A few Australian Natives...

[Ryceman3]

A couple of she-oaks that got upgraded to new/better pots in the last few days.
Always nice to transition into proper pots.

 

[jason biggs]

we don't have anything like she oak in South Africa... it looks like a conifer?? why is it called she oak?? seems to do very well in containers...

 

[Ryceman3]

Prune of this Melaleuca over the weekend. Super apically dominant so hoping that with a cut back up top it will aid development/growth down a bit lower. Hasn’t been cut back since a repot in February. I include the “before” shot because I think it helps to explain the scope of work, and hopefully gives everyone a sense of the development timeline.

 

[Ryceman3]

we don't have anything like she oak in South Africa... it looks like a conifer?? why is it called she oak?? seems to do very well in containers...

Sorry, I missed your post until now!
Somebody else earlier in this thread also asked about the origin of the name “she oak” and the link below was provided by @Starfox
They aren’t conifers, more like casuarina. Hope that helps a bit!

SHE OAK. OR CASUARINA. - Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954) - 10 Jul 1914

"Curious" wishes to know the origin of the name she oak, and wiry it was given to a tree so utterly unlike the real oak ...

trove.nla.gov.au

 

[czaczaja]

A couple of she-oaks that got upgraded to new/better pots in the last few days.
Always nice to transition into proper pots.

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I have never seen anything like this before! Amazing foliage.

 

[Ryceman3]

Updates on a few trees that got a mid-summer prune over the last couple of days.
These are all Melaleuca… a couple of other native species also coming in the next few days. Repots also on the cards for some in the next month or two.

 

[Esolin]

Those are some sweet trees! Love the pot choices too. They fit perfectly.

 

[hardtimes]

i really like the sheoak, are other casuarinas good for bonsai? I can find Allocasuarina verticillata seeds and Casuarina equisetifolia seedlings but I cant really find Allocasuarina littoralis

 

[Ryceman3]

i really like the sheoak, are other casuarinas good for bonsai? I can find Allocasuarina verticillata seeds and Casuarina equisetifolia seedlings but I cant really find Allocasuarina littoralis

I have a couple of A. verticillata going and while the bark is pretty interesting, I don’t get anywhere near the same level of refinement in the foliage. Inconsistent budding when cut back and just coarse growth in general make it inferior in my opinion.
I haven’t tried C. equisetifolia (so no direct experience) but I have seen some pretty decent attempts at bonsai with it, I would give that a go over A. verticillata. Another good one is A. torulosa. Quite similar to A. littoralis in many respects, not sure if that’s available around your way…

 

[Ryceman3]

A few of the semi cascade Leptospermum I’ve been developing got a trim recently…

 

[Ryceman3]

An update on some A. littoralis. One originally from the first post in this thread, the other was first in Post #10.
Both doing nicely.

 

[Ryceman3]

A few smaller melaleuca that transitioned from plastic into their first proper pots today.
Things always look a bit better in a bonsai pot!
Need to trim the foliage back but it is my usual practice to leave a bit more on after a repot with these until the roots establish (a month or so) before I tidy up the tops.
These are all Melaleuca stypheliodes. A couple of extra pics showing the roots on a couple of them for reference too.

 

[Ryceman3]

The sheoak from my initial post in this thread 3 years on. Gave it a trim and re-wired today.

 

[Ryceman3]

Trees from Post #24 … about 2.5 years on. Black Sheoak… A. littoralis.

 

[reywas]

Incredible! I appreciate the regular updates you've been posting - they really help to show the growth rate and habit of the trees. If you don't mind me asking, what are the little basket pot-looking things sitting on the substrates of several of your trees?

 

[Ryceman3]

Incredible! I appreciate the regular updates you've been posting - they really help to show the growth rate and habit of the trees. If you don't mind me asking, what are the little basket pot-looking things sitting on the substrates of several of your trees?

The plastic pot things are just a fancy way to hold fertiliser into the pot. If I have these spare I will use them, otherwise I will put the fertiliser in teabags and attach with a toothpick.
The "pots" are good because they can be pushed into the bonsai mix and left a bit above the surface which means any moss etc directly under stays alive. The tea bags rest on the surface and will kill any moss directly under them ... not the end of the world, but still!

 

[Youngling]

we don't have anything like she oak in South Africa... it looks like a conifer?? why is it called she oak?? seems to do very well in containers...

Hi Jason, I believe they're commonly called Beefwood over here. Very invasive, banned from nursery trade. They were very common as wind barriers on farms and can still find lots of these rows of trees. Easy to collect smaller trees that sprout at the base of these barriers. In the Western Cape at least. Not sure about further up.

 

[Youngling]

Amazing styling and pot selection @Ryceman3. Lots of inspiration for the few Australian trees I have.

 

[Ryceman3]

The 3 Melaleuca that were repotted in March (Post #72) got a trim back today to get them ready for the expected spring push of growth in the next few weeks.
These are all shohin size (approx. 20cms or less).



.

 

[Ryceman3]

Another Melaleuca getting an early spring trim.
This tree was last posted in this thread in Feb 2023 ... Post #53, so you can see the evolution from there if you want to look back.
Keeping the bottom a tad more bushy than the top as it is very prone to preferencing the apex at the expense of lower branches.
I might actually remove some of that lower branch in any case (the bit that covers the trunk mostly) ... but for now it stays.
Oh ... and the pot is awful so that needs to be addressed at some point soon.