Let's Bonsai!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Let's Bonsai!

coyo7e: Aug 23, 2007; by zen death robot

Mizufusion posted:

Thanks, that's good to know! I might pick up that redwood sampler next time I get paid. Even if it doesn't work well for bonsai, I'd still like to try to keep a potted dawn redwood. I really love the way new leaves look and feel, and I think it would be worth the effort to keep one around.

Edit: Looks like the San Francisco botanical garden is having a sale this week, and should have some dawn redwoods. They didn't specify what size or price point, but I want to see the gardens anyway so I guess we'll find out!

With redwoods, while it's not really a bonsai, but you can slice a burl off of a tree, place it into a tray of water and let it stay nice and damp, and it will sprout and grow. My family has had one for like 20 years, it's a cool little plant, and as long as it gets plenty of water it does quite well and requires basically no maintenance.

It may not technically a cutting, but it sort of is.

http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic598848.files/Week%207.%20Redwood%20Burls%20Immortality%20Underground.pdf

quote:

As spectacular as these old-growth forests are, with their trunks disappearing into the fog that enshrouds the forest much of the year, they do not present
a complete picture of the species. For that, one must visit redwood stands that were logged fifty to one hundred and fifty years ago. It is here that one finds the multi-trunked specimens that have sprouted from around the stumps of the original trees. In some redwood forests, the second generation of trunks have also been cut, leading to a third generation of sprout growth. Among conifers, the redwood is unique in its remarkable power of basal regeneration. To my mind it is the redwood�s ability to resprout-its great vitality-that makes the tree worthy of admiration and study.

Humboldt born and raised. :420:

coyo7e fucked around with this message at 18:27 on May 15, 2012

# ¿ May 15, 2012 18:21

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# ¿ Apr 16, 2024 21:26

coyo7e: Aug 23, 2007; by zen death robot

Pope Mobile posted:

Whoa whoa whoa. You're telling me I can cut a hunk off a redwood, place it in a water dish and *boom* virtually care-free greenery for the home?

Yes, I know that CA redwood burls (which form around ground level, and are sort of a tuber where the tree stores a backup of itself in case of catastrophic damage,) can do this, and maybe you could do it with the other redwood cousins as well.

FYI, that pic is a pic from GIS not like my family's burl, theirs is a little mini forest, I don't think there are any thick sprouts but I imagine one could get one off of it somehow or other. The one my folks have is in a like 24" or 30" plant pot tray - the kind you leave under a 5 gallon or larger plant pot, to catch runoff.

# ¿ May 16, 2012 07:40

coyo7e: Aug 23, 2007; by zen death robot

Add water, keep wet, keep out of direct sunlight.

# ¿ May 17, 2012 06:37

coyo7e: Aug 23, 2007; by zen death robot

Mr. Soop posted:

@coyo7e: That's a really nice redwood technique, actually. While a small cutting of a single branch isn't really enough to start a whole tree from, a burl might be. Given that it can be kept alive with just water for years at a time means that it can also has a good chance of being a bonsai by putting it into a soil container. Heck, even in water it has the makings of a good accent plant. Not that I've ever done any of that myself. But if I did, I would say that using a lot of rooting hormone on the cut would be wise when planting it. Probably the best thing though is that living in Humboldt (natural range of the Redwood for those who didn't know) is the best thing for making a tree via a burl. The climate won't shock it because it's already in its natural habitat, and that's one of the biggest obstacles for keeping a cutting of any kind.

Yeah that's a good idea, I never thought about trying to force a start from a burl, but burls are really very common in the PNW, and anybody living in half to most of N.CA, OR, or WA could probably easily keep them going except during a freeze. I'm not positive but I suspect my dad has never brought his burl inside during a freeze, he just leaves it on the back patio (under a clear corrugated roof) year-round. I pretty much can't remember how far back he's had that sucker sprouting off little baby redwoods.

# ¿ May 22, 2012 03:33

coyo7e: Aug 23, 2007; by zen death robot

Gingko are extremely primitive, so they're pretty hardy.

# ¿ Jun 26, 2012 16:39

coyo7e: Aug 23, 2007; by zen death robot

Mr. Soop posted:

Indeed! Ginkgos are pretty much a living fossil. They're found in the fossil record around 270 million years ago, and have no close relatives with today's trees.

If I recall correctly, they also have like, no reinforcing structure in their leaves at all, either. I always thought that was cool. :science:

# ¿ Jun 28, 2012 22:11

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# ¿ Apr 16, 2024 21:26

coyo7e: Aug 23, 2007; by zen death robot

Have you tried google? Not intending to be a dick about it, but https://www.google.com/search?q=chicago+bonsai wasn't hard to find.

Go try out a local event or workshop, and have fun!

# ¿ Jul 1, 2012 05:24

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Let's Bonsai!