Look at http://asgap.org.au/APOL31/sep03-5.html, but remember that the larger the flowers the less suitable for bonsai the shrub will be.

You're welcome Jackie. Unfortunately, when we give advice to folks here in California now, we'll need to ask how old their construction is, not just where they are located. If it's less than about twenty years old, it's likely they are dealing with some level of seismic compaction. The newer the construction, the higher the compaction percentage as the percentage of compaction has increased over the years. If it's custom built, perhaps only the house pad was compacted to that density. If it's a tract, everything has that compaction, at least here in the Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties areas that I've encountered. Up in Northbridge, in the Santa Clarita Valley, they shaved off the tops of the mesas and built on the red sandstone. Getting Banksiae, Pandorea and Wisteria to grow there was a real chore! Once the houses were built, about six inches of "top soil" was spread everywhere with sod laid on it. Trees were planted in holes drilled into it and many drowned. Keeping the sod alive requires daily watering, like growing turf hydroponically. All the lawns contain drains because any water in the turf runs off as it has no way to soak into soil containing virtually no air space. None of the vines did anything until nearly a year of being fed a 50-50 mix of all purpose organics with Gro Power Plus every month of the year. I began taking care of that garden in its sixth year. Year seven was when the vines took off. Most of the vine and tree roots came to the surface, the only place there was any oxygen, and ran under the sod. Once they really started growing, planting anything else in that soil was nearly impossible. The front yard was the worst. Everything drained down to the public sidewalk where it had no where to go but up and over the concrete. It almost appeared as if there was a broken water main due to the constant weeping across it. There wasn't. It was all irrigation which couldn't seep into the compacted soil. The front walks were lined with Icebergs, which did OK until you reached the lowest end by the public sidewalk. There, the soil soured and the bushes lasted just a few months before they completely drowned. The only cures were either to install French drains (rejected due to cost) or plant the end Icebergs in large pots set on the ground, like using raised beds to help alleviate chronic drainage issues. The pots were heavy foam which looked like concrete and they did their job for several years before requiring replacement. It's really the pits having to excavate huge holes under larger plantings, then installing the plants on a mound where, even after settling, the crowns remain above the soil level where they stand better chances of not drowning. In those conditions, you never want to add any organic material to the planting holes. When organics sit under water, anaerobic bacteria grow and the organics sour. Hydrogen sulfide is created (the soured diaper smell when a pot stops draining) and the plants die. Simply loosening the severely compacted soil and refilling the hole with a large mound over it, then planting the tree, shrub or large rose in the mound and mulching the surface of the soil only, is the safest method. At least in that way, the deeper roots can make use of the trapped water (which they do naturally, anyway) without the soil souring. Feeder roots spread out under the sod and mulch making it difficult to plant anything once there is a dense root mat under everything, but at least the desired plants can be successfully grown. White Birch and California Pepper trees are two of the worst in these situations and what many opt for because of their "beauty". Both have extreme root systems and quickly make use of every particle of "top soil" and every inch of possible root spread. My experience is most people love annuals planted around their Birches. After just a few years, that is an impossibility due to the extreme root mass. Even putting pots under them fails quickly due to the extreme invasion of tree roots, unless they can be maintained completely off the soil with no soil wash out through the drain holes. If there is ANY way for the tree roots to enter the pots, they WILL, very quickly! Kim

"6 to 8 feet" isn't really a tree. Here's a few medium to large shrubs that you can "limb up" to create a multi-trunked tree look; although they'll want to get taller than 8 feet, you can keep them at 8 with creative pruning: Acca (Feijoa) sellowiana PINEAPPLE GUAVA Arbutus unedo 'Compacta' STRAWBERRY TREE Arctostaphylos ÂAustin Griffiths AUSTIN GRIFFITHS MANZANITA Arctostaphylos densiflora ÂHarmony HARMONY MANZANITA Arctostaphylos manzanita ÂDr. Hurd DR. HURD MANZANITA Arctostaphylos pajaroensis ÂParadise PAJARO MANZANITA Banksia ashbyi ASHBYÂS BANKSIA Banksia brownii FEATHER-LEAD BANKSIA Banksia coccinea SCARLET BANKSIA Banksia menziesii RASPBERRY FROST Callistemon citrinus ÂMauve Mist M. M. BOTTLEBRUSH Callistemon citrinus LEMON BOTTLEBRUSH Callistemon phoeniceus LESSER BOTTLEBRUSH Callistemon rigidus STIFF BOTTLEBRUSH Callistemon salignus WHITE BOTTLEBRUSH Cercis occidentalis WESTERN REDBUD Comarostaphylis diversifolia SUMMER HOLLY Cotinus coggygria SMOKETREE Escallonia laevis PINK ESCALLONIA Escallonia x exoniensis ÂBalfouriÂ, ÂFrades HYBRID ESCALLONIA Grevillea asplenifolia FERN-LEAF GREVILLEA Grevillea ÂHoneygemÂ, ÂIvanhoeÂ, ÂLong JohnÂ, ÂPoorinda BlondieÂ, ÂRed HooksÂ, HYBRID GREVILLEA Grevillea hookeriana TOOTHBRUSH GREVILLEA Grevillea olivacea OLIVE-LEAF GREVILLEA Grevillea victoriae ÂMurray Valley Queen M. V. Q. GREVILLEA Hakea arachaeoides SPIDER HAKEA Hakea bucculenta HOT POKERS Hakea francisiana PINK SPIKE HAKEA Hakea laurina SEA URCHIN, PINCUSHION TREE Leptospermum lanigerum WOOLY TEA TREE Leptospermum polygalifolium ÂYarra River RED SPIRE TEA TREE Leptospermum scoparium ÂHelene StrybingÂ, ÂKeatleyiÂ, ÂPink DamaskÂ, ÂPink PearlÂ, NEW ZEALAND TEA TREE Leucospermum reflexum RED ROCKET Melaleuca armillaris FEATHERY MELALEUCA Melaleuca bracteata WHITE CLOUD TREE Melaleuca decussata LILAC MELALEUCA Melaleuca elliptica GRANITE BOTTLEBRUSH Melaleuca ericifolia HEATH BOTTLEBRUSH Melaleuca hypericifolia HILLOCK BUSH Melaleuca nesophila PINK MELALEUCA Pinus contorta contorta SHORE PINE Pittosporum crassifolium KARO Pittosporum eugenioides TARATA Pittosporum tenuifolium KOHUHU, TAWHIWI Prunus illicifolia HOLLYLEAF CHERRY Psidium cattleianum STRAWBERRY GUAVA Regelia velutina BARRENS REGELIA Rhaphiolepis ÂMajestic Beauty (multi) M. B. INDIAN HAWTHORNE Viburnum suspensum SANDANKWA Xylosma congestum SHINY XYLOSMA Joe

We planted native plants in our garden about seven weeks ago. A callistemon, three different grevilleas, a banksia and a boronia. All these plants have settled in really nicely and new growth is on everything except the banksia. One of the grevilleas we have is "Edna Walling - Softly Softly" (Grevillea alpina x lanigera "Blush"). It has been great, flowers all over it until now. On Saturday it was looking ok but Sunday, it wasn't looking great. Yesterday, it was looking worse. It seems to be going downhill really fast. All the new flowers have kind of shrivelled up and the plant looks dry. We have had some hot days here but since the plants seem establishd, we have backed off with the water. All the other plants are doing fine. We did give them some water on Saturday, though. Can anybody help me? I want to save my plant.