Jump to content

Bonsai Trees


Recommended Posts

This forum is supported by the 12ozProphet Shop, so go buy a shirt and help support!
This forum is brought to you by the 12ozProphet Shop.
This forum is brought to you by the 12oz Shop.

in the spring i went to some festival where dudes were giving out free trees. i think mine is an ash. it was the last one he had and he said it would probably die soon anyway. i took it to prove him wrong.

i planted it in a glass vase that was filled halfway with dirt. i put some earthworms in there and covered the top with some saran wrap to keep the moisture it.

it's still alive. i'll see what i can do about bonsai'ing it but im still not sure i want to. then again, would it be considered bonsai if its growth is stunted from not being able to grow beyond the saran wrap anyway?

it has grown at least one limb and is by no means unhealthy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ficus1.jpg

 

 

This is my newly repotted Ficus. I had been growing it (practically) upside down, in a tower-like contraption that I built, for about 1.5 years. It still needs time for the leaves to 'flatten out'.

I'll probably rewire it in a few weeks once it has settled.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Hey guys, I'm starting some Japanese Red Maple's (Bloodgood), any advice? (I'm starting them from seeds I bought).

 

I've chopped up a few things from living plants for organic material to enrich the soil and smashed a few Terracotta pots into small bits to help the soil drain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

good luck with that. i'll probably be trying when the fall comes around and my neighbor's tree drops seeds...in the meantime..

 

3857504191_18ea9309d2.jpg

 

put the hole in it myself with the dremel..good shit for $1

 

potted up the only thing that i have ready to go into a bonsai dish. privet are hearty as fuck, that's all i can say.

 

3857567173_8fcd935dc7_o.jpg

 

when i get a few things situated and have some time i'll try to get flicks of some other shit i have going on up in here..feedback appreciated.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What type of soil is in that pot? I might be wrong but a species like that might need a softer soil. That soil looks pretty harsh for a deciduous. Also keep an eye on those exposed roots. I have only re-potted 3 or 4 bonsais with exposed roots in the past but they might not yet be used to being out fully yet. Just a thought.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yeah...i'm wondering if they will or won't, but it's an experiment. we've been pulling those privet out at a new property and i thought i'd try a couple quick bonsai on a few with nice trunks. i put it in a pot in the early spring, and the soil i took it out of was practically straight up red clay and a little bit of sand. it's been in plain potting soil ever since i dug it up. when i went to transplant it the other day it had grown roots almost completely filling the pot it was in, so i just used the same thing figuring it was happy. i'm definitely new to this whole thing, but i read a lot and i figure hands on is the best way to learn. thanks for the feedback and advice for sure.

 

as an aside, it had a big mass of thick root that was growing down so i tipped the whole thing a little on its side when i did the repot so that it would fit in the bonsai dish. i like the flow it gave the new trunkline i've been crafting. but anyways, now i'm curious...what kind of soil would you go with in that situation? and/or what other advice can you/would you be willing to offer?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I dont know the species of your tree so my insight is rather limited. I mean hey if its thriving in the soil its in, great. But keep in mind there are a lot of things that can be done to cater to a certain species. For instance soil like I mentioned before. Pine species for instance enjoy more coarse soil and can handle lots of minerals (rocks and shit). On the other hand some trees (I think boxwoods and bougainvillea species inparticular) require a more specific and balanced soil mixture to get the best results. Also frequent fertilizer help to boost the trees growth in its growing seasons. A great book that I found when first getting into bonsai is called "totally bonsai" by Craig Coussins. Its rather basic but a great book none the less. Great overviews of styles, species, techniques etc. Its an older book so it should be decently cheap to pick up (less than $20 on amazon). Hope this helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My olive tree has died. :( I fail. I've ordered another one and I'll give olive one last shot.

 

On the other hand my baobab (which is a few feet away and gets the same amount of sun, water and nutrients) is doing great. I'll trim that long sprout when it gets cold out.

 

DSCN2634.jpg

 

That is all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

sorry to hear about your olive...that sucks. give it another go though. i killed four little crepe myrtles earlier this year and the second batch i have (also four) are thriving and throwing out fresh buds after dying almost completely back. fail sometimes, win sometimes...here's my latest couple of yamadori.

3901188027_ce6b9711a3.jpg

the trunk on this maple stump is about 1/2 to an inch thick. it had to go, so i'll see what i can make of it.

3901183295_4a85eefa22.jpg

this cedar was growing in a drainage ditch and the fall trim crew got a hold of it. good potential. the trunk is about an inch to an inch and a half...probably a foot and a half tall. going to let it go all winter and then see what it looks like in the spring before any trimming occurs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

last week i wired up one of my privets for the first time...windswept style. i'm pretty happy with it so far. hopefully this flick isn't huge..

3950961025_97dd985113_b.jpg

 

and then my girlfriend's birthday gift finally came in the mail. fuckin' sweet book.

 

B1SECRET-2.jpg

 

and i've found a sweet collection of larger privet material over the course of the summer. trimmed this one back to see the trunk the other day. potential..

 

3951741376_ae663f1452.jpg

 

keep it movin'..

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks, man...other than the obvious (i.e., the feeder roots dying back and the main artery wooding up somewhat) it's doing well. i'm going to give it a couple of weeks to set up well (if the wires don't start to cut before then after all the rain we've been having lately) and then i'm going to give it a repotting. originally it was going to lean the other way, and when the time came to wire it just wanted to go that way...thus the rock is now on the wrong side.

 

after you had asked me about the soil last time i did a little research into cheaper alternatives for bonsai mix and came across NAPA part #8822. they market it as an oil spill cleanup product, but it's straight up diatonaceous earth. (as you can read on the back in the fine print, unlike some similiar products that i've read about and looked at) grey or white to slightly tan in color, nice particle size from what i can tell, and it only goes for like $7 for 25 lbs. i'll probably mix it in with some sifted potting mix for now (they also say a little aged pine bark is good too), but i've been reading that eventually you can wean them off to completely inorganic matter and just give them plant food/fertilizer. fresh! also been reading a little about how certain cinerated clay kitty litters are doable. they use that shit over in the UK as an inorganic soil alternative. some people claim that the alternatives are better than akadama soil, but having never fucked with akadama soil your guess is at least as good as mine.

 

gotta build a little greenhouse...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i never knew there was this forum

heres a few from my colection most of these ive had for about three years some less

 

DSC06749.jpg

 

this one is not really o bonsai but is a pretty sick Japanese maple

DSC06750.jpg

 

this is my lion head maple

DSC06751.jpg

 

my fruiting olive

DSC06752.jpg

 

coral bark maple

DSC06753.jpg

 

all these are all from last year ill try and take new ones soon and show my updated garden

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

my fruiting olive

DSC06752.jpg

 

Well god damn. Very jealous. Does that give off that nice olive smell?

 

Update:

 

1) My new olive turned out to not be as cool looking as the one I killed (it is completely vertical and doesn't arch over) but I am seeing new growth.

 

2) The baobab is doing good. Actually I have 2 baobabs and both are well.

 

3) The 'Flame Tree' (Delonix regia) is doing good.

 

Part of me thinks I am not treating these trees well by keeping them indoors. But I live in the city and the last plant I put outdoors next to the building got thrown out or stolen. I was pissed.

 

 

That's all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

nice trees, cutty! you been growing those for a while?

 

went out this weekend to the local bonsai expo. six states worth of involvement in the southeast...some cool shit to see. i wish i had taken a lot of money to spend..too bad i didn't have any. but i got some flicks to share, so fuck it.

 

4005139009_a9f21f2dd2_b.jpg

 

4005119235_1881b7d244_b.jpg

there were a couple of super dope eastern red cedars...i liked this second one a little better, but i'm not trying to talk any shit..

4005910744_588f1880a2_b.jpg

hornbeam in its fall colors

4005917890_d672f0efbd_b.jpg

 

4005891556_db3541d86a_b.jpg

i don't remember what species that one was...^^..sick as fuck though

4005878138_5057794699_b.jpg

 

4005940976_b0cc8d0577_b.jpg

^^the last piece that yoshimura ever created. about a year before he died, if i'm not mistaken. fucking amazing...

4005926028_0c3e4edfc2_b.jpg

i'm waiting till i find just the right white pine, but i want one badly

4005933700_216684aec1_b.jpg

this acer has a sweet flow

4005133333_49ee193343_b.jpg

this last one was my g/f's favorite...i like the paled out deadwood with the light bark and the flowers and all that. sweet as hell..

4005181225_b563f72583_b.jpg

for sale in the marketplace...WAY out of my price range..but sick as hell, nonetheless.

that's it for the bonsai show flicks. i got a few more, but those were the highlights for sure..good way to end the weekend.

 

and this thing i thought i'd just share. my latest prebonsai privet from the construction zone. about 18" tall and maybe three across at the base. i'll let it stabilize and then chop it and grow a second section, then some ramafication. we'll see what happens..

4005980194_613d9a5230_b.jpg

that's it for now. i wanna see those maples turning colors, cutty...get us some flicks. peace!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...