A few Australian Natives...

jason biggs

Chumono
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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

Shohin
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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.
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Ryceman3

Shohin
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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!

 

czaczaja

Shohin
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Esolin

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

hardtimes

Mame
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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

Shohin
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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

Shohin
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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.
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reywas

Seed
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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

Shohin
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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!
 
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