|
After studying bonsai for a couple years I'm still very green and don't have an impressive collection but I did have the privilege of attending the Pacific Northwest Bonsai convention last weekend. It's pricy but auctions and workshops at bonsai club meetings and conventions like this are a great way to get material. I'm finding that if you want more than a tiny juniper for your window ledge dropping $100-200 each on great pre-bonsai material is a lot less frustrating than scrounging landscaping nurseries. That said, I didn't even really have hundreds of dollars to spend but I learned a lot. Here are the trees that were being exhibited: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALwd3w80uLo
|
#
¿
Sep 23, 2012 07:49
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 24, 2024 03:00 |
|
|
Fruit trees seem popular around here so I thought I'd share these. They aren't mine, just saw them on the net.  
|
|
#
¿
Oct 28, 2012 14:33
|
|
|
I dug a cold frame for winter maple storage. If you dig below the frost line they shouldn't freeze all winter long. In this photo the plywood cover is not yet attached. 
|
|
#
¿
Nov 19, 2012 09:56
|
|
|
The Door Frame posted:Ooo, that seems really helpful, how deep do you have to dig to keep from freezing? It is about two feet for my area though I think with it being right next to my house that keeps it a little warmer. You want to dig below the frost line though and not just to it. Finding the frost line is important to plumbers so information should be available. I looked mine up on this chart: http://www.idabo.org/loads.htm
|
|
#
¿
Nov 20, 2012 13:32
|
|
|
jadebullet posted:"ornate" pot that doesn't look like it will work very well for keeping it alive so I am thinking that I need to transplant it. What sort of pot would you guys recommend for it? Height wise it is about 1.5 feet tall. Also, what sort of soil & fertilizer would work well for it if I don't want to go out and buy the expensive stuff right away. I was thinking of using a mix of compost dirt, and sphagnum peat moss for the base, and using bone meal as the fertilizer as this is what my mom uses for her flower gardens. I just don't know if this will also work for a bonsai tree though. Has it leafed out? I don't recommend re-potting a maple if it has. I like cactus mix as a low cost soil more than compost and moss, which hold to much water.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 7, 2013 13:13
|
|
|
That is what I mean by leafed out. Here is a good article with pictures and specifics: http://www.bonsai4me.com/Basics/BasicsWhen%20to%20Repot%20your%20Bonsai.htm I think fall re-potting would be preferable to now especially if you plan on protecting the roots from freezing in the winter. The only reason to re-pot now was if you thought the tree's health was in serious trouble, like if it was very root bound. Another option is to defoliate and re-pot but that is usually a technique for trees that are in good health and have their branches already well developed.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 7, 2013 16:52
|
|
|
It's not unusual for maple leaves to look wilty until they harden off. If it was my tree I would wait for it to finish leafing out and a bit after the leaves had hardened off cut back to one or two pairs of leaves for more back budding on the trunk and fertilize once a week with a balanced fertilizer. You want to grow some thicker branches lower on the trunk. It's kind of hard to say how the roots look at this point. It looks like the tree is wired in so it would probably be a bit tricky to lift it up a bit and look to see if there are healthy looking feeder roots in the root ball.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 8, 2013 07:44
|
|
|
jadebullet posted:That's a relief. Style wise I would love to try for something similar to the Trident maple in the op. When you say cut back to one to two pairs of leaves you mean pinch off some of the leaves until there are only about 4 remaining correct? And only leaves not branches. As for a balanced fertilizer what do you reccommend. I tend to use bonemeal for most of my plants around here but that is because I have lovely soil and i am not sure how balanced it is. Thanks for the help BTW. Japanese maple thicken very slowly in a bonsai pot. I think you should probably be aiming for something like this:  When I say cut back to one or two pairs of leaves I mean use a pruner and cut off the branches an inch or so above where the leaf comes out. I also suggest waiting a month or so to do this and observe the health of the tree in the mean time. If it is in good health you can do it again if you have 6ish weeks to let it regrow before winter dormancy begins. A balanced fertilizer means an equal amount of nitrogen/phosphorus/potassium. I use vigoro 10-10-10. I personally feel like leaf pinching is for trees in an advanced state of training. Here is an excellent article with pictures of how a maple is developed: http://walter-pall-bonsai.blogspot.com/2013/02/refurbishing-japanese-maple-hedge.html Your numbered list looks good with the added technicality that watering should be when almost dry and if that is every other day than so be it. I'd still rather re-pot in spring but I can understand why you would want to get it into loser soil and that is kind of a region dependent thing. Fake edit: when previewing this I saw unprofessional had posted and I feel like I should point out I don't really disagree with what he is saying at all but feel like I am presenting a different viewpoint.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 8, 2013 15:16
|
|
|
jadebullet posted:Thank you for posting that article Illudere. It is very helpful and it makes a very good point about potentially starving your tree if you cut off too much new growth. The only thing that struck me as odd about it was the guy complaining about the wound in the front trunk. I am just going to assume that it is because he shows his trees and that would be a negative towards the tree correct? I only ask because I personally liked that it had that old wound on there. Lots of real trees around me have similar wounds due to wind and other traumas during their lives so it just struck me as something interesting on the tree, and helped the effect of having a miniaturized tree. That being said, it wouldn't be something that I would want to do intentionally or anything like that. I just thought it was an interesting feature of the tree. He definitely shows his trees and is a very famous artist who is looking for perfection. As an art form you can make your trees pleasing to you but if you want to be taken seriously there are rules to follow. Maples are generally supposed to be smooth barked and not knobby. Bonsai trees are sort of an idealized exaggeration of nature so some trees might have a wound on the trunk as a feature but it will often be exaggerated by hollowing out and darkening the interior. As far as the pot being to small, I don't think it is a shallow enough pot to hurt the trees health. The only problem would be if it was root bound which would lead to slow, laggy growth, and it seems to be growing okay? If it's growing okay I wouldn't re-pot until fall. The rule of thumb on light is to protect the maple leaves from harsh mid-day sun but get lots of morning and evening sun. The porch sounds safe enough and just keep an eye on it for leaf scorch. Even healthy maples can have some leaf scorch by the end of summer, it just depends on how careful their owners were and if they wanted to show them or not.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 9, 2013 01:15
|
|
|
I was going to post this video of how to create a juniper bonsai earlier this week for every one just thinking of starting the hobby and in light of the recent conversation it seems even handier now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu-mh_wnx4g I really like juniper as a starting plant. Spend the little bit extra for a bigger plant with lots of branching to work with.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 12, 2013 12:51
|
|
|
Slugworth posted:As best as I can tell from googling, I apparently hold off until the plants are about 4" high, and the root has turned purple, then I cut the root and re-plant. Does that sound accurate? That sounds about right. It is good to cut the root because pines love growing a strong tap root which isn't what you want for a bonsai. It needs to be done but it is still tough on the plant in the short term and 4 test subjects doesn't leave a lot of room for error or even just plain ol' bad luck. I tried following the instructions from Okami Gardens article on the subject http://home.comcast.net/~okamigardens/Articles/seedlings.htm and I haven't had much luck with Japanese black pine. I've killed all but 3 of my initial test batch and I think I had about 10-15. I live in a hot and dry climate though which isn't the best for them.
|
|
#
¿
May 17, 2013 11:08
|
|
|
Here is a couple of things I worked on this summer. The first is a juniper which I was happy with at first but I got some help with it and I realized just how much further it has to go. It is coming a long nicely now though. Did some wiring and foliage plucking. You need to wire branches into place to maximize the foliage growing out and up while minimizing the foliage growing down. Remove the foliage growing down and then pinch the tops of the foliage to encourage the pad to fill out. The foliage at the top will need to grow out into a proper apex over time. Next is a Mugo pine that I like despite major trunk problems. I'm growing out the top to try and thicken up the trunk. 
|
|
#
¿
Oct 3, 2013 13:37
|
|
|
I've never been a big fan of tropicals but I've found myself taking care of quite a few. They grow like weeds in the warm weather in my greenhouse and then die slowly inside during the winter. The plant lights help but they can only do so much.  The greenhouse has a heater so it doesn't get to cold in there. I started with the attitude that everything needs to stay outside but I think most of that is advice from milder coastal climates that aren't so dry and windy and now I'm leaning more towards babying every thing. I really try to keep my stuff out of the harsh winter winds, even the stuff that does stay outside. Small branches love to die back and if I am planning on using them it's really inconvenient.  Cold frames are great. Seemed to work very well for my maples last winter.   These guys are still outside but I might put some of them in the greenhouse for January and February.   Stuff planted in grow beds just stays put. 
|
|
#
¿
Nov 28, 2013 10:57
|
|
|
I haven't had much luck with Japanese black pine. They've lost needles quickly and haven't grown much in girth. Here is a couple of photos of what mine look like right now, and I think they are probably alive.  
|
|
#
¿
Dec 31, 2013 22:55
|
|
|
Spring has arrived in the greenhouse at least and it isn't to bad outside either. No freezes this week where I'm at. My maple clumps pot cracked and I slapped it into the only pot I had that was about the right size. I also had a shallow oval that I like but I was to scared to put it in a super shallow pot.  Here is a delicate cascade I started working on last year. Not sure what type of plant it is.  I don't know what this is either but I chopped it hard last summer and it is waking up well. 
|
|
#
¿
Mar 31, 2014 14:12
|
|
|
Mr. Soop posted:
That's a Colorado blue spruce. I killed the top and it's just been sitting around waiting for me to get rid of it. Spruce are problematic in that they have super supple branches that don't like to stay where you put them and are prone to die. Back budding is also tricky.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 7, 2014 12:54
|
|
|
Mr. Soop posted:I haven't seen too many spruce bonsai in Cali, so I'm curious as to what your plans might have been/are for it. I'm just planning on trashing it really. I have three better candidates of the same spruce growing in the ground so it isn't even worth much as an experiment/practice plant at this point. Here is an article on developing deciduous trunks with pictures: http://www.bonsaiprimer.com/trunk/trunk.html
|
|
#
¿
May 4, 2014 10:16
|
|
|
I worked on this juniper today with some help. I find jinning/carving trickier than it first appeared.  
|
|
#
¿
Jun 1, 2014 09:56
|
|
|
Dr Scoofles posted:
Have you read this guide on Bonsai4me? http://www.bonsai4me.com/AdvTech/AT%20Styling%20Juniper%20Bonsai%20Branches%20Thinning%20Out.html I don't think you want a lot of top growth on that juniper, it's too thick up there already. It looks like it has a twin trunk thing going on so I would choose one trunk line on each side and trim off anything that is too large (larger than the trunk you've chosen is a good candidate for removal). Then pinch the tips of the remaining foliage and see how it's looking in a month. It's hard to see what's going on with the Chamaecyparis but I would keep removing branches to thin it out even if you do so slowly a few at a time.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 4, 2014 14:01
|
|
|
In my head I want the juniper to be shorter, like half its height now but there isn't a lot to work with there and the main trunk is really straight so I suggested some cuts with red lines. The large branch growing up emerges to high to be a twin trunk but in this case I say work with it. I'd take the tips off the lower branches they don't need to be any longer and it will encourage back budding. This tree is getting a pretty substantial hair cut so I would let it recover for quite awhile. 
|
|
#
¿
Jun 5, 2014 14:40
|
|
|
I'm not a pro by any means. Investing in workshops and good starting material is a great idea. I got off to a slow start buying lots of blah plants and regret it. Collecting is fun too but it's nice to just tag a long with experienced collectors your first couple of times.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 6, 2014 15:00
|
|
|
Put my plants into their winter homes. Small deciduous trees go in a cold frame and larger stuff and pines get buried in the vegetable garden. A few odds and ends are in the green house, tropicals in the main house and a dawn redwood I stuck in the garage.  
|
|
#
¿
Nov 11, 2014 10:04
|
|
|
kedo posted:Thanks much! I'll try stepping up in pot size slowly. I'd recommend a shallow grow box or anderson flat. It keeps the roots spreading out and seems to dry out better while still giving the tree room to grow. That said I've heard people say it doesn't matter much what you grow it in ( https://bonsaial.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/ground-versus-box/ ). Does your patio get lots of sunlight?
|
|
#
¿
Dec 23, 2014 06:08
|
|
|
kedo posted:Cool, I'll look into those. I assume I can grab one at my nearby nursery? I'm not sure, but I think a lot of nurseries have them or have access to ordering them but don't necessarily have some out for sale. Here is an example of a maple worked hard and put in an anderson flat: http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?14475-35-Japanese-Maple-project . Likely you shouldn't be trimming yours at all though, because it has a lot of getting bigger to do. If it's still just a little seedling it would probably be better to keep growing it in a relatively small tub. While patience is an important virtue in bonsai, tridents don't grow that slowly! My trident in the ground grew 7 foot leaders over the summer and it wasn't in a super sunny spot.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 27, 2014 14:05
|
|
|
Watermelon City posted:I bought a small juniper from a roadside bonsai stand. There is a layer of lava rocks on top. It would be a good idea to get rid of the lava rocks, right? Are they large lava rocks glued in? It's so close to spring repotting time that I would take care of it then.
|
|
#
¿
Jan 29, 2015 16:08
|
|
|
Those pots are tiny. You might be able to grow some traditional bonsai species but working in that scale leaves little room for error and they need to have a well developed root mass. This website has some nice shots of small plants roots: http://www.bonsaiempire.com/blog/mame-bonsai I think succulents, grasses, and ground covers would all be good to try. I've noticed a lot of nurseries around me have fairy garden plants and "stepables" ground cover that might work. Also google "kusamono" and look at your local nursery for plants of that sort.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 21, 2016 11:49
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 24, 2024 03:00 |
|
|
It looks like it at least needs to be thinned out. Remove a few branches that are competing to fill the same space and stand back and stare at it a bit. Then remove a few more if you need to. Trimming will help promote back budding and eventually you can totally change the style. http://lennardsbonsaibeginnings.blogspot.com/2012/07/eugenia-brush-cherry-lollypop-to-broom.html?m=1 Illudere fucked around with this message at 15:05 on Apr 24, 2016 |
|
#
¿
Apr 24, 2016 15:03
|
|