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This is a fascinating thread - I do ikebana but have been wanting to try my hand at bonsai for a while. I have a ginko tree near me, would you recommend starting a bonsai from a cutting (if ginkos lend themselves to cutting) or am I making things too complicated?
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Jul 17, 2012 22:32
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KingColliwog posted:I don't know much about Ginko's so I can't help, but could you post some pics of your ikebana? That always intrigued me Took me a while to deliver on this one - apologies for the delay. My ikebana classes were on hiatus for the summer and I just had my first fall class on Saturday. This is one of the arrangements I did:  Basic slanting style nageire 基本傾真型 - 投入 (1-10) I have some more pics of arrangements I've done in class in the Flickr set. I don't want to derail this thread after all  Back to bonsai! I'm reading this thread with great interest, haven't taken the plunge in getting my own tree just yet but I'm thinking about it for this coming winter. Only point of concern is that the main window in my apartment (one of those floor-to-ceiling window-walls) is on top of a floor-level heating duct. Living in Boston, that window in the winter gets alternate cold drafts and dry heat. My houseplants have all done fine in this location, but I'm of the impression that bonsai trees are much more fickle, even the evergreens. Is this the case or is it just a matter of what kind of bonsai tree you have?
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Sep 24, 2012 15:50
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KingColliwog posted:Somehow my reply got deleted. Thank you very much! In theory these arrangements can last up to 2 weeks, though they will look quite droopy by then. Most of mine will last about 5 days, but I'm not always working with the freshest material. I do not add anything to the water, I just keep it fresh and top it up. Of course, freshening the water means I have to completely re-do the arrangement... so if I'm feeling lazy I just add more water. When we cut for ikebana, there are special methods used in the cutting to help keep the flowers and branches healthier longer. The main technique is cutting the stems underwater, otherwise it's basically about how you cut and split branches or For moribana arrangements (like this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/varmazis/8012781845/in/set-721576315970932500), you use a pin frog (called a kenzan) to hold the flowers and branches in place. Part of the goal of how you arrange your materials is to hide the kenzan. Ikebana does not traditionally use wire or florist foam, though when you get into freestyle work (especially in Sogetsu school), it's really anything-goes. Nageire arrangements (the tall kind that I posted a picture of earlier) uses no kenzan. Instead, you basically cantilever branches off each other and the interior of the container. In a way, this means your arrangement is like flower-jenga. It takes a lot of practice to learn how to cut and arrange your materials for nageire without having everything fall as you're working on it. (My teacher makes it look so easy... whereas any small adjustment I make it all falls down :P) So in essence for the tall arrangments, it's just gravity and friction holding it all together.
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Sep 24, 2012 22:25
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After being inspired by this thread, I went to an amazing local bonsai nursery (Bonsai West in Littleton, MA!) and got myself a lovely ficus and a natal plum. When I bought both, the staff told me that the ficus would be easy but the plum would be a little more finicky. Fast forward about 2 weeks and my ficus is still really freaking out -- dropping several yellow leaves a day (it's a decently big bonsai, so it's about 10 leaves a day). The plum? Just dandy. I'm sure the ficus is stressed since it was in a nice greenhouse until I took it away to my tiny Boston apartment, which has only one window (west-facing, floor-to-ceiling deal, can get a few hours of direct sunlight when it finally stops raining around here) but man, *I* am getting stressed looking at my lovely ficus just dropping leaves like it's going out of style. My place is pretty humid normally (I have a humidifier going) and I always have a low fan running as well -- so the air is moving and it's not super-dry. I'm thinking it's just the drastic cut in light, especially since it's autumn? Aside from the yellow leaves, the ficus looks just fine -- it even has new shoots and is fruiting, of all the things. But the pace of yellowing leaves hasn't slowed down, which is starting to worry me. The soil is moist, I have watered it I think 2-3 times in the past 2 weeks (the soil was moist when I got it), so perhaps I am overwatering it? Or no? Any ideas?
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Oct 16, 2012 16:44
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Thank you both for your replies -- the plant isn't showing any stress anywhere else, the new shoots are healthy and continuing to grow. I'll snip off some of the fruits per your suggestion - I was thinking that might be something to try - since I think I have something like 15 baby figs (at least!) on this guy. All the leaves yellowing and falling off are definitely older ones in the back where there's less sun. I'm not too familiar with ficus yet, I was thinking this might just be the plant shedding leaves that aren't getting enough sun, but I don't want to make poor assumptions here Definitely no bugs that I can see. I have been checking the dropped leaves for any scale, nothing yet. Nothing on the soil either. I think I am so far pest-free. This is definitely slightly-more gravely soil, not standard potting mix by any stretch. It's not as gravely as succulent mixes (like the stuff I've used for cacti). I believe it's the greenhouse's proprietary bonsai soil mix of some kind: http://www.bonsaiwest.com/index.php/bonsaiwest/item/251 I do check it morning and night for moisture since it's still a new plant and I'm trying to get to know it better. We haven't had very much sun at all lately -- I think 1 hour of direct sun MAX a day the past few days -- so I am trying to make sure I am not overwatering.
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Oct 16, 2012 19:33
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Crocoduck posted:I'd definitely water more - I usually give my ficus 20-30 seconds underneath a hose everyday and they're potted in soil very similar to your's. If I were you, I'd consider getting a cheap fluorescent lamp and supplementing the tree's light for ~8-16 hours a day. Like I said, greedy little trees - speaking of which, what are you using as a fertilizer? Even if the soil is still really damp? I am concerned I might *over* watering this guy. I did just buy a plant lamp though - that definitely can't hurt. I have a feeling my poor ficus is just going through serious light withdrawal -- it went from probably a few good solid hours of light to, well, maybe one a day if it's lucky. (Normally it'd get more than that where I have it, but we have just had days and days of overcast weather lately.)
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Oct 16, 2012 21:25
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ante posted:It needs the dormant cycle or it gets sick and dies Doesn't that depend on the plant? From what I have read, "indoor" bonsai (like ficus) do not have a dormant cycle.
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Nov 10, 2012 20:32
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I had a similar problem - mine got super stressed out when I brought it home and it dropped leaves for WEEKS, as in, handfuls a day. But at the same time it was (and still is) putting out new shoots, so what gives? I thought it had been a light issue, so I purchased a plant light at the recommendation of a number of bonsai websites and it did indeed strengthen the plant, but it was still dropping leaves. In my case I found that I had been overwatering mine. A week of 'neglect' basically fixed it right up. I mist mine daily but watering more than once a week in the fall/winter where I live (Boston) is plenty.
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Dec 3, 2012 20:16
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Dzurlord posted:I tripped over this thread and was reminded of how much I wanted to try and raise a tree or two. Bonsai West is fantastic - I might see you there at the class. I bought some trees from them in the fall and have been keeping them alive since then, but I could use some help on pruning and care.
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Jan 7, 2013 17:36
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Crocoduck posted:I don't think a ficus would tolerate a dip into the thirties very well, but I could be wrong. Mine have dropped leaves from temps in the 40s. Yeah, this past year I had a ficus right next to a very large window over the summer, as my condo only has the one large window. I live in Boston and most of the winter it was fine... until we had a very bitter cold snap in the dead of winter, it must have been 20 below at one point. The temps immediately by the window were at freezing temps. My ficus drat near died - pretty much all the leaves dropped. I had to do intense rehab on it for a month to bring it back to life. Lesson learned!
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Sep 10, 2013 16:56
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Mr. Soop posted:So one of the difficulties in keeping a thread like this active during the fall and winter comes from the fact that there isn't much going on with our trees right now. Well, I have bonsai that aren't cold-hardy so they absolutely have to come indoors (in my case I have a ficus and a natal plum). They struggle during the winter even inside, to be sure. Temps near windows get mighty cold in the winter - I've found using a nice and warm plant lamp keeps them going through the darkest winter months. I think it's really the lack of sunlight that makes them hurt more than the colder temperatures. As long as temps are above 65 and there's no cold draft though, they will drop quite a few leaves but will make it fine until spring. A plant light helps them bounce back in spring a bit sooner though.
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Nov 25, 2013 07:13
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