Strawberry Tree - Arbutus Unedo

[Webos]

Hey people,
Went out with Ballarat club today on a dig. Great bunch of people. On site there were Oaks and Pines, but mostly it was Strawberry trees that were dug. I had never seen this tree in the wild before and was amazed to find that pretty much every single tree had a beautiful flaring nebari. I had a lot of trouble choosing from the thousands of nebari's! Ended up coming home with 5 specimens...all with flaring nebari's, various sizes, some with strong movement in the trunks and some with lovely fluting running up and around the trunk.

Anyone out there experienced in these species? Would love some horticultural and styling advice.

Thanks

[Jamie]

gday mate,

im pretty sure penny (mudlark pottery) has a couple going and there was a thread a while back about them
maybe have a search through penny's posts and you should find them

Jamie

[Chris]

how about some pic's

[Webos]

Its dark and raining outside. I'll get pics up tomorrow hopefully

[alpineart]

Hi Webos , where's the pics , don't tell me you left your camera home .I have a couple i dug a few months ago, do a google and you will find a limited number of very nice pics on them .I don't have any info ,currently trying cuttings and they are 50 % good so far only from young new growth, older material withered in a few weeks .Cheers

[shibui]

I think bonsai today had an article on Arbutus a few issues back.
There's a couple of quite old heritage listed Arbutus unedo - Irish Strawberry trees - here at Yackandandah as well as one rather more rare Arbutus canariensis - Canary Island Strawberry tree which is also heritage listed. They all seem to grow as multi trunked trees with an umbrella canopy however they do not seem to self seed very much here.

[craigw60]

Hi Webos, I dug one out of a garden I work in last year, I really ripped it out with very little root and potted it in my nursery potting mix, I fully expected it to die ,it has flourished and is still sending out new shoots and has been all winter. I think these trees are very hardy and need no special treatment. I also think they have hard wood suited to carving. There was a recent post on IBC with a very beautiful example. I am not surprised you have seen so many seedlings as they have been put on the weed list.
Craigw

[Glenda]

Hi Webos,

I remember my dad talking about these. Have a look at this link http://www.internationalbonsaiforum.com ... =52&p=2467

Glenda