AusBonsai

Hi, I am fairly new to bonsai and have got a lot of information off this forum, it is excellent!!!!
I rescued this plant from a 30+ year old garden that was getting demolished, I have had it in the pot for about a month now (the beer bottle is for comparison and it was thirsty work!!!) and it is starting to produce new leaves.
Could anyone tell me what it is and if it is worth my while doing anything with.
Thanks for your help.
Andrew

cant help with the id but damn thats a great trunk, that will be an awesome bunjin!

great pic up mate that has awesome movement, and it has natural small leaves which is a good thing


jamie

i thought it my be contonester but with what appears to be berries of a unusual shape im not sure

nice material has it got thorns if so could be a pyrocanthea

No, it hasn't got thorns

Cotoneaster looks like a good name. The fruits are just fine.

Yep - that is cotoneaster all right!


Yes - it is worth while you doing something with - it will make a fine bonsai!

A very interesting piece to work with. Love the existing deadwood, study and follow that theme. Great find congrats. i see a bunjin!

A cotoneaster has a soft, slightly fuzzy leaf, dull, flat colour... no shine. Look at the fruit. To my eye that is definitely Lillipilli fruit with the base being fluted and larger than the top. Bite into the fruit [if it is LP it won't kill you]. Is it soft and easily pierced, does it have a small seed in the centre? Lillipilli. These plants are being hybridised at a great rate and there is a great variation in leaf sizes and shapes. While the leaf is not typically LP, the fruit surely is. If you don't want to bite it, cut it with a knife and see. The seed is slightly separated from the casing. If it matches the description above then taste it. Should be a soft crunchy with a tart flavour. Not at all unpleasant unless you need a lot of sugar. It is not an overly sweet fruit. But rich in Vitamin C. Check it out.

Mind you, the trunk does look pyracantha but that is all.... no way is it a pyra. Everything else is wrong for that ID.

With the clarity of your photo with the fruit print it out and take it to a nursery. It should be easily identifiable if my ID doesn't work.

Nice find hooky73, it is without a doubt a Cotoneaster

Cheers
Mojo Moyogi

Trunk and bark and habit certainly look like some form of cotoneaster.

Grant

I know its been said, but i too say Cotoneaster judging by the size shape colour and growth pattern of the leaves.

Thanks everyone for your help

Hi Melaquin
sorry, but I think you might be wrong on this one.
Lillipillis (Syzygium and Acmena) don't have hairs (Hooky's tree has hairs at least around the edges of the leaves, and possibly underneath, though that is hard to be sure in the photo). The LPs also have their leaves 'opposite', you know, one coming off on each side of the stem and at the same height. Hooky's are 'alternate'.

The fruits look like immature cotoneaster fruit. Hooky could taste them too. They won't be delicious, but they are not poisnonous. They are related to rose hips, apples, peaches, plums etc.
Kunzea

Andrew,
The community is correct, it is a cotoneaster. Not any of the low growing varieties, but a tree variety. This will make a great bonsai in a relatively short period of time. I would recommend a good fertilizer program starting now with something bloom booster.
PS - ditch the Carlton mate, get on the Blonde!