My Smallest NZ Tea Tree

My smallest NZ Tea Tree bonsai is in bloom. It measures 2 inches (about 5.2 cm). It is over 2 years old and the challenge for me is to keep it alive for as long as possible. NZ Tea Tree is a very difficult specie to bonsai. The BCI specie guide called it "The ultimate forbidden bonsai". http://www.bonsai-bci.com/species/nztea.html.
Hope u enjoy it.

CJ

http://newzealandteatreebonsai.blogspot.com/

newzealandteatree wrote:My smallest NZ Tea Tree bonsai is in bloom. It measures 2 inches (about 5.2 cm). It is over 2 years old and the challenge for me is to keep it alive for as long as possible. NZ Tea Tree is a very difficult specie to bonsai. The BCI specie guide called it "The ultimate forbidden bonsai". http://www.bonsai-bci.com/species/nztea.html.
Hope u enjoy it.

CJ

http://newzealandteatreebonsai.blogspot.com/

Hi,
I don't see anything, i can not get to the server???
regards, Sunip

Got him.
A real treasure, sure the ultimate secret.
regards, Sunip

Beautiful small piece CJ.

Regards
Morten Albek

Hello Morten,

You never get old enough to be amazed,
but today you did the job.
That avatar of yours!!!
regards, Sunip

I agree about the difficulty, I have killed every one I tried. I would like to learn the secret.

Love your tree,love your elephant!
Best,Todd

Sunip, Morten,Bill,Todd,

I am happy that u enjoy my creation.
The NZ Tea Tree demands continuous intensive care and attention. I killed 3 dozens before leaning to take care of them to their satisfactions. Here are some general guidelines. I got to warn u that I am still learning and moreover the weather in Perth, Western Australia could be very different from yours.
Always keep the top soil moist. Never completely defoliate. No bare rooting, clean cut to reduce roots. Feed them well. Protect them from intensely hot day (over 35c). Good luck but if u fail don't blame me.

Regards.

CJ
http://newzealandteatreebonsai.blogspot.com/

This morning I cleaned up and photo this fella. At 6cm tall it is a shade larger than the first fella. Both are Leptospermun Scoparium Red Damask.
Enjoy and Cheers.
CJ
http://newzealandteatreebonsai.blogspot.com/

What are you using for soil?

It is interesting, that here in Florida they seem to do fine in nursery pots and in the ground.

Billy, my potting mix is a combination of fine river sand(40%) and ordinary Australian Standard Potting Mix (60%). A ex-nursery owner told me that they usually lose 50% of their NZ tea tree stocks. In this sense I am doing much better. I still lose some every year but the % is about 5% depending on the summer weather which can be quiet extreme. In any case I also lose some of the other species due to size of my collection. Sometime they topple over and I missed them or when the automatic reticulation failed to deliver water to certain area and that sort of things. Hope that helps.

Cheers and regards.

CJ

Very nice CJ love your blog too!!!

I love the bottlebrush tree on your blog -- we sometimes use those for bonsai here in California.

Antonio,
Thanks. Will you be coming to Perth in May ? I am preparing a number of my trees for the exhibition. Hopefully I can coaxed them to flower by then.

Charles,
The bottlebrush is a very good species to bonsai. They are hardy, have impressive barks, good foliage reduction. Spectacular flowers in Spring without fail and if well taken care off a second season of flowers immediately after. The flowers can also be reduced in size which is pretty rare. They grow easily from seed or cutting. Highly recommended if your weather suits.

Cheers and regards.

CJ
http://newzealandteatreebonsai.blogspot.com/

Do you use more clip-and-grow, or do you wire extensively?? [I'm often worried I'll forget the wire and damage the bark.] Mine are still in the root-ball reduction phase, I'm doing it over 3-4 years

Gordon, I do use wire to train my trees. Gradual root reduction is the more cautious approach. I have managed to reduce the root mass by 70% in one go.

Cheers and regards.

CJ
http://newzealandteatreebonsai.blogspot.com/

Today, I potted this tiny 4 years old azalea saotome into a proper bonsai pot. It has been growing in this recycled plastic container all its' life. At about 4cm it is smaller than my smallest NZ Tea Tree bonsai. Hope u enjoy it.

Hello Newzealandteatree,
My first taught was, does he flower the same as the pot suggest?
But then, do i read it right, they don't flower?
regards, Sunip

thought-impression!
Sunip

Sunip, this zalea saotome has small leaves but NO flower. There is an azalea (forgotten name) which has even smaller leaves and nice tiny flowers. However, I have problem making bonsai out of them. I killed about a dozen and just don't have the time to continue experimenting with them. Moreover I cannot get anymore of such azalea as my supplier (I think the only one in Perth) don't propagate them anymore.

Cheers and Regards.

CJ
http://newzealandteatreebonsai.blogspot.com/

I have heard about the 'Saotome' kurume that was selected purely for foliage. It rarely blooms. It probably has to mutate to bloom.

Very Nice! I love the tree in your avatar.

Glaucus, thanks for the correct spelling. I was too lazy to check it up. I am a little confused when I googled and find this site http://www.backyardgardener.com/plantname/pda_40c2.html. It seems the Rhodendendron (Saotome Kurume Azalea) do flowers. I have been told that the one I had don't flower. My experiences back that up. I have been growing them for over 10 years and still no flower. I will love to see flowers on my saotome. Anyone out there with experiences with Saotome Azalea, please help.

Paulzie32, thanks. My avatar is one of my NZ Tea Tree Bonsai in full bloom. Here is the photo:


Cheers and Regards.

CJ
http://newzealandteatreebonsai.blogspot.com/

Thanks.

I saw it on your blog. You labeled it as Leptospermum Scoparium. Is that one of the tea trees?

Nice!

Paulzie32, u r welcome. Yes the Leptospermum Scoparium is commonly known as NZ Tea Tree or Manuka in Western Australia and New Zealand. I am not sure about other part of Australia. It is the tree in which they extracted the Tea Tree Oil which is reputed to have healing abilities. The Manuka honey is also highly valued for their healing abilities and is very expensive. I personally know that it can stop a sore throat when taken in the early stages of the outbreak. Seems tests have shown that it kills the antibiotic resistance strain of bacteria in the hospital.

Cheers and Regards.

CJ
http://newzealandteatreebonsai.blogspot.com/