinct zones where rooting was strongest: about the base of the trunk, and at the very bottom of the training pot (the bottom section of roots had formed a 'foot' which could support the weight of the whole trunk).
I gently tried to work out which roots went where, and when I was satisfied that I had enough roots up top, I sawed the tap root in half.
Sorry to leave the thread hanging here, but I've got real life things to do...

Back with more pics soon!

Fly.

Very nice Mr Fly, this makes me feel like trying an Euc. Can't wait to see more

fantastic fly!!! great tree and education to go with it. dennis great confirmation of info too! well my experience is far less than both of you, 4yrs i have been tinkering and was ready to throwm in the bin. till i discovered this year that a flooding method works for me. cutting back hard then soaking the trees for a few hours prior to repotting. then bare rooting to work the roots and yes no brutal culls here. im leaving plenty roots on. another soak after repotting and shade and watering like theres no tomorrow for the following month. i have had success with a sugar gum and a manna gum that were done back in november. now fly you have inspired me and given me the courage to do my nicholi and red spotted gum. into the soaking tub they go! thanks gents.

*********

anttal63 wrote:... watering like theres no tomorrow for the following month.

Gday Antonio!

While we are going against much of what the Koreshoffs have taught, there is one point that Dot K made relatively recently regarding the importance of fast draining soil mix and frequent, deep watering after after repotting. The point here is to get as much air to the roots as possible during a tree's recovery. This Euc is planted into my best-drained mix yet: it's mostly attapulgite (Chandlers Kitty Litter), coarse sand/gravel and vermiculite, with a handful of Dynamic Lifter to stink things up a bit. There's not even so much as a wilted leaf on the thing at the moment.

While I'm here, I should put up some more photos:
That's all for now. Thanks for looking. Updates as they come to hand (I expect the stump to explode with new growth over the next month).

Fly.

Its almost perfect, the only thing missing is a Koala.

Nice work Fly thanks for the tips guys I am getting gamer to start working on mine I will definatly experiment repotting one soon.

fly; agreed on the air to the roots factor. this is necessary common sense for most if not all potted plants. hence the right soil mix is crucial.