Callistemon in deveopment.

Not a lot to really see here but this is my first Callistemon attempt and I feel like sharing today.

I brought this from a nursery back in Jan-Feb, Callistemon Viminalis- Captain Cook, and let it settle a couple of weeks and then decided to hack it back, give the roots a trim and pot it in a colander. At the time it was more of a round shrub and extremely pot bound so I basically cut two thirds or more of everything off to get it nearly looking this way.
It sat in the pot for 3 or 4 months and didn't do a thing at all but the tips of the leaves started going dark and I interpreted that as overwatering si I cut back on that which was a disaster.

I must of let it dry out and the whole tree aside from the tips of 3 leave browned off and dried up, as long as I could see some green I figured there was hope and just kept the water up as much as I could and this paid off in the end and now have a nice lot of brand new growth and now I'm sure it is alive I am super happy about it.

I guess that set me back a few months but have now cut out most of the dead branches and other than that I will leave it be for a while. It still needs more cutting back but I guess it is best to let it grow some roots before doing that, maybe in spring next year. I think given the trunk it will be a straight up shohin broomish type style but will know more later.
Either way it's my first Cally and I'm happy to have it alive, this is the species that sparked my bonsai interest.

The pic isn't the best, I can probably show better one tomorrow in the sun.

It really doesn't like overwatering, especially in the winter. Do you know what species is yours? I've got one C. citrinus for a few years and really don't understand why this is called bottlebrush...

Nice, I want as many different ones as I can, your Citinus is lovely from what I can see.
I can't wait for mine to flower but it will be a while.

Mine is a C. Viminalis, pretty much the most common one around but has nice small leaves to start with and should be a bright red bloom.
They do like wet feet and certainly are not keen on being dry at all, at least in pot culture that is but over winter I will probably water less than half of what I am now.

petegreg said:

and really don't understand why this is called bottlebrush...
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Because of the bottlebrush like flowers


@Starfox , nice Callistemon. You know I love them too.Mine is coming into flower soon so can show it you then if you want.
If you want a good crop of flowers you Must not trim anything from the tree for aprox 5 months prior to it flowering.
After that you can cut hard and then repot and let grow.
Thanks for posting

Viminalis is much better for bonsai for its smaller leaves. The size of leaves of Citrinus is comparable to oleander... I grow mine just for fun and flowers. It has straight and brittle branches, ramification is pretty difficult to achieve...very shrubby. Sometimes some branch decides to dry and die.
And yes, it's thirsty in the summer.
Happy growing.

Starfox said:

this is the species that sparked my bonsai interest.



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I'm liking the the trunk texture @Starfox

petegreg said:

It really doesn't like overwatering, especially in the winter. Do you know what species is yours? I've got one C. citrinus for a few years and really don't understand why this is called bottlebrush...
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@petegreg ,
https://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/gnp2/callistemon-citrinus.html

@Starfox , last years



have a great day!

petegreg said:

Viminalis is much better for bonsai for its smaller leaves. The size of leaves of Citrinus is comparable to oleander... I grow mine just for fun and flowers. It has straight and brittle branches, ramification is pretty difficult to achieve...very shrubby. Sometimes some branch decides to dry and die.
And yes, it's thirsty in the summer.
Happy growing.

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I brought a bunch of different varieties for the garden including Citrinus, White Anzac and a Rose one but they have mainly failed, I have two Viminalis still going and one that is recovering but not sure which one it is yet. They were never destined for bonsai but had nice trunks, I reckon they would of fared better in a pot than in our poor ground.

Craigm said:

@Starfox , nice Callistemon. You know I love them too.Mine is coming into flower soon so can show it you then if you want.
If you want a good crop of flowers you Must not trim anything from the tree for aprox 5 months prior to it flowering.
After that you can cut hard and then repot and let grow.
Thanks for posting

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Craigm said:

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Craigm said:

@petegreg ,
https://www.anbg.gov.au/gnp/gnp2/callistemon-citrinus.html

@Starfox , last years

View attachment 113200

have a great day!

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Ooh very wow Craig, lovely tree. That last pic blows me away and if anyone ever needs a reason to own a Cally that is it right there.
Stunning!
I especially like the teaser pic of the many flower buds, that would get me going.

Thank you ten fold for sharing.

...swampy areas...
http://anpsa.org.au/callis3.html
Thank you for info. My previous calli died in the wet potting soil in the winter. One I have grows in DE and is fine with less water esp. when dormant.

jcrossett said:

I'm liking the the trunk texture @Starfox

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That is another good reason to use this species, I mean this was just nursery stock and can't be more than 2 or 3 years old but to already have that trunk texture is pretty cool.
I'll try and get a better and closer pic of the trunk today.

Your totally welcome!thankyou!

as I mentioned this was last year, it had 376 Flowers but unfortunately only maybe 80% at the same time.
It's 1 meter high.

Enjoy you Calli's ,I'll be watching your threads .




take care.

@Craigm , I've already seen your wonderful tree, not sure on IBC?

@Starfox , can you take an advantage of ground growing it in Spain?

@Craigm, those flowers are amazing! I think I'm at the limit of a number of conditions for survival. Long wet winters and cool summers, but getting warmer. and now that my bottle brush is under cover....who knows? I cut it back hard every spring and it buds well, but has never flowered. First in an oribe pot then in the cream one, not this bright in real life, and painted just to see . Another pot is on the way from Yamafusa kiln. The trunk is hollow.

maybe f/b last year but I didn't personally put it on any forums.
Thanks Peter.

Shima said:

@Craigm, those flowers are amazing! I think I'm at the limit of a number of conditions for survival. Long wet winters and cool summers, but getting warmer. and now that my bottle brush is under cover....who knows? I cut it back hard every spring and it buds well, but has never flowered. First in an oribe pot then in the cream one, not this bright in real life, and painted just to see . Another pot is on the way from Yamafusa kiln. The trunk is hollow. View attachment 113228 View attachment 113229 View attachment 113230

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That is an amazing Tree, do you know which species at all? If you want it to flower I suggest doing a hard trim back about5 to 6 months prior to when it would/should(in your area), early to mid winter . Do not trim it at all after that until it flowers late winter early Spring.

p.s- Love the containers aswell!

pp.s-
It's the same as Peter's right.It looks like melaleuca. In fact they have changed some botanical naming around recently and reclassified most or maybe all callistemons into the Genus Melaleuca now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melaleuca_citrina
Looks as if it may flower about 2 months later than mine so I would do it 5 months prior which would be what? Mid winter - so it gets 5 months growth after cutting ,,growing thru till early summer and hopefully flowering,, Do you pinch spring growth?Then don't pinch or prune at all..

25 edits i think i got it right now...

sorry for thread interupt @Starfox

Thanks Craig. I haven't a clue which species, there are none growing up here so I don't know when it would/should. I let it get bushy and rank but have never even seen a flower bud 'till seeing yours. I just appreciate it for what it is and keep encouraging surface roots for a melting nebari.

Craigm said:

Your totally welcome!thankyou!

as I mentioned this was last year, it had 376 Flowers but unfortunately only maybe 80% at the same time.
It's 1 meter high.

Enjoy you Calli's ,I'll be watching your threads .

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take care.

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Cheers Craig!
I like that you counted the flowers, I reckon that is probably the same amount that our full size one in the garden has. I could chop that back and dig it but my wife would shoot me.

petegreg said:

@Starfox , can you take an advantage of ground growing it in Spain?

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I probably could but don't really have the room on our land at the moment which begs the question what am I going to do with the hundred odd Eucalypt seedlings I have atm , I could grown on in larger pots, it's not ideal but something to keep in mind.
Finding large specimens here is really tough and even if you can buy a larger tree it has been trained straight up for a meter and a half so is basically a large straight stick.
Growing them on does make sense in that respect, I think as I find more I may grow a couple on and keep a few younger ones as smaller examples.

Shima said:

Thanks Craig. I haven't a clue which species, there are none growing up here so I don't know when it would/should. I let it get bushy and rank but have never even seen a flower bud 'till seeing yours. I just appreciate it for what it is and keep encouraging surface roots for a melting nebari.

Click to expand...

Craigm said:

Looks as if it may flower about 2 months later than mine so I would do it 5 months prior which would be what? Mid winter - so it gets 5 months growth after cutting ,,growing thru till early summer and hopefully flowering,, Do you pinch spring growth?Then don't pinch or prune at all..

25 edits i think i got it right now...

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yep i think when you prune in Spring you are cutting off the parts which will flower. Your actually doing yourself in mate.
Do the last hard cut back mid winter and do not pinch or prune until you see it flower which should be early Summer for you.
Have a go and see if this works, i reckon it will mate. Like i said Awesome Tree.

Starfox said:

Cheers Craig!
I like that you counted the flowers, I reckon that is probably the same amount that our full size one in the garden has. I could chop that back and dig it but my wife would shoot me.

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haha should take alot longer this year

@Starfox