AusBonsai

Gday folks!

I started this thread at bonsaiTALK around a year ago, but I thought it might be appropriate to continue it here. I had initially called this planting a 'Mallee-style clump', but in the light of recent discussions about Australian styles, I am content merely to call it a clump for the time being.

The first 3 pics show my initial styling efforts, photographed in March 2008.
Next are a couple of pics from August 2008. The planting has been re-strung and re-wired, and apparently allowed to grow out of control.
During the scorching days we've experienced lately, I had noticed that the little Eucs were wilting at the drop of a hat, even with regular dunking. This is often a sign that the roots have grown to occupy every last bit of space in the soil. So, I reckoned that a repot was in order. I recklessly hacked off about half of the foliage load, tipped out the gravel mulch and began the arduous task of working through the the tangled rootball. Much to my horror, I discovered that the proprietary Bonsai mix in which I had planted the seedlings had turned more-or-less into a compressed mud brick over the past 18 months or so. The roots were healthy enough, but a good dose of my new mix should make them even healthier (and easier to untangle in future). I had intended to merely tease out the edges of the rootball and slip-pot the clump, but I got a little carried away and removed about 2/3 of the roots...
Finally, I repotted in my new soil mix and wired the roots in for stability.
Over the coming days/weeks, I expect to refine the planting, especially with regards to the way the two right-hand trunks are oriented. There's still a long way to go, but I like to think I'm on the right track. Comments, abuse and general banter gladly accepted here.

Thanks.

Fly.

Nice work Mr Fly! I nearly fell off my chair when I read that you are working with E Scoparia too. I though I was the only one silly enough to attempt this aggressive grower

I like where your Mallee style is going. You've got some very realistic movement in the trunks and the branching is coming along nicely. One of my Wallangarra White Gum's was featured in my post on Spring or Cage wiring.

Have you studied the way they grow in nature? Their weeping foliage, white trunk, red new branches and a fairly open canopy make them a unique looking Euc. Will you be mimicking the weeping or are you going for something else?

Perhaps we should collaborate our experiences and write a species guide? I love working with them and wouldn't hesitate in recommending them to others.

Regards,
Steven

I really like the feel of this.. the light, airy foliage and the contorted trunks... it has a wonderfully natural feeling to it. Now far be it from me to tell you what to plant it in but I reckon you need a Mirkwood pot just to get the total Aussie feel to this. It's going to be a wonderful native bonsai and I look forward to seeing pictures as it develops. Well done!!

Hello FlyBri
I agree with the others that you are well on your way to producing a great 'mallee form' clump bonsai. I too like the great movement you have achieved with the trunks. It looks like it was largely from the raffia/wiring, but with a little pruning too. Getting complementary movement in the major branches will be an added feature to aim for.

Steven's comments about the crown and pendant branches raises a real challenge from my experience. While many eucs respond well to pruning by producing many new branches and leaves, the leaves are mostly of the juvenile form, rather than the well known sickle-shape. Getting these juvenile leaves to mimic something like the mature crown will be another challenge. Perhaps pruning off all but the downward pointing leaves might work.

Keeping the whole work small also limits your capacity to produce all the features, but with such a strong grower, it might still work well.

Must go, but can I ask if I can use your post as an article in the newsletter of the Australian Plants as Bonsai Newsletter? I know there will be many who will be most interested in your work.

Cheers
K

You mentioned a "proprietary soil mix". Any one in particular that you would unrecommend?
If you can't name it then perhaps you could scramble the letters between the first and last in the name so Google can't find it but a human mind can untangle it... or mention the colour of the bag it arrived in... ?

Gday Team OZ!

Steven -> I don't know why I hadn't tried E. scoparia sooner: it is readily available from local nurseries, it is known for its vigorous growth (as you mentioned), and its foliage and mature bark are superb. Perhaps the dearth of mature nursery specimens is what had put me off... Having now seen photos from yourself and PeterH of more fully developed E.scoparia, I'm glad that I purchased the 5 little White Gums when I did.

I don't believe that I have seen the tree in its natural habitat: from what I can gather, its distribution is very limited, and its status is listed as 'vulnerable'. So I'll probably be 'designing' the final image based on imagination and whatever ideas the trees offer up to me.

MelaQuin -> The 'airiness' you mention has more to do with a rather hasty removal of foliage for the repot than it does with any design considerations. That said, I am aiming to create an open network of branches to support the canopy, so the 'airy' feel may well remain intact.

Now far be it from me to tell you what to plant it in but I reckon you need a Mirkwood pot just to get the total Aussie feel to this.

It just so happens that I have a Mirkwood pot which was recently vacated. I've thrown together a quick and nasty virt of the clump with the Kennedy pot, attempting as best I can to keep the scale and colour correct. I'm not certain that it works: I feel that a shallower, broader pot might be called for. Anyway, have a look and let me know what you think.
Kunzea -> Thanks for the thoughts regarding the foliage: I'll keep them in mind when trying to refine the foliage of these and my other Eucs. I have almost come to the conclusion that at least one of my better developed Eucs looks best without foliage at all... The trees in my clump have a lot of growing to do yet, and as you suggest, the overall size of the composition may increase yet.

Feel free to use this article (so long as you give Mr AusBonsai proper accreditation). Please PM me if you need further info or require any editing for print.

Hector -> Perhaps I was a little harsh in my appraisal of the Bonsai mix. After all, those seedlings have been growing in the mix for the better part of 2 years - even the best-drained soil mix would become clogged with roots and fines over that time. I'll have a think about it and decide whether or not I'm willing to name names...

Thanks all!

Fly.

Looks awesome Fly - great progress and reflection on Aussie style trees.

I am sure I wont be the only one on the lookout for suitable stock
Regards
Steve

sreeve wrote:I am sure I wont be the only one on the lookout for suitable stock

Gday Steve!

Looking back over the thread, I now realize that a lot of information has disappeared along with bonsaiTALK... Here's a link to Dr Roger Hnatiuk's thoughts on Mallee-style Eucalyptus Bonsai.

The 'suitable stock' you mention was a handful of tubestock seedlings in this case. I constructed a squat, sturdy ring of galvanized wire mesh, then attached the seedlings to it using plastic cable ties. (I believe it was the roots and not the trunks that were attached to the wire.) At this stage, the only 'styling' I had done was to lean all of the trunks outward from the centre. Once the roots had taken, I then got stuck into it with the wire.

Looking at the photos, it appears that I need to rearrange the trunks a little... This is tricky, as I need to settle on an optimum viewing distance: the further away you view the setting, the more it closes up. Conversely, the closer you get, the more it opens up. At the distance at which I tend to sit/stand while wiring and pruning, the composition is much better than it is in the photographs... I'm adding more wire as we speak, and hope to get updated photos soon.

Thanks.

Fly.

Gday folks!

Here's me experimenting with polyurethane glue to strengthen a snapped branch...
Seems to be working a treat!

Thanks.

Fly.

looks the goods fly will you be trying to wire and bend in that area any time at all? i would be cautious as you will probly find the glued joint to be stronger than the actual area around it.

just my thoughts.


jamie

jamie111 wrote:looks the goods fly will you be trying to wire and bend in that area any time at all? i would be cautious as you will probly find the glued joint to be stronger than the actual area around it.

just my thoughts.

Gday Jamie!

Good thoughts indeed - I thought the same thing myself when I applied the glue deep into the crack... This glue sticks like you cannot believe: I think the Yanks call it "Gorilla Glue".

As it turns out, there is no more bending to be done here: the damage I did (that needed repairing) was caused by me being over zealous in my initial attempts at finding a good angle. As such, I had wrapped loads of self-adhesive silicone tape (Tommy tape) around the wound in the hopes that it would support the branch/trunk while it healed. When I removed said tape yesterday, all seemed good until I tried to pull the apex down a bit, and the old split opened up again, bigger and better than before. (Sorry that I have no pics, but I was in Mad Professor mode.)

The apex is still weak, and on a Euc that is unusual, so I must have done lots of damage with my initial efforts.

I've been wiring and selecting branches (pruning), and hope to get some pics up soon.

ahhh righto pal, you should be good with this the, just be cautious if ya need to do some movement with it, although i dont think you will make the same mistake again.
will be good to see some progress

cheers pal

jamie

Looking good Mr Fly. I see a very fine Kabudachi there, You do have a way with Euc's.

Cheers Pup

jamie111 wrote:although i dont think you will make the same mistake again.

I've got $10 that says I will make the same mistake again... I can be a bit brutal at times (with my trees, that is).

Thanks again.

Fly.