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Harry Potter on Ice posted:I run a couple Tian snips and they are a huge step up imo from basic gardening secateurs (but probably not necessary for what I do, I say use what you have and can afford) Yeah, between the bypass pruners for general pruning, long-nosed snippers for fine work, and razor saw for large cuts (not really necessary so far) and a and cultivator and chopstick for root work I can pretty much get the job done. I rely on a pair of needle-nosed pliers and diagonal cutters for wire work, which probably feels like the least optimal part of my current setup. It's worth noting that I am not really doing anything that isn't extremely "pre-bonsai" so my pruning is mostly just chops and directing growth, rather than anything that requires more delicacy. From what I've learned watching Peter Chan (drink!) you can do a hell of a lot with basic secaturs, the other tools just make it easier. The big things he seems to think can't be easily substituted are: 1) Concave Branch Cutters (or what I think he refers to as "combination cutters" which I think are both a branch cutter and knob-cutter in one) for leaving concave wounds that will heal over more quickly 2) Wire Cutters which I understand are way better than general purpose tools for removing wires without damaging the branches (although from the pictures they look pretty much like general old diagonal cutters to me). 3) Jin/Deadwood Tools (although this gets into advanced territory, and again it really seems like a decent pair of needle-nosed pliers could work in a pinch). The one other thing I don't have that I really should probably acquire is a dedicated pair of root pruning shears -- not because they need to have some special properties for the task, but just to avoid the wear-and-tear of cutting through gritty roots on my main tools. So my plan is to probably find a decent set of stainless tools that cover those bases sometime this year (or hint heavily at various gift-giving seasons) and build my collection from there as needs dictate.
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Mar 3, 2020 23:35
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Jestery posted:These are my go to little shears, I'm told the used to be old dressmaking shears from Japan I DO want a pair of those nifty spring shears, if only for the Japanese authenticity of it
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Mar 4, 2020 14:43
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Thought this was an appropriate thread to share this: https://twitter.com/HoooAW/status/1235878479234727936
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Mar 9, 2020 21:40
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Crocoduck posted:Mauro Stemberger is at my place y'all, updates to follow tomorrow evening. Dafuq?? 
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Mar 12, 2020 01:52
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Crocoduck posted:So Mauro asked me to wire his client's tree before he styled it. Here are the before and after shots... That is super cool
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Mar 18, 2020 16:31
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Crocoduck posted:I actually made a bunch of these from some trident maples. what's your advice on using sphagnum moss? Is that just a top-dressing to promote surface roots over conventional bonsai soil? Should I be mounding it on top of anything I have growing in "pre-bonsai" stage?
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Apr 14, 2020 13:54
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Well, I was pruning some overhanging branches, and  (That is about 15' in the air) My wife was very confused.
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May 15, 2020 20:17
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Crocoduck posted:Wait what now? My forums account is almost old enough to vote.
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Jun 26, 2020 05:42
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Midsummer progress pics incoming, but some quick questions: 1) Does anyone know any good resources for rock usage/selection? I've been going through a huge pile of small boulders the previous homeowners collected from the Shenandoah valley for landscaping and there are some that seem pretty cool and might work well with some of my various pre-bonsai, but I'm looking for any techniques or aesthetic hints before I go whole hog. Things like color palette selection, species that do/don't work well for root-over/clinging-to rock designs, technical concerns with keeping the trees healthy, etc. On the one hand I might be over-thinking it, but on the other it's been my experience that there's usually way more depth than I suspect in every aspect of bonsai... 2) How hard would it be to successfully bisect a (young) juniper down the trunk with good odds of survival? I've got a tree that's starting to shape up but I am thinking that the natural first branch is way too low/thick. I've left it because I figure it's helping build up the trunk, but looking at it more I'm thinking that the "main" tree would make a nice informal upright, but the "extra" branch at the bottom could actually turn into a decent semi-cascade. bessantj posted:Repotted my Azalea and then promptly knocked it off the table, smashing the pot, didn't see where it landed and stepped on the poor tree snapping half of it off. 
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Jun 30, 2020 18:58
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Crocoduck posted:It's an azalea, it should be fine. Just keep it moist and above freezing in the winter. Word. Thanks for the lead -- came across this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH5N4Yt7zVg I'll post some pics whenever my children five me some peace
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Jul 1, 2020 18:27
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Ok Comboomer posted:Second flush of growth is coming in wonderfully on the piceas. Looking forward to comparing our HD azaleas!
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Jul 12, 2020 02:37
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Harry Potter on Ice posted:Whoa are there more than one bonsai pros in this thread?? From what I've read/tried, trim off the tear and lower leaves/branches, plant it in a tiny pot, wrap it in a clear plastic bag to preserve moisture, and leave it somewhere shady for a month or two.
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Jul 17, 2020 16:55
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OK, here's a partial seasonal update Garden-Center Juniper  Video Jan. 2020 I've tried to wire this guy pretty thoroughly this time. This is the one I was talking about splitting -- I feel like the left half could be a decent tree on its own, while the right could be trained to be a good looking cascade. However, after wiring I do kind of like the twin-trunk look. I'm just hesitant of making the novice mistake of being too afraid to cut anything off, so I am curious for feedback on whether people think it would be better if I just lost the right fork altogether (keeping it as a sacrifice for a while at least). Plan is to just let it grow in this pot for at least another year or two. I'm wondering if I should move it to a net pot and plant it in the ground to bulk it up, though? Volunteer red maple  Video Jan 2020 This was my first baby tree so I'm kind of partial to it, even if it's not super suitable. I really dig the curves I've got with it now, and I think it'll look really good once expose the rock underneath. I got brave and just hacked off both main stems after re-potting it, and I think it's developed nicely since then. Moreover it had a kind of weird root structure so I tried planting it over a rock in this large pot (of course like an idiot I didn't take any progress-shots, so you'll just have to be in suspense for what is underneath). I position the roots and tied the root ball arond the rock with some sisal twine then placed a black nursery pot with the bottom cut out around it. The roots are all long enough that they go down into the larger pot under the nursery pot, so my plan is to let it grow for a little while then remove the nursery pot, then repot the whole thing with more rock exposed after another year or two. I wired the branches partially just to spread them out, although there are one or two which seem like they might be good permanent branch candidates. Home Depot Rescue Ficus  Video Got this one as a Home Depot "bonsai" -- removed the glued on rocks and put it in a small terracotta pot for a while. Having a bunch of good looking candidate rocks, I decided to do this guy as a root-over-rock as well when I repotted him. Like the previous tree I tied the roots in place with a few wraps of sisal twine; however, I also used a homemade "muck" based on a recipe I found on the internet: http://www.fukubonsai.com/5a18b.html quote:"Stir constantly while cooking a mixture of 1 part cornstarch with 3 parts of water until the "pudding" is clear and thick. Cool. Mix equal parts (by volume) of fine granular soil, damp long-strand spaghnum moss, and the starch "pudding." Use more pudding if you want a softer stickier muck and more media for a stiffer muck. I used some leftover Turface fines as the "fine granular soil", although in retrospect I'd probably use some of the vermiculite I have sitting round instead next time. This "muck" (the dark stuff above the fresh spaghnum moss) made a really good glue for holding the roots to the rock as well. I've seen some advice suggest applying the muck only in the recesses of the rock where you want roots to go to control growth, so I will probably do that when I repot it again. I think the root part is going to look really good. I'm honestly not sure what to do with the branches, but I felt like I had to wire it because I planted the tree at an angle along the rock and so all the branches would have looked weird otherwise. Advice here appreciated. Quince   New acquisition. This seems has some really great branch structure, but is obviously really leggy as well. I repotted it this spring and I had to really brutalize the roots -- it had some nasty girdling root situation that didn't leave much behind when I was done cleaning it up. As a result I've been really ginger with it, just planning on leaving be until next spring and pruning it back then. That's I think 1/3 of my projects, but probably the most interesting. I'll follow up with some more when I have the time.
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Jul 17, 2020 22:35
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Thuja Standishii (Home Depot, $8) Video Pre-wiring Got this as part of a "leftover holiday greens" sale. It had fallen over in the pot and was growing on its side, giving it that nice bow at the bottom. I repotted it into this large tray in late winter and left all the foliage, and then wired it not too long ago. I haven't been able to find a whole lot about Thuja Standishii (Japanese Arborvitae). I've heard they can be hard to work with (vigorous growth, springy branches can be hard to train,, hard to back-bud) but can turn out very nicely and are extremely hearty. Since they don't back bud easily I'm trying to preserve as much growth as I can for now. It's buried a little deep in the pot with some moss to help develop some surface roots. I wired it mostly just to spread out the growth and get a feel for styling, but once I'm happy with the trunk development I will thin the branches down a fair bit. I wasn't sure what to do styling-wise, so I kind of just went for a standard "weeping" look. I think it's nice, but I'd be curious if anyone has any other Thuja I could look at for reference, or any suggestions on care and styling
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Jul 18, 2020 18:29
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Harry Potter on Ice posted:This looks great, did you burn and brush that yourself? Slick  Harry Potter on Ice posted:Great this is what I was on the path of doing. Thoughts on the soak in a bleach mixture and then washing it off first? To what end?
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Jul 19, 2020 00:25
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Jul 19, 2020 00:40
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Ok Comboomer posted:t Yeah, to be honest I'm a lot more happy with it after having wired it. It's hard to tell, but the wire is doing a hell of a bend on that top-right branch (as well as putting in some horizontal arc in the lower-right branch to make it more interesting) and I think that really salvages a good bit of it. If it were just the left side I think it could be a very nice tree, but it would be very *different* and as you said the right side balances it well at the moment. I thought about doing a jin with it down the road as well, but really with all the options (including keeping it, using it as a sacrificial branch, or splitting/jinning it) there's not really any reason to cut it right now to be sure. I'm just coming at it from the perspective of still working on bonsai aesthetics (in addition to technique) and I know there's a tendency to not be willing to cut enough so I want to make sure the structural decisions I am making are part of an affirmative plan rather than me just being afraid to cut things  Ok Comboomer posted:But the negative space and visible trunks will look cool if they thicken up and grow new branches and foliage in the future. The tree looks very balanced with the two trunks and has a lot of potential. Making it into a cascade (I assume you mean kind of just tilting everything to the right and bending accordingly) is an interesting idea I hadn't considered. One thing I had thought about was sweeping the left-most branches across the front and back towards the right and stretching the right-most branches for a kind of wind-swept look. That was going to require more aggressive bending than I was comfortable with though, and since this is "babby's first conifer" I figured I might as well just keep it basic and focus on learning how to wire fine foliage for now. Speaking of which, that was a real pain in the rear end but I think I am getting the hang of it. I'm very glad I don't have a larger juniper, that's for drat sure. Anyways, sounds like I didn't make a total hash of it!
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Jul 19, 2020 01:24
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lil poopendorfer posted:Thank you all Can't believe you missed "faux-Sugi Ban" :facepalm: For what it's worth, I did something similar for an old piece of leftover 2"x12" fir board that I turned into a makeshift bridge for the kids in the backyard. I toasted it with a propane torch until it was all a consistent black (supposedly you do this until it actually starts cracking a little) then hit it with a grill brush. What happens is the denser grain (which is richer in resin and structurally stronger) won't char as much, and when you wire brush it the denser grain will stay darker while the wider grain areas will get scrubbed away, leaving a similar looking pattern but with a very nice textured relief. After I did that I did a natural color wipe-on oil finish, which really looked great.
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Jul 19, 2020 15:06
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lil poopendorfer posted:Anyone growing anything with NAPA #8822 - calcinated diatomaceous earth, aka Oil-Dry? Tried it on the recommendation of a few locals, supposed to be comparable to akadama in water retention and CEC. So far, everything is doing well but it just feels weird LOL. I would be super glad if it's a viable alternative, it's like $10 for a huge bag. Get yourself a stack of soil seives -- I found a full stack somewhere from 1/2" to 1/32", but you really only need a 1/4" one and a 1/8" one. Stack those two together and sift the stuff over a 5-gallon bucket. Keep whatever fits between the two seives to use for bonsai and scatter the rest over your lawn.
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Jul 19, 2020 19:59
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Ok, so I got a proper Satsuki Azalea from Brussels Bonsai to compare against the Home Depot ones I was working with before. Here's what I've got: Looks like lots of spent flowers in the canopy, lots of twiggy growth. So how do I proceed? Do I do anything with it right now? I'll repot it sometime next spring, but as far as shaping goes: - for azaleas (and all basally dominant plants?) I need to aggressively remove low/interior growth so it doesn't sap energy from the upper/outer branches, right? - I'll remove all the spent flowers. Should I also prune back their stem ends? - There are a lot of crotch/spar branches, including some of the most major ones. Do I need to do an aggressive culling /selection there to prevent reverse taper? - it feels like there is in general a lot of interior "congestion" -- overlapping/interpenetrating branches, especially among the twiggy growth. I am assuming I can thin that out pretty aggressively? - Any advice on what to look at for potential long term styling? Right now it seems to be kind of a generic "broom", but that feels like more of a result of its default shrubby growth habit than an aesthetic choice.
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Jul 26, 2020 17:00
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Crocoduck posted:What region do you live in Hubis? Northern Virginia (7b)
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Jul 27, 2020 01:10
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Crocoduck posted:I'd go on and do branch selection pruning now - trim every multitude of branches to two joints, trim away branches that obviously conflict with the design (eg heading back into the canopy).  I started on that already. It actually looks like the spent flowers had set seed, so I picked all that out. There was also a fair bit of deadwood in there (including a branch I initially thought would be the apex :shep: ) so I cleared that up. The pruning looks like it'll be a bit brutal, but I know azalea respond well to hard pruning. Just to recap, things I'm looking for: -Low/Rootline branches very important for basally dominant or suckering trees, but for others I could leave these as sacrifices, right? - Branches too thick relative to the main trunk (unless I am going for a multi-trunk look) - Spur branches - Bar Branches - Eye-Pokers - Parallel Branches - Pocket Branches - Overlapping branches how close so they have to be here? I have some interesting branches that kind of swoop past one another verrically, but are fairly separated in the structure - Long, straight branches (where more interesting alternatives exist) - Downward branches - Branches growing back opposite their parent - Vertical upward branches For these two it seems like I'll want to allow more of that near the branch ends/canopy to fill things in, right? Does this sound right? I'll post some update pictures in a bit.
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Jul 27, 2020 14:46
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Oh, also I found what seems like a good series of posts from Longwood Gardens (isn't this your neck of the woods, Crockoduck?) specifically about developing an azalea albeit a very mature one: 1. Birth of a Bonsai 2. Character Development of a Bonsai 3. Giving Our Azalea Bonsai a New Home Might be an interesting read to anyone else with azaleas they are trying to shape.
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Jul 27, 2020 14:51
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Ok, here's what I've got. Feels like I murdered it  I decided to slip pot from the nursery container into an air-pot I had sitting around. I figure with as much pruning as I needed to do I will need to let it grow out for a while, and I don't really have any suitable bonsai pots for it anyways so I'll just leave it in there to develop for a year or two and see how it goes. Three angles: 1.  2.  3.  Angle 1 was my "front" for the initial branch selection, although I'm starting to like 3 more now that I look at it. Anyways, I know I need to prune that central spur, but I haven't yet because I feel like there are a few different ways I could go in terms of shaping. Feedback welcome. Looking at image 1, from the front-left branch clockwise around the back I have branches A/B/C/D. I feel like C is the obvious main trunk, so if I wanted to keep that then I'd have to select one of the other three. In that case, B has a lot of overlap, and D goes in sort of the same direction so maybe I'd keep A? I think AC also looks good from angle 3. Alternatively, I could cut C and maybe keep D. I was kind of assuming I'd keep C so I cut an overlapping branch on D that would have been nice to have otherwise, but oh well. Maybe I'd keep A? On the other hand, those branches are really long, so maybe I need to do a hard prune to like 2-3" on whatever I keep, meaning the upper portions won't really matter anyways and I should just focus on the angles coming out of the spur?
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Jul 27, 2020 17:28
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Crocoduck posted:Right now I'd just focus on getting movement. Much of what you're eventually going to wind up with isn't a twinkle in your tree's eye yet so to speak. You're already developing some inverse taper - I had some satsuki cuttings that I kinda wanted to experiment with and took them over to Bob Mahler's place. With stuff like this he advised me to just use it in rock plantings (which are their own cool kinda art). With the ones we did wind up making into pre bonsai, we just trimmed everything to a single line then let it grow. You might be alright doing that now honestly, thinking about it. Ok, great. That kind of confirms my instinct that I was getting too far ahead of myself with shaping, etc. I guess what I really need to do is decide how big I actually want the final tree to be, then just focus on growing a good, interesting trunk up to wherever I want the first branch to actually be? E: which sounds kind of like what you said in your first reply. Hubis fucked around with this message at 12:28 on Jul 28, 2020 |
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Jul 28, 2020 12:11
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lil poopendorfer posted:Dont know enough to critique your pruning but I commend you for getting in there and cutting away. It's always nervewracking for me to prune on a "real" tree that I special ordered and paid money for. I have to say that as much as it's been commented that Peter Chan isn't ideal as your only source of bonsai learning, one thing he's really drilled into me is that you aren't going to make much of a bonsai if you aren't willing to cut. Doing all my practicing on red maple sapling that popped up in my yard has also engendered a (possibly foolish) confidence that plants are tougher than it seems so long as you provide appropriate after-care. Anyways, I took this discussion and pruned my other azaleas as well. I will try and post pictures later. lil poopendorfer posted:How do you like the Air Pots? I'm a total believer in the mechanism but there's a few options. Air Pots seem awesome but they look kinda like idk Tinker Toys LOL. Was eyeing the Rootmaker pots just because they look, well, normal. I've heard good things about the grow bags too. Anyone else with any experience, I'd love to hear from you too This is my first year with them so I don't have nearly enough experience to say; however, so far I'm a pretty big fan. Previously I'd been using various fabric pots for similar purposes and while those have a great price point (which is nice because it means I can keep a bunch of sizes around for whatever I need) they definitely don't seem to do the "air prune" thing quite as well. Meanwhile I have a few that have rotted out after ~2 years, so they definitely have a limited lifespan. Meanwhile, the air pots feel extremely rock solid -- I suspect they are much more of a reusable tool. Also while the fabric pots are cheaper, it seems like there is a lot more variety in size to the air pots (probably because making a new size is simply a matter of combining a base diameter with an arbitrary wall height). I found some advertised as "propagation pots" and "salad trays" that are like 4" deep and 8" or 16" diameter (respectively) which seem like they would be perfect for grow/training pots. Also, the "tinker toy" aspect is kind of brilliant: - They ship flat-packed in unfolded form, so they are pretty affordable shipping wise (if you buy enough of them at a time) - When you want to re-pot, you can just unroll the pot rather than having to slip it out (probably critical if they really do generate root mass as well as claimed) - If you want to store them you can just flat-pack them again - And if you have enough parts you can recombine the bases and sides to make the dimensions you want on demand. Anyways, I have some 3gal and 5gal pots (as well as some skinny "starter" pots) and my plan is to do 2-3 year stints in each for things I am trying to grow out. My hope is that it'll give results competitive with planting the trees in the ground (which I don't really have the space for) while also giving me more control over the root structure in the process. The real question for me is how well the air pots are going to perform compared to the various net pots I was using previously. For larger sizes (2-5 gal) net pots aren't really an option, but it'll be interesting to see how they compare at the 6"-8" range. I feel like air pots may perform slightly better, but given the price difference it might not be worth the cost at that range?
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Jul 28, 2020 18:26
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Crocoduck posted:Basically any of the Japanese trained are good folks to follow. Marco Invernizzi, Bjorn Bjorholm, Peter Warren, Tyler Sherrod, Matt Reel, Ryan Neil, Seth Nelson, Kaya Mooney, Julian Tsai, Boon Manakitivipart, Owen Reich, Bob Mahler, Sean Smith, Mark Goodman, Will Valavanis, Danny Coffey, Juan Andrade, etc. There's others I'm forgetting, especially all the Japanese professionals who are also worth a watch. I've really been enjoying watching Bjorn Bjorholm's videos lately in particular. Recommend anyone check them out if you haven't already. Information-dense, but very approachable.
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Jul 29, 2020 12:58
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Did some pruning last night, applying some of the discussion here. First, the Satsuki:  I trimmed it down to two branches at the spur. I think I will eventually just keep the rightmost path as the trunk, but I was a little worried about giving the plant too much to heal at once around that big joint, so I'm going to leave it like this until next spring and go from there. HD Azalea 1:  One of two I showed before, this one seemed to have much finer leaves naturally (despite them both being ostensibly the same species -- cultivar variety!). Keeping the best branches, it kind of ended up being a pretty 2-dimensional "Y" so I just went for it and picked one. We will see how it responds next spring, but I am already thinking it might make a nice windswept tree? HD Azalea 2:   This one has notably larger leaf size for whatever reason. I know we discussed not worrying about selecting final branches, but this thing seemed to have such a nice, perfect bifurcation that I kind of hated to mess with it. Maybe I'll change my mind later but I decided to keep it as a control for now. I'm wondering: if I eventually pot it and start restricting root growth, will I begin seeing noticable dwarfing of the leaf size? If so maybe I will aim this for a shohin-sized tree? Or would I just be fighting it's nature too much? Here's a (non-azalea) HD Rhododendron:  I got this the same time as the azaleas, just because it seemed to have a good trunk. This one will definitely need to get larger to account for it's bigger leaves, so I just went for the best vertical trunk line, aiming for an informal upright (although I'm going to keep an open mind). I feel like the current fork is about where I'd want the first branch, so I need to grow this up quite a bit larger and keep refining that trunk line. Also holy crap, I never realized how good Rhododendron leaves smell? Bonus: I got a Gardenia bonsai from Brussels along with the Satsuki. Using some of the advice I went through and did some shaping -- it didn't need nearly as much work:   I did a little bit of silhouette shaping, thinning, and branch selection, but it didn't need a ton of work. The one question I have at this point is that there's a vertical branch right in the center (pictured) that I *think* I might need to remove, but I wasn't sure. Taking it out would leave a bit gap in the canopy, but it might be best to cut it out now and let the other branches grow in?
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Jul 29, 2020 15:47
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lil poopendorfer posted:True. FWIW I think Peter Chan gets a bad rap, the man is an OG and is at the point where he's free to gently caress around and have a good time with trees. The wisdom he shares is the kind that tends to stick with you (like w the point about the pruning--I've heard him talk about it too). Oh BTW, since I mentioned them: here are some of the less common air pot configurations I've seen that I think would be particularly useful for bonsai:  (6" clay pot for scale) The small one is 4" diameter and 4.5" depth, and the medium and large ones are 9" and 15" in diameter with 3" depth. The other ones I've been using for growing are the ~1 gal (8"d x 7" h), ~3 gal (9" d x 8" h) and ~5 gal (12" d x 10" h). I feel like I'd probably use the tiny 4" to propogate, the standard 1gal => 3 gal => 5 gal for growing out, and then the shallow 15" and 9" to develop roots and prepare for final potting.
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Jul 29, 2020 18:19
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Speaking of which, came out to find a delightful surprise on the gardenia. I had also just bought a lot of small pots from someone's grandmother's estate (apparently she was a big member of the Potomac Bonsai Association and a caretaker at the National Arboretum) and they included a little bonus. I think he looks quite at home  
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Aug 1, 2020 22:32
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Crocoduck posted:Styling some trees for a client (he pays me in beer). Would people be interested in how to do heavy bends on a pine, or is that old hat? Everything is exciting when you have no idea what you are doing like me! 
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Aug 2, 2020 05:43
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lil poopendorfer posted:I've been on a bit of a Porticularia Afra kick lately, a super cool plant for all kinds of reasons, so I've been scopin out the Home Depots looking for good specimens. Found this bad boy for $19.99, and bought it for the twin trunk tree that was thicker than any of the other P. Afras there. Ok yeah, I'm going to have to keep an eye out for some p. Afra. I was just reading about how well suited it is for a beginner species, and I've already been looking for a few potential indoor specimins for the winter months.
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Aug 2, 2020 05:45
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Ok Comboomer posted:Also- thoughts on getting ahold of pumice and/or turface? You can get a 50LB bag of Turface MVP for $40 from DoMyOwn.com. I found that after screening it's maybe 20-30% fines. If you find a landscape/irrigation supply company or retail outlet that has it nearby you can get it for more like $15-25 per bag.
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Aug 4, 2020 03:32
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The LECA / "Hydroton" looks interesting, please post updates! My concern is that the effective granule size being so coarse means it won't hold onto very much moisture at all, so you'd have to be watering it maybe multiple times a day depending on climate? I know they are popular in hydroponics, but there you are looking at Flood + Drain or Deep Water Culture, which is effectively the same as constant watering? Actually, using DWC for bonsai development seems really interesting now that I think about it...
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Aug 9, 2020 00:59
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I may have to do my annual collection of maple saplings next year and throw them in some net pots just to see how they grow in a DWC system. Of course, then there's the question of how you overwinter them... Maybe better for a tropical species that I bring indoor? Anyways, interesting thoughts, fun experiments to try! Between all the constrained growth, layering, grafting, etc. bonsai feels a little like "The Island of Dr. Moreau"... E: here is an interesting thread Hubis fucked around with this message at 03:36 on Aug 9, 2020 |
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Aug 9, 2020 03:30
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My novice $0.02:Ok Comboomer posted:Would moving them into larger nursery pots be good/bad? Like, no disturbing the root ball at all, just pop ‘em in and surround with soil? This is called "slip potting". It's my understanding that you can get away with slip potting pretty much any time, because of exactly what you say -- you're not root pruning, or really even disturbing the root ball ideally. Possibly riskier with less root-bound plants or coarser soil where the root ball won't be able to hold together as well, but for garden center plants in nursery pots/soil you should probably be OK. Whether or not it's worth it, I don't know. Ok Comboomer posted:Obviously no heavy styling or pruning, not that either of them need it—but one of the azaleas has a medium branch that’s begun pressing hard into another part of the plant and affecting the ability of that area to properly fill in; and the other has a big ugly stick pointing out of the back of the trunk with some wee branches coming off the end. I just want to lop both of them off. The bushes have a ton of growth, I’d be taking like less than 5% off. But if leaving a wound like that in August on the plant is bad, I suppose I can leave them. I don't have pictures at the moment (trying not to obsess too much, lest I be tempted to keep messing with them) but the azaleas I cut back hard a few posts back are already exploding with buds. If you're in MA you might have much less growing season left than I do, in which case there might be no harm in waiting. One thing about the Azaleas is that they are basally dominant (shoots grow more vigorously at the bottom rather than the apex) and so you really want to aggressively prune any low growth to prevent it from starving your top. Ok Comboomer posted:Also, while we’re on the subject of seasonally-appropriate care: are small poly tunnels and plant tents good ways of wintering these guys outside? I can always put them in a garage, or indoors, or in my CRV, when it gets too cold or rough. Alternatively I’m in MA, and NEBonsai’s boarding rates aren’t terrible for maybe a few of the more delicate/worthy plants (probably not the picea, those things appear bulletproof and also I would probably be laughed at). So I am in the same boat of being at a place where I have enough stuff I've worked/care about enough that I want to protect from winter exposure. The key thing to remember is that really you just need to keep temperatures in/above the upper 20's (aka "cold greenhouse" / "coldhouse" temps). Some things that I've looked at: 1) Get some > large-grade 4mil clear sheeting, build a rough frame around my bench, and pile everything around it + Extremely Cheap + Completely flexible on size + Easy to remove in the spring - Reduced durability (especially in the event of snowfall) - Not going to be the tightest seal - Awkward to remove for watering/regulating humidity - Most effort to set up 2) This Ikea Galvanized Shelf + Zip-up Wrap  + Extremely Cheap (there's a half-height one as well that's even cheaper) + Extremely Easy + Seems like a pretty effective seal + Easy to get access throughout the season - Shelves are only 16" apart, which is a problem for taller trees/trees in grow pots (although maybe I can remove one) - Fairly narrow (10-5/8") so potentially limiting on individual plant footprint - Going to take up useful space in the off-season - Long term durability? 3) Building a custom scaffold like (1) but using a pre-made tunnel like this  + Spacious, can go over my existing bench + Good access (zip-up doors on both sides) + Seems like a good seal with tie-downs + Can set up against the house, probably taking advantage of some residual heat + Easy to break down and store - Still need to spend effort to set up a frame - Footprint is somewhat on the large/awkward side (for my location) - Not sure if the value is great for what you get 4) A pop-up greenhouse (similar to 3) but with a frame like this or this   + Similar to (3) in most ways + No need to build a frame/shelves - Less Flexibility on footprint (may not be quite big enough for me) 5) A polycarbonate greenhouse kit like this:  + Great durability + Best conditions + Multiple footprints - Cost lol - Wife lol - Effort to set up (plus needing a proper footing of some sort) makes it a permanent fixture Finally, in addition to any of these ideas, there's the old trick of stringing some incandescent chrismas lights along your pots inside the greenhouse as well. This will serve to provide some baseline heat and give whatever enclosure you are using something to retain beyond sunlight (especially helpful for me where I don't really have a good south-facing location to build it). I might even attach them to a thermostat outlet like you use for seed starting heat pads to only kick on the lights/heat if it dips below 28'F or so.
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Aug 13, 2020 21:03
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eSporks posted:FWIW I had this one and its junk. The shelves support no weight, the whole thing is super flimsy and does incredibly poor in the wind. Thanks, that was my suspicion. That drat Satyr posted:And now, about 2 months post-surgery. When it cools off a bit more I think I might re-pot it so it's a little more upright, so maybe I can encourage the new growth to stop bending toward the light so much. I'm honestly not even sure why it's doing that, since now it lives on my north-facing porch and gets pretty good morning sun, and I figured that would be well enough for it. Am I wrong? Jade Cascade? That drat Satyr posted:And, finally, the goods. I know it's bad, my wiring sucks, and my form/arrangement makes no sense. I don't really care that much, because I had fun doing it and honestly I think the tree probably needs to grow out a little bit more before it's able to be properly trained, anyway. Blue juniper. My unsolicited suggestion: - Bend the bottom branch in a flat curve, ending with the tip bending slightly forward - Bend the group of 4 parallel branches so they're somewhat staggered, maximizing the sun each gets. - Let those middle 4 branches grow for a while, but plan to pick only one of them (I like the 2nd from the bottom) and prune the rest when things have thickened up enough.
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Aug 14, 2020 18:26
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Hubis posted:Well, I was pruning some overhanging branches, and So update on this:   I was hesitant to post any photos until I felt confident that it would survuve, but It's been down for about 3 weeks now and I'm actually starting to see some new leaf buds so I think I'm past the initial danger zone. It's in the shade potted in a 50/50 mix of chopped spaghnum moss and coarse pumice. I've got some willow stalks stuck in there and have been watering it with willow water periodically as I have read that improves rooting. I've been applying foliar watering with seaweed extract as well. My main goal here is to try and push enough roots that it will survive winter minimum die-back. I'm planning to leave all the foliage where it is in hopes that it will collect as much energy as possible for pushing roots, then do a very light shaping for reduction of some of the twiggy growth over the winter, grow it out through the next year, and do a repotting/root pruning in maybe Spring 2022. That wound in the front was facing up before so I didn't know it was there! I think it *could* be something pretty cool, but I'm not sure exactly what to do with it. It's currently potted pretty deep (the bottom of the cut is on the bottom there) so that first big branch isn't actually at final soil level. Structurally I've erred on the side of not losing too much developed structure, but I will probably chop down at least that top and the longer side branches at some point. Anyways, here's hoping my big thicc boi survives! It seems like it could easily make a proper chumono (or even omono?) which would be really rad to have. Hubis fucked around with this message at 18:59 on Aug 14, 2020 |
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Aug 14, 2020 18:48
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That drat Satyr posted:Thanks, both of you, for the ideas! I probably should have taken a photo from a different angle so it was more clear that the small guy one dimensional. I've gone back and made sure that each branch has good, uncovered reach for sunlight and generally given it a little wiggle here and there. As for removing branches - would it be better to just get rid of them now, or leave them to help get the trunk to get stronger since it has more to support in the state that it's in? Definitely don't prune it now -- those branches will help build trunk thickness and taper, and feed root growth. I wouldn't plan on pruning anything else until you see some new growth and back budding.
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Aug 16, 2020 00:57
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| # ¿ Apr 30, 2024 02:41 |
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Hell yeah 420 moss krew represent
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Aug 16, 2020 14:00
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