AusBonsai

Hey Guys,

Callistemon . . . make good bonsai? I have my eye on one here. What is their rooting structure like? Easy to dig or difficult? What about training?

Cheers,

Andrew

PS: I'll post an image this weekend of the tree I have my eye on.

Certainly do! Pup's one of the experts here. I'm sure he will chime in with some great information.

Joel

Thanks Joel,

I have seen some of the posts about them. I guess my biggest question is how easy or difficult they are to dig out. Compact root-ball or lotsa hard work?

Cheers and have a great weekend everyone!

They are easy to collect and so long as you get "normal " amount of root then you ar good

After care of dappled sun and Seasol till you see good positive signs of growth, then more sun

Ken

Andrew
Callistemons make great bonsai, and they generally are easy to move from the ground to a pot. Some species, like those based on C. pallidus, may be a bit more tricky - in my experience they take a very long time to re-establish their root system after cutting the roots.

I've moved other species from the ground with total bare-rooting - absolutetly no soil left and no fine roots at all - thanks to the workers who were getting rid of them. They came from a very large planter at a shopping mall. All survived, with some making new shoots within 6 weeks, though some took 10 months. They were put into coarse, unsifted river sand, in large plastic boxes and left until they had regrown well before further work.

Good luck
Roger