AusBonsai

G'day

I have a Loropetalum Chinese pink which i am training.
I was told that they make good bonsai, but i wasn't sure so i tried it anyway, and so far it is looking very good.

Does anyone have and advice, info, facts about this species?

Cheers

Some pictures would be nice, Pat.

Glenda

Lorapetalum are nice and do make nice bonsai. They flower in hot pink or a greeny white. In each case the flowering is exceedingly prolific and can cover the entire tree. They have their major flowering in September [Sydney] and are just tapering off now but will spot flower over the next few months. Lorapetalums shoot back on old wood, leaves miniaturise nicely. It is not a rampant grower but it is a strong grower and you don't want to control the growth too much to lose the flower display. I would work more with a pleasing silhouette rather than distinctive pads as the foliage tends to droop/weep and rigid control will curtail this beautiful aspect. In view of this I can't see the plant shining as a mini, more towards 25-40 cm tall to allow more room for the weeping foliage to droop. By the same token, a mini pyracantha can be stunning with one spray of flowers or berries while its larger sibling looks equally stunning with a massive amount of flowers or fruit so the lorapetalum could be the same.

They like full sun all day and moist soil but not wet and they are not huge drinkers. I use Charlie Carp, Osmocote and other fertilisers and have had a very erratic fertilising regime which doesn't seem to affect the tree at all. There have been a couple of times the soil got too dry and the foliage was wilting but it rallied with a good soak and I had no after problems.

The plant appears to be pretty pest free tho an occasional Confidor spray is good.

I have a literati planted in the garden to thicken the trunk. It is about 35cm high and the foliage and flowers are drooping to the ground. I have just dug around it with a spade, lifted it to cut all the lower roots and patted it back in the ground for another year to grow some more. It didn't drop a leaf. The trunk is long, slender and snaky but the foliage is hardly literati.

Frankly, more should be done with Lorapetalums as they are as showy as azaleas.

thanks that good info man.
i got some old pics but i'll get some recent ones tomz or something, it was raining and i didnt have time today.