Grevillea

[Bonsaidoorguy]

I was at a local nursery this last weekend and in with the discounted plants I saw this little guy marked as a Grevillea "Canberra Gem". I was unfamiliar with it but it said evergreen and almost looked like a fir. So for eight bucks I grabbed it and took it home. I did a little looking on YouTube and on this site and could find very little. I think it's native to Australia? I'm curious if anyone is familiar with this plant? I want to know how hard I can cut it back and get back budding. The base has a nice start but I'm unsure where to go with it, suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Please add location to profile for best advice. Not familiar with species. Research time.

 

[Starfox]

'Canberra Gem' is G. rosmarinifolia.
I have struggle failed to keep these alive in the past. There is a little bit of info here https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=80&t=23171 and some more scattered around that forum.

Consensus seems to be that they don't often back bud on old wood, may die if you cut too much off, go beyond green on older branches and the branch will drop and they don't like wet feet.

Oh and being from the Proteaceae family they can be prone to proteoid roots which if they are present then a good feed with liquid fert could kill it too so when you repot it look for little fuzzy white root clusters, similar in look to mycorrhizae and if you see them remove all you can find.

That said it is a nice base on that tree but I'd proceed lightly, maybe a slight thin out and see if it reacts and then concentrate on keeping it alive. Maybe check the roots out and replace a little soil with a good bonsai mix but that would be about all.

 

[Shibui]

Definitely an Aussie native.
Not quite as sensitive to P fertiliser as some other proteacea but they can be prone to fungal attack on roots. Good open mix seems best.
Hardly ever buds on bare wood so always leave good healthy leaves when pruning.
Gentle root work seems to be advised. Rarely recovers from massive root reduction. Repot in warmer weather - late spring, early summer - seems to yield best results, even if the plant is actively growing. Maybe even because the plant is actively growing.
I have not been successful with grevillea as bonsai but some other Aust growers are having some success.
Canberra Gem is one of the hardier varieties in this genus.

I agree with Starfox, that is one of the most impressive trunks I have seen on a grevillea rosemarinifolia. Maybe they grow better over there than here at home.

 

[Bonsaidoorguy]

Please add location to profile for best advice. Not familiar with species. Research time.

So sorry. Had updated but it never saved. It should be filled in now. I'm up in Seattle.

 

[Bonsaidoorguy]

Thanks for the info. Never heard of the root thing before. Don't think I'll repot till next spring but I'll definitely keep an eye out.

 

[Shibui]

Proteoid roots are an adaptation by some plants in the proteacea family that allows them to survive in very nutrient poor soils. Proteid roots are modified roots that are super efficient at absorbing nutrients, especially phosphorus. These roots are so efficient that when P is more abundant the plant can overdose leading to death.
Proteoid roots appear as 'starburst' clusters of minutely branched, flattened root tips. See photo below.

Proteoid roots on banksia

 

[Bonsaidoorguy]

Proteoid roots are an adaptation by some plants in the proteacea family that allows them to survive in very nutrient poor soils. Proteid roots are modified roots that are super efficient at absorbing nutrients, especially phosphorus. These roots are so efficient that when P is more abundant the plant can overdose leading to death.
Proteoid roots appear as 'starburst' clusters of minutely branched, flattened root tips. See photo below.

Proteoid roots on banksia
View attachment 258817

Definitely learned something. Since I do use liquid fertilizer I would have possibly killed it. I really appreciate this site and all the information that people are willing to share. Maybe it will help me keep this alive.

 

[Shibui]

Grevillea are not so bad as banksia and proteas for proteoid roots. Grevillea can usually tolerate most liquid fertilisers but probably best to start off with weaker mix just in case.
Not feeding is a mistake. These plants do need nutrients and will starve in a pot without some added nutrients. Try to find a relatively low P fert for plants from Proteacea family.
Despite waht is often written, most other Australian plant families are quite tolerant of P and seem to enjoy standard fertilisers.

 

[Shibui]

Thought you might be interested.
Wandering in the garden yesterday when I noticed that a Grevillea rosemarinifolia is flowering. This is a different cultivar, not Canberra Gem but flowers should be similar if you get that far with yours.

 

[Bonsaidoorguy]

Thought you might be interested.
Wandering in the garden yesterday when I noticed that a Grevillea rosemarinifolia is flowering. This is a different cultivar, not Canberra Gem but flowers should be similar if you get that far with yours.

View attachment 259420

Thanks for the picture. Quite the unique flowers. Do they attract hummingbirds? I'm curious how mature before it flowers? Right now I'm just hoping to keep it alive. Do you know when the correct timing for transplant and pruning is? I have been hesatent to do any work on it this late in our season.

 

[Shibui]

Best transplant timing for us seems to be late spring or early summer. Many of our natives object strongly to having roots pruned in cooler weather. Most just die as a result which meant that for a long time bonsai with Aussie natives was considered impossible until someone came up with the idea of root pruning while they are active.
Pruning can be done any time but regrowth is faster when the tree is active - spring, summer and early autumn. Flowers are on the tips of previous shoots so pruning will remove many of the buds before they even start to show - a bit like azalea. Need to rune relatively hard after flowering, a couple of light trims over summer then let it grow without pruning from mid summer in order to get spring flowers.

Grevillea flowers produce abundant nectar and are adapted to be pollinated by birds. No hummingbirds over here. We have a range of slightly larger 'honeyeaters' that love grevillea flowers so I assume your hummingbirds will also find these very attractive.

 

[Bonsaidoorguy]

Best transplant timing for us seems to be late spring or early summer. Many of our natives object strongly to having roots pruned in cooler weather. Most just die as a result which meant that for a long time bonsai with Aussie natives was considered impossible until someone came up with the idea of root pruning while they are active.
Pruning can be done any time but regrowth is faster when the tree is active - spring, summer and early autumn. Flowers are on the tips of previous shoots so pruning will remove many of the buds before they even start to show - a bit like azalea. Need to rune relatively hard after flowering, a couple of light trims over summer then let it grow without pruning from mid summer in order to get spring flowers.

Grevillea flowers produce abundant nectar and are adapted to be pollinated by birds. No hummingbirds over here. We have a range of slightly larger 'honeyeaters' that love grevillea flowers so I assume your hummingbirds will also find these very attractive.

Thank you again for the wealth of information. This site is a great resource. I'm happy that I was hesitant to do anything to it, I'll wait till later next spring. I do see some new growth and a few buds on branches. I just hope to get it through winter. Feel silly not knowing that there are no hummingbirds down under. I plant flowers just to attract them. Little jewels.

 

[Punky]

Grevillea flowers produce abundant nectar and are adapted to be pollinated by birds. No hummingbirds over here. We have a range of slightly larger 'honeyeaters' that love grevillea flowers so I assume your hummingbirds will also find these very attractive.

That shocks me because hummingbirds LOVE Grevillea here in California. I’m mean they go nuts for the stuff, so I assumed the flowers were adapted to hummers.

 

[Shibui]

Our nectar feeding 'honeyeaters' are quite similar to your hummingbirds. I guess the flowers that suit our birds are also just right for your nectar feeders. Now you have me wondering whether this is a case of parallel evolution or whether both types of birds evolved from a common ancestor after South America drifted away from Gondawana.

The smallest species of honeyeaters are slightly larger than hummers but go right up to the ones we know as wattle birds that can be a bit over 1 foot long. Some of the smaller species can also hover to suck nectar from flowers like your hummingbirds but not quite as fast moving. The larger species have no hope of hovering so they just scramble around the branches to reach the flowers.