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Melaleuca – Australian Native Bonsai
By admin | April 4, 2007
I had not previously been too interested in them as bonsai because they dry out so fast and are the first to succumb to the drought.
However on a visit to the AABC Convention in Melbourne a few years ago I heard a speaker say that they put their Melaleucas in shallow trays with no drainage holes. They cut a thin strip off a chamois and place one end under the soil in the tray and the other hangs down to slowly drain water from the tray, but it doesn’t do it anywhere near as quickly as it would if the pot had holes in it. What a great idea.
I came home and immediately transferred one of my Melaleucas to a ‘hole-free’ tray. To tell the truth because the tray is so shallow I didn’t even use the chamois, and the plant is just thriving.
It has been there now for almost over two years which would certainly be long enough to kill it if it couldn’t cope with the copious amounts of water it gets but if you try it, use the chamois for best results. The Melaleuca loves cool, damp feet at all times.
Several of the Australian native species can be grown in trays using this method such as Callistemons. Not only natives, I have also used it on weeping willow, privet, clerodendrum and chinese elm. While these trees aren’t natives, they are all trees that love excess water and infact will shed small branches if they don’t receive enough water through the growing season.
Root-pruning: I never bare root natives, (with the exception of figs), but it is safe to remove large portions of roots. Take care to root-prune between growth periods. In other words, natives have growing cycles of about six weeks. New foliage develops and slowly matures and hardens off, it is when there is no obvious new growth on the plant that it is best to root-prune.
Fertilising: We use large amounts of Dynamic Lifter at about six weekly intervals and Debco 6mth slow release fertiliser. We occasionally give them a drink of Miracle Grow. Never use Superphosphate on natives, it is one sure way to kill them.
Pruning: Trim regularly during the growth phase. You can cut them back into bare wood in autumn. Be cautious if the tree is week as there will be some small amount of die-back.
Wiring: They have good tolerance for wiring, bending and shaping and look good with jins. Don’t bend the branches beyond the horizontal as they may weaken and die.
Soil Mix: Make up a mix using more humus than usual, or add some peat moss. They like a neutral to slightly acidic soil, and as peat is slightly on the acid side and helps retain water it is a good solution for all acid lovers who like moist feet. A word of caution: when using Peat never let the mix become bone dry as it is nigh on impossible to re-wet once it dries out.
Position: They need to be kept in full sun to ensure the flowers develop. The photo below was taken at the GCTBC Inc. Annual show in November 2005. It is an extremely easy tree to care for and is quite hardy providing it is given the two most important things for an Australian Native, eg. Ample water and full sunlight.
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