Ryceman3
Shohin
An update on another Melaleuca after a tidy up. Same species as the previous post, M. linariifolia… these are good bonsai candidates I think. Coming into refinement now which is nice.
A few Australian Natives...
- Thread starter Ryceman3
- Start date
Ryceman3
Shohin
Don’t think I’ve posted these before (maybe I have?!) … but they were all grown from seed in 2019. Been cleaned up over the last couple of weeks, starting to become something I think. I'm happy with their progression at any rate. First one is Melaleuca cuticularis, followed by Melaleuca rhaphiophylla … both endemic to WA… about as far west of me as you can get! Enjoying the challenge!!
Orion_metalhead
Masterpiece
Wow! What cool trees.
Ryceman3
Shohin
A repot for this Leptospermum today and a new pot.
It already had a fantastic pot (that I loved) but the tree was knocked off the rack a few months ago by a possum and it shattered, so I had the tree in a plastic thing over the winter and contacted a local potter (Bad Swan Ceramics) to make up something to replace it for me. Very happy with the new container and very happy to have this tree back in something more fitting for it to continue to develop.
It already had a fantastic pot (that I loved) but the tree was knocked off the rack a few months ago by a possum and it shattered, so I had the tree in a plastic thing over the winter and contacted a local potter (Bad Swan Ceramics) to make up something to replace it for me. Very happy with the new container and very happy to have this tree back in something more fitting for it to continue to develop.
Ryceman3
Shohin
I addressed the pot issueAnother 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.
View attachment 566850
with a nice one from a local potter 
(well Australian anyway... just the other side!).It was made by Bad Swan Ceramics for those wondering... it does a nice job of complimenting this tree I think and there is something nice about putting Australian natives in Australian made pots.
Ryceman3
Shohin
Some mid-summer work over the last couple of days on a few of the Melaleuca above.
I included the before shots so you can see how quick they develop from the posts just a few months ago.
I love these trees but they are a lot of work!
I included the before shots so you can see how quick they develop from the posts just a few months ago.
I love these trees but they are a lot of work!
JoeR
Masterpiece
Wow, that is quite the progress in just a few years. Very cool. I have one Laura's red manuka (related?) but it does not progress like that!
Ryceman3
Shohin
Manuka is a different thing to Melaleuca, it is a Leptospermum scoparium (AKA tea tree here) that is also native to New Zealand. I know there are quite a few people who try them as bonsai though.
I don't have any (so no first hand experience) but there is a lot of "discussion" about how hardy they are to bonsai-related root work so that might be something to keep in mind. I have other Leptospermum that don't seem to have issues with root reduction/work so it doesn't apply to all. I think they tend to be a bit slower growing, but they do have an impressive flower display though so it's not all bad! Good luck with it!
Notsureaboutplantnames
Yamadori
I can't help but being drawn to these trees from Australia (and other SH parts of the world). They were some of the first "odd" trees and shrubs I was exposed to back in the late 70's. While my career has taking me in many different directions I am now retied and back in Santa Cruz and the attraction has only increased.
Not many nurseries locally carry very many Melaleuca species or Leptospermum but the UCSC arboretum store had a few interesting options the other day.
I found these two of interest to me. Do you have any experience with these?
Melaleuca lrbyana
Erica chanaliculata
with its small foliage and beautiful flowers.
Any, how can you resist a Banksia that can do this?
cheers
peter
Not many nurseries locally carry very many Melaleuca species or Leptospermum but the UCSC arboretum store had a few interesting options the other day.
I found these two of interest to me. Do you have any experience with these?
Melaleuca lrbyana
Erica chanaliculata
with its small foliage and beautiful flowers.
Any, how can you resist a Banksia that can do this?
cheers
peter
Ryceman3
Shohin
A repot into a more appropriately sized vessel for the middle tree in Post #86 above. It had outgrown the other pot and was in need of a little room to breathe so I shifted it up to give it some space.
I generally leave a lot of foliage on after a repot for Melaleuca (and a lot of other native trees) as they seem to respond well when they have a lot of green up top. I am expecting to see roots emerging from the drainage holes in a couple of weeks.
Never a dull moment with Aussie natives!
I generally leave a lot of foliage on after a repot for Melaleuca (and a lot of other native trees) as they seem to respond well when they have a lot of green up top. I am expecting to see roots emerging from the drainage holes in a couple of weeks.
Never a dull moment with Aussie natives!
Last edited:
Ryceman3
Shohin
Hi Peter, apologies I somehow missed your post.
There are a lot of great native species, too many to list (and I'm sure I don't know most of them).
That mel looks promising in terms of leaf size etc so definitely worth a try. Never heard of "Erica chanaliculata" but those flowers are great and as for banksia, I don't grow any at the moment (space issues) but there are plenty of kinds that are popular as bonsai subjects down here.
Good luck with them!
Similar threads
