Flowers 2019

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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@Shibui
Wow, do Aussies make bonsai out of those species? Especially the Hackea, Banksia & Thryptomene, the Thryptomene look like junipers with little cup shaped flowers. Wild. Love it.

I have seen Grevillea used as bonsai - not often in the northern hemisphere, but have seen it an it works.

I have to temper my interest in Aussie natives, my winters are just too damn cold and my light garden is not quite bright enough for full sun plants, and is already over crowded with orchids and other stuff. But most Aussies do well in southern California, it would be great if we could see more of these up north here.

@LanceMac10 - Kalmia - Mountain Laurel - that is a USA native you don't often seen grown these days, or maybe we just don't see it in the midwest. I imagine out east it is a bit more common. I was never able to keep it alive the couple times I tried one. But that was before I figured out how to keep azalea happy for 10 or more years. I am now in year 12 or 14 with a Satsuki azalea, and think I finally got them figured out.

I'm cheating, photo is 2016, 'Hoshi-no-Kagayaki' Satsuki
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Shibui

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Wow, do Aussies make bonsai out of those species? Especially the Hackea, Banksia & Thryptomene, the Thryptomene look like junipers with little cup shaped flowers. Wild. Love it.
Banksias are becoming more common as bonsai as we learn more about how to deal with them in pots. They are one of the genera that has a reputation for dropping dead from fertiliser. They also die from starvation if not fertilised in pots and many attribute this to fertiliser toxicity as well and the problem compounds. Turns out they are happy to have most fertiliser provided it is introduced gradually or proteoid roots are removed before fert is first applied. They also react badly to root disturbance in cool weather so traditional repotting time can also kill banksias but we have found that they do really well when repotted in early summer, even if in full growth at the time. Once all that is out of the way they make very responsive bonsai candidates - many are quick growing, they continue to thicken in small pots and will sprout prolifically all over old and bare wood when pruned. Flowers are a drawback as they flower on the tips of previous year's growth which is usually pruned off in bonsai cultivation. One currently in the national collection here grows slowly enough now that if can produce occasional flowers but they are still big compared to the size of the tree.
Here's another good garden variety - grows less than 1m tall without pruning and produces masses of flowers for more than 6 months each year.
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Thryptomene would make really great bonsai but are another of the genera that seem to resent root disturbance and are vulnerable to root fungi. Some growers still trying to crack the code. Along with the little leaves and flowers they develop twisted trunks with ropy texture and peeling bark which would be spectacular in itself.

I have a couple of hakeas in development but not this species (yet - managed to strike some cuttings last year but they all died even before I started working on them). A bonsai version in full flower would be spectacular.

Correas also flower right through our winter. Lots of species which are quite variable so there are lots of forms and cultivars and many new hybrids with flower colour from white through yellow to reds and combinations. Also varous patters of green or green and red. Our nectar eating birds love these as they flower while other food is more scarce.
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Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
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Multiflora Rose, damn weed, I hate it on the farm. But smells so sweet. You can smell it a long distance away. Vicious weed, the thorns are painful. Really nasty when tangled up in a blueberry bush. Got to get rid of them before harvest.
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And a box turtle in the tire rut where the stream crosses the dirt road.
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Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
Messages
11,337
Reaction score
23,254
Location
on the IL-WI border, a mile from ''da Lake''
USDA Zone
5b
Satsuki, I believe properly called 'Shiro Ebisu' the all white mutation of 'Waka Ebisu'. At least for me it has only bloomed white. I'm not sure I spelled the names correctly.

It is a full cascade, the descending branch (trunk really) is about a third longer below the feet of the pot than the pot is tall.

Might eventually shorten it to a semi- cascade, there's a nice point at which I could do it. But I enjoy the challenge of keeping the descending trunk healthy. It is a bitch to move around.

Flowers are monster this year, mostly because I only left 5 buds. Maybe next year I'll bloom it out top to bottom.

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In an YiXing huar lan pot. With dragon and phoenix chasing pearl of immortality.

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