Brachychiton Rupestris

Brachychiton Rupestris, the Queensland Bottle Tree

The first time I ever saw Brachychiton Rupestris aka the Queensland Bottle Tree, was in nursery. I remember looking at the label and thinking it looked quite a bit like the Boab tree from Northern Australia and thinking that this wouldn’t grow very well with the cool winters we get here in Melbourne.

Bottle Tree at the Geelong Botanic Gardens

There several Bottle Trees at the enterance to the Geelong Botanic Gardens

I then pretty much forgot about this tree until a few years ago when I visited the Geelong Botanic Gardens and saw some magnificent specimens of Bottle Trees growing there. All of a sudden I was interested and knew that one day I would have to have one in my own garden.

This Bottle Tree in my backyard is growing next to some Eremophilas that are probably out competing it for water. When spring comes I'll water it a bit more to increase it's growth rate.

Over the last few years though I’ve noticed quite a few of these magnificent Bottle Trees growing in lots of different areas around Melbourne, so I’ve decided to do some research to find out just how adaptable they really are and here’s what I’ve discovered.

They are very adaptable, prefer to grow in full sun, will grow in most soils as long as they are reasonably well drained and will tolerate frost up to about -8 C. They are also very drought tolerant plants but will grow faster if watered regularly for about the first 8 years which is about how long it takes to form their bottle.

This Bottle Tree growing in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens was planted in 1942

Bottle Tree growing in the Children's Garden in the Melbourne Botanic Gardens.

One of the great things about Bottle Trees is that they make fantastic feature trees with their rounded bottle trunk being the obvious attraction. If you are going to grow them in cold areas they can also be semi deciduous which can also add to their appeal.

The Bottle Tree can also make a great Bonsai specimen. Here are some examples of some that have been grown for that very purpose.

Bonsai

Bottle

Trees

I’ve also had one growing a pot for about two years and have recently decided to turn it into a Bonsai Bottle Tree.

So there you have it Brachychiton Rupestris aka the Queensland Bottle Tree. I reckon it’s a fantastic looking tree and if you’d like a feature tree that is adaptable and very drought tolerant then the Bottle tree would be definitely one to consider.

If you’d like some more information on the Queensland Bottle Tree, Brachychiton Rupestris then check out Bottle Tree Plantations.

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Posted in Brachychiton, Garden Plants | Tagged Bottle Tree, Brachychiton Rupestris, drought tolerant plants, trees | 6 Comments

Bonsai Bottle Tree

In my article about “How to Bonsai Australian native plants” I wrote about my Brachychiton rupestris, aka the Queensland Bottle Tree, that I’d been growing in a pot for sometime. I was contemplating turning it into a Bonsai.

Now as I’ve said before I’ve always liked Bonsai but never had the patience to do it properly. The other thing that put me off was I don’t really like plants that rely too much on human support to ensure their survival. Bonsai by nature do rely heavily on regular watering so for a gardener of drought tolerant plants (like myself) this is something that really goes against the grain. But then again……..having said that……..most Australian native plants are very drought tolerant and probably none more so than the Bottle Tree.

Therefore if you are going to Bonsai something and don’t want to constantly water it, then what better plant to try than the Bottle Tree.

Bottle Tree swollen trunk before the Bonsai

Well recently I went ahead and did it. Now I have to say that when I started this I had no idea how it was going to turn out. It was just another gardening experiment. Anyway here’s the story of how it went.

First thing I did was soak the rootball in a solution of Seasol and water a few hours before I started as there was a fair chance that there would be some roots getting pruned.

Cut the pot so the rootball can be removed undamaged

Then the pot had to be removed. As you can see one of the roots has grown through the one of the drainage holes.

Now normally if I was to plant this in the ground I’d just cut this root off, as it was growing crooked. In this instance though I’d decided not to cut anything until the whole picture was revealed.

So the best way to go was to just cut the pot instead, so it could be removed without being damaged.

Wash the potting mix away from the rootball

Bottle Tree rootball exposed

When the rootball was free of the pot, the potting mix was washed away. I then had an idea as to what I had to work with.

And wow!… have a look at this…..large tuberous roots. Now I was feeling glad I didn’t just start cutting away. I now have something to work with here. These roots just look a little to attractive to bury under the ground so the obvious thing to do here is to expose at least half of them.

So the next thing to do was give them a good wash. I used a soft bristled paint brush to give them a bit of a scrub to get the tarnish off left from the old potting mix. It was then decision time again. What sort of pot to get? So off to the garden centre to see what’s available.

This pot has a false bottom with a saucer attached

There were all sorts of pots I could use. Traditional bonsai pots as well as others that may not be traditional but are effective. I took the second option. The other thing I took into account with my selection was that I wanted to try and get away without having to prune the roots. So here’s the pot I bought. I could have also gone for square or rectangular version of this but decided on the round one because I felt it would suit the shape of the plant better with regard to the round tuberous roots. I feel it’s obviously important to select a pot that will not detract from the main feature…….the plant. Hopefully I made a good selection.

There are 3 holes to let the water into the saucer or from the saucer into the pot

There are 3 holes to let the water drain into the saucer or from the saucer into the pot

The other thing about this pot was the fact that it has a false bottom with a saucer attached. This I thought was a good idea as it would help with watering as the bonsai will be grown indoors. It will also make it harder to over water it as well as it will probably be easier to put the water in the saucer rather that from above.

Ok, so the next thing to do was plant the little Bottle tree into its new home. Normally it’s best to use a special Bonsai mix but in this case because its a larger pot I’m just going to use a regular potting mix.

So here it is in its new home. I must admit it does look a little strange. It may need some of the roots at the front trimmed away, but I think I’ll leave it a little while to settle in. I’ve also left many of the smaller roots attached at this stage as I’m hoping that some of them may continue to grow. We’ll see.

You can see about half of the roots are exposed

Here's the view from the rear. Some of these roots will be pruned away, but I'll wait to see if any grow first.

I haven't pruned the top yet

The next step will be to prune the trunk to length. This I will leave until spring as it isn’t growing at the moment due to the cold winter weather. What length I will prune it to I still haven’t decided yet. The trunk itself is still quite subtle so I might even be able to train it into some sort of spiral and then crop the top to get it to form a canopy or maybe I’ll just crop it lower down. There are so many options.

So there you have it, my little Bonsai Bottle Tree. If you’ve ever thought of growing a Bonsai then the Brachychiton rupestris might just be a good option to start with.

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Posted in Bonsai, Brachychiton, Garden Plants, Information | Tagged Bonsai, Bottle Tree, Brachychiton Rupestris | 4 Comments

Bonsai

How to Bonsai Australian Native Plants

The art of Bonsai is something that has always interested me but was something I was always reluctant to take up mainly because of my lack of patience. Recently though I came across a gardening blog with a video of a Banksia Ericifolia Bonsai. It was amazing to hear how this bonsai had grown for the last 20 plus years and the fact that it now had a flower on it.

Afterwards I then recalled a book I’d read a few years ago about how to bonsai Australian native plants.

Looking back now though, I now remember that this book was probably the inspiration for my Banksia Integrifolia that I’d been growing in the same pot for the last 6 years. Looking at this plant today it now amazes me how it has survived the last 6 years. It’s certainly been the victim of neglect. I don’t think I’ve ever fertilized it and I can’t even remember giving it any Seasol although the chances are it probably has had some from time to time. It now resides under a window sill with some other neglected plants, it gets about 3-5 hours of sunlight a day and only gets watered when I remember.

December 2003

June 2009

So now the more I think about it I come to realise what great bonsai specimens Australian native plants are. Some of their features are obviously their drought tolerance, most of them respond really well to pruning and despite a popular misconception they are relatively easy to transplant.

Banksia Serrata Bonsai

Here’s a Banksia Serrata I found in a Nursery a few years ago. These are a popular bonsai choice as they develop a large swollen trunk over time and certainly look interesting grown as a bonsai.

I once had a prostrate version of this Banksia growing in my garden called Banksia Serrata “pygmy possum”. Just before we shifted house I dug it up and transplanted it into a pot. Part of the operation involved cutting back most of the foliage and to my surprise the short trunk had actually grown large and swollen as the perfect blank canvas for a potential bonsai. I kept it in the pot for a couple of years and then not having the patience decided to plant it in my new garden to grow as it pleased. Unfortunately it fell victim to the phosphorus toxicity in my soil and so for me I suppose it was an opportunity lost.

As far as Banksia Serrata goes, I think that Banksia Aemula might be a better option as a Bonsai. This Banksia is very similar in appearance to Banksia Serrata, but it is quicker growing, has smaller leaves and the yellow flowers I feel are much more attractive. The other point about Banksia Aemula, despite being rarely seen in garden centres, is that it is very easy to grow, has deep green leaves with yellow flowers held at the end of the branches and comes in tree as well as shrub forms.

Banksia Integrifolia as I said before is also a good subject for bonsai but this tree Banksia also comes in a prostrate form called Banksia Integrifolia “Roller Coaster”. This Banksia can also form a large trunk very quickly and like the “pygmy possum” would make a great bonsai in a tall container with cascading branches.

Now here’s a little trick you can use if you want to accelerate the growth of your bonsai especially if you’re using a prostrate plant as described above. Now the bonsai purists will probably not endorse this practice but what you can do if you like is plant your subject in a large container or even plant it into the ground. You will find that your plant will grow a lot faster and you can train it and prune it as you require. When your subject has reached the desired size you can then dig it up and transplant it into a smaller pot. It’s then just a case of reducing the size of the rootball over time (or even straight away) until you get it to fit the container you require.

Another method you can use to short cut the process is find a semi advanced plant in a nursery. One of my favourite things to do is visit nurseries in out of the way places. These nurseries are the ones that quite often have old stock that has been sitting out the back somewhere for the last few years in amongst a whole lot of other stuff. It’s normally root bound and growing crooked and twisted and quite often has a semi advanced trunk and has an unusual or interesting look to it. I reckon these nurseries are quite often a treasure trove and sometimes an excellent place to find interesting potential bonsai subjects. Here’s a couple below.

Banksia Integrifolia

Banksia Serrata

They may not be crooked but you could always replant them on an angle and then cut the main trunk just above the smaller side shoots. As far as pruning the root ball goes just soak it in a Seasol solution and cut back to the size desired the same as described above.

Another plant that I feel would make a great bonsai specimen is the “sticky wattle” Acacia howittii. This grows into a large shrub or small tree but it also comes in a prostrate version and this is the one I’m talking about. Here is a photo of one growing in my mother’s garden. If you use your imagination you may be able to see the potential here for a bonsai or two.

Acacia Howittii prostrate would probably suit a Japanese garden?

Now if you were to try Acacia howittii prostrate as a bonsai there may be several ways to go about it;

1. You could go about it in the traditional way,
2. take a cutting and strike it,
3. plant one in the ground and then dig it up and go about in the manner described above,
4. Or you could use an existing plant like the one above, find an interesting branch and then use the “aerial layer” technique to propagate it.

All of these methods would work. It all depends on the results that you’re after and the time you have available.

Brachychiton rupestris

Here’s another Australian native plant that lends itself to become a bonsai. A few years ago I bought two Brachychiton rupestris, aka the Queensland Bottle tree. Both were meant to be planted in the garden. One did, but the other one seen below, actually developed this twisted swollen trunk, so I just left it in the pot. This one though, I think I may try and bonsai. I’ll probably cut the length of the trunk back and then try to get it to form a canopy, but I’ll have to have a think about that first.

Brachychiton rupestris

Brachychiton rupestris swollen trunk

Lastly I’d like to write about another little experiment I’ve been conducting for the last 18 months. A few years ago I propagated some Banksia Integrifolias to plant in my garden. After I discovered they didn’t like the phosphorus in my garden I was then left with 5 plants that nobody wanted so I decided to turn them into a long term experiment. So here’s what I did.

Banksia Integrifolia x 5

Banksia Integrifolias 2 First I got an old clay pot and just planted them all together as shown above. The idea being that they will eventually grow into one plant and hopefully form a buttressed trunk similar to say a Moreton Bay Fig. But we’ll see. It will take time. The best thing about this plant though is it requires little attention and maintenance so it’s just a matter of watering it from time to time.

There are lots of Australian native plants that would make great bonsai specimens, Melaleucas (paperbarks), Leptospermums (tea trees), Callistemons (bottlebrushes) are just a few that can be used. It really is up to your personal preference.

So there you go, some of these examples may not be traditional examples of bonsai but you can see what can be done when you let your imagination go wild. Gardening for me is about experimenting and trying new things but you never know where you next inspiration will come from. I suppose for me it started with the book I read about How to Bonsai Australian Native Plants. Who knows where it will finish!

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