natives for bonsai

Late Spring and Summer is when I prune and re-pot most of my native bonsai at Shibui Bonsai.Many Australian natives seem to resent root disturbance in the colder months but just continue to grow when I prune roots anytime during the warmer part of the year. I find that younger banksias in particular grow masses of very fine roots that quickly fill the pots. If left for a few years the root mass gets so dense that it is difficult to water and trees have died as a result. I now re-pot banksias, and many other native species, every year or 2 with much better results.

Here are some photos of re-potting a young banksia, callistemon and a series showing the steps re-potting a ficus.

Banksia integrifolia after pruning roots

Banksia integrifolia after pruning roots

Developing Callistemon after pruning roots

Developing Callistemon after pruning roots

ficus before root pruning

ficus before root pruning

cut off around half the rootball

cut off around half the rootball

cut thick roots back quite hard

cut thick roots back quite hard

trim around the edges and cut remaining roots back

trim around the edges and cut remaining roots back

ficus can also be defoliated at this time

ficus can also be defoliated at this time

4 thoughts on “natives for bonsai

  1. Hi Neil,
    With your banksia, what is your next step? Will you be reducing the plant, and if so, when and where.
    Regards
    John

    • Hi John,
      I am still developing this tree which consists of allowing it to grow freely to promote thickening then cutting back at intervals to keep it reasonably compact. So far the trunk is only about 3cm thick and I cannot see an outstanding shape yet so it will continue to develop for a few years until either I see something nice in it or until I am forced to make some decisions for its future. These natives are mostly about experimenting and learning what techniques and conditions they need rather than hurrying toward a completed bonsai.
      So far I have found that they tolerate root pruning really well but only during the warmer months. I also know that they can be pruned just about anywhere because buds form quite readily on old and bare wood.
      Thanks for your interest,
      Neil

  2. G’day Neil,
    Do you wait for the Natives to pop roots out if the bottom if the pot before you repot them or what is your “marker”?
    Being new, I’ve spent the last 12 months focusing on keeping my natives alive (mainly Calistemons) but have not had a great success rate.
    I’m looking for markers (yes I know they tend to be different for different species/ climate zones) that I can start to look for and then try my luck…
    Cheers
    Elmar

    • Hi Elmar. The comment about roots out the bottom of the pot applies to striking cuttings. When some roots are coming out the bottom of the pot there are usually enough roots to pot the cuttings up into proper potting mix in individual pots. When your callistemons are already in pots the roots will rarely show in the bottom of the pot because they ‘ air prune’ ie stop growing when they come into contact with dry air. If you are using a well drained potting mix you should be able to slip pot into a larger pot at any time ie don’t disturb the roots too much, just lift the rootball out of the smaller pot, put it into the larger pot and fill around with new mix. There only ‘marker’ I use to repot is when the rootball looks too compact it is well past time. Not sure what other advice to offer.
      Most of my problems with natives have been starvation. Being too worried about what ‘natives’ can tolerate and therefore not fertilising has killed more of my natives than anything else. Callistemons like fertiliser. They do not care about Phosphorus and will grow happily with any fertiliser. Mine get all sorts and get it as often as I remember – aim for fortnightly. Where you are you should be able to root prune and repot any time of year. Here, in the cold south, I stick to summer repotting when they are growing and have excellent results.

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