murraya paniculata as bonsai

[sam]

murraya is a popular bonsai species in asia. growers in taiwan, philippines and other south east asian countries create high quality bonsai from this material. while murraya abound in hawaii, primarily as hedge or landscape plantings, it is underutilized as bonsai material. here is one of mine, collected from an old hedge near my house. the wood is very hard. the bark smooth. the leaves are small and shiny green. in season, the tree bears clusters of scented white flowers very much like orange blossoms. flowers transition into bright red berries which make for a nice presentation. recent work included removing old wire, rewiring where necessary, and light pruning to define branch pads. in the first photos compare the start of work on the left side to the stock appearance on the right. a crossing root at the base has been removed for a cleaner look. as the foliage grows back and the apex develops, the straight upper trunk will be less noticeable

best wishes, sam

 

[Vin]

murraya is a popular bonsai species in asia. growers in taiwan, philippines and other south east asian countries create high quality bonsai from this material. while murraya abound in hawaii, primarily as hedge or landscape plantings, it is underutilized as bonsai material. here is one of mine, collected from an old hedge near my house. the wood is very hard. the bark smooth. the leaves are small and shiny green. in season, the tree bears clusters of scented white flowers very much like orange blossoms. flowers transition into bright red berries which make for a nice presentation. recent work included removing old wire, rewiring where necessary, and light pruning to define branch pads. in the first photos compare the start of work on the left side to the stock appearance on the right. a crossing root at the base has been removed for a cleaner look. as the foliage grows back and the apex develops, the straight upper trunk will be less noticeable

best wishes, sam

That is spectacular! I take it you live in Hawaii?

 

[Anthony]

Sam.

Murraya p. is actually also used in China, and handles frost, it is very adaptable.
They are imported in the UK and kept in simple plastic covered sheds.

On our side you sometimes see them as 14 to 21 foot shrubs.
Great scent [ called the 10 mile fragance in Chinese.]
Just finished repotting one, but it is no where near the quality of yours.

Be on the look out for a miniature one, with even smaller leaves. Heard about on IBC from Australia.
Thanks for showing.
Much appreciated !
Good Day
Anthony

* Seen the ones at the Montreal Bonsai Museum from Wu Yee Sun ?

 

[sam]

That is spectacular! I take it you live in Hawaii?

yes, on kauai

 

[my nellie]

Hello everyone!
I bought one Murraya paniculata yesterday. They can do quite well here in Greece, EU. They are slow growers though...
It seems to be a clump. I haven't dig the surface to see what's underneath.
Temperature is currently 27 - 20 C. and October usually is considered mild weather, too.
What would you suggest for the first root reduction and heavy pruning? Is it safe to do these interventions now or wait until end of winter?
Any other tips?
Thank you so much in advance for any info/help.

 

[my nellie]

I know this is an old thread but...
Anyone reading...?
Anthony? Sam?
Thanks!

 

[Jason]

I would wait until spring. I have one in the ground and it froze out over the winter and came back from the base. I, however, live in zone 8b (usda zone), so take that for what it's worth.

 

[my nellie]

Jason, thank you for your response. I live in zone 9 (9a).
Spring 2016 can I hard prune above ground and roots, at the same time? Should I be more at the conservative side with the roots?

 

[Milly]

Hello everyone!
I bought one Murraya paniculata yesterday. They can do quite well here in Greece, EU. They are slow growers though...
It seems to be a clump. I haven't dig the surface to see what's underneath.
Temperature is currently 27 - 20 C. and October usually is considered mild weather, too.
What would you suggest for the first root reduction and heavy pruning? Is it safe to do these interventions now or wait until end of winter?
Any other tips?
Thank you so much in advance for any info/help.

How is this Murraya doing Alexandra?

 

[my nellie]

Hello @Milly thank you for your interest.

The Murraya had suffered some hard pruning and severe root reduction and was meant to be styled as a three trunk clump.
Had two of the three trunks die off and now it's keeping going in the form of literati
Not much growing... I think it was focused on healing root wounds...

Was last repoted this past February. The roots were very few and I was disappointed.
Since then the tree didn't do anything and I decided to move it to a different location where it receives more sun.
That was the key!
It's pushing new growth now and I am happy!
Here are some photo records

2015 before 2015 after


2017


February 2018

 

[Milly]

I have 2 which, although they are healthy, are so slow to develop. I've always kept them in full sun.

 

[my nellie]

Indeed @Milly at my place of the world also they do grow slowly. At least from my experience with this one and only.
Perhaps the confined surround of the bonsai pot is a parameter to be taken into account...
However, I have hopes it will do better after it has been positioned in its new place.

 

[KAUSHIK]

Hello everyone. I am new to this forum (there appears to be a wealth of information available here and that's what decided it for me). I hail for India (Calcutta). Murraya Ps are a hot favourite species out here because THEY GROW VERY RAPIDLY Couple of things that may help - they love the sun (you cannot give them enough of it), they are not particularly fond of chemicals (just some good old vermicasts, fish meals, bone dust and an occasional chopped banana peel will do the trick with them). Watch out for early symptoms of iron deficiency. Due to extreme weather conditions here, we usually repot them during the monsoons (June to August). This is also the best time for hard cutbacks. Be wary of hard root prunes (they detest that); done in moderation they root very aggressively. For wild collected trees (yamadoris if you must), we usually "disconnect" 2/3rd of the existing roots and leave 1/3rd intact for the plant to overcome the shock and also sprout feeder roots (from the "disconnected" roots). Once this is achieved, harvesting and potting is a breeze. Watering - try and avoid foliar drench (bark rots quite easily resulting in die-backs) and they like moist not wet.

 

[my nellie]

@KAUSHIK Thank you so very much for sharing information!
And of course welcome aboard!