Nothofagus cunninghamii/ southern beach help..

[MMJNICE]

So I've been wanting a southern beech for years and finally I received a notification at 4am in the morning that a nursery in Washington state had some available. Without hesitation i bought one and immediately thought to myself i should buy like 20 money because the price for each was only 20 bucks. But when I tried to buy 5 more it wouldn't let me so I tried to buy 3 more and nope. They were sold out in a matter of minutes so I a guess I was lucky to get the one I purchased. I picked the earliest date for delivery and they arrived today. I have no clue what I'm doing but as you can tell from the pictures it's planted on the side of the pot so it needs replanting asap. I'm really concerned about what mix I should use because I've heard they are kinda picky concerning ph levels. The soil i have right now contains about a 2-1-1-1-1-1 of coconut core, kiryuzuna, Kazuma, Acadama, perlite, miracle grow potting soil. If anyone has good information about growing Nothofagus cunninghamii or has any for sell I'm interested in hearing from you about how to not mess this up. Right now i don't have much to work with and I think nurseries should grow out plant material a little bit more before offering up trees for sell but it's better than what I had before so yeah .

 

[MMJNICE]

Of course I got impatient and just potted the tree anyway. To my surprise it wasn't an clump type tree the soil got turned upside down during shipping apparently. It's got a decent little shape. I'm pleased. Probably put a piece of wire on that lower branch to prevent the tree from using it as a leader. But otherwise im just letting it grow for the next season.

 

[pandacular]

Very cool, I’ve been listening to A Bonsai Sidequest with Jarryd and Hugh and this is a plant they talk about quite a bit. @Ryceman3 is the bloke I see posting the most Aussie native, maybe he can lend some thoughts.

What was the nursery?

 

[MMJNICE]

Very cool, I’ve been listening to A Bonsai Sidequest with Jarryd and Hugh and this is a plant they talk about quite a bit. @Ryceman3 is the bloke I see posting the most Aussie native, maybe he can lend some thoughts.

What was the nursery?

Yea I just so happened to be displaying my tea tree when the nothofagus cunninghamii showed up on my doorstep. It started flowering for the first time last month and hasn't stopped yet. Kinda started with one then slowly started building steam but now it's starting to slow down.i wanted to see a few more before I put it away in the grow box. So I got the little beach from a nursery called Far Reaches Farm somewhere in Washington state. They have a bunch of weird plants I've never seen anywhere else, it's pretty cool honestly. I'll probably order some little stuff that I can use for accent plants because they have a lot of ground cover plants and flowers that I'm pretty sure would be pretty unique and not seen much before around the states. I knew it's a long shot anyone will know about the southern beech because it was the hardest tree I've ever tried to get. Much harder then Japanese beech to find in comparison. I've seen a few Japanese beech for sell but never a southern beech in the states and I truly wonder why. They seem like such a cool species and they have them readily available in europe so go figure.

 

[pandacular]

Cool, I’ve saved that nursery on Google maps. It’s a hike out onto the peninsula, but I get out that way several times a year.

 

[Ryceman3]

Very cool, I’ve been listening to A Bonsai Sidequest with Jarryd and Hugh and this is a plant they talk about quite a bit. @Ryceman3 is the bloke I see posting the most Aussie native, maybe he can lend some thoughts.

What was the nursery?

Nothofagus isn't something I've had any practical experience with.
There are several kinds that I have heard of, with N. gunnii the most iconic I think. It is native to Tasmania and from what I know they like a colder climate than what I would be able to provide, or probably most places on mainland Australia can accommodate. I'm not really sure how much this equates with other species (cunninghamii, antarctica, moorei etc) but I think these might be slightly more tolerant?
Jarryd is from Tasmania and Hugh is out of the Blue Mountains which has higher altitude and might provide a decent environment for these trees.
Sorry, my knowledge is very limited and not from personal experience so I don't have much practical advice in growing them to pass on ... but good luck! I have seen a few images of bonsai nothofagus grown in Tasmania so it can be done for sure.