bonsai thread! - Page 2 - Orchid Board

JennS · #11 09-16-2008, 06:28 PM

I don't grow any bonsai (yet) but my friend has at least 20 or so different kinds in his backyard. My favorite (by far) was the cypress tree. I just find them some gorgeous to begin with, and a little one so cute! He also has a crape myrtle, some kind of lime (and yes it does get tiny little limes, so maybe a key lime).

I can't wait till I can try it one day, so thank you for all the great info.

Swamper · #12 09-21-2008, 02:21 PM

YESSSSS I'm so glad you guys started this. I should have know to look here. I recently purchased a dwarf black olive (bucida spinosa)and repotted into a huge pot, not really getting the point

oh well I'm gonna fix that soon or maybe leave it and make it a big bonsai...gonna check out those links now. Thanks again.

flhiker · #13 09-21-2008, 07:13 PM

Hey Cullen, Great Idea for this thread. As you know I'm just getting into it. I have been getting all the books from the library and have learned a lot from them. As far as the trimming of roots I have found a great book that explains why you do this and how. Definitely beneficial for the plant. The book is "Bonsai survival manual" I'm waiting on the pots and soil to get here in the mail and I will post pictrues of the ones I got from you. Heres the only one I had, which I got from the Home depot. It did not have a name tag but I think it is a ficus. I'm going to try training it.

Swamper · #14 09-22-2008, 01:06 PM

Thanks Dave for that book idea, sounds like what I will need. Here are 3 pics of my 2 bonsai trees. The larger two pics are of a "dwarf black olive" and the smaller one is a hybrid of it.
I haven't done any shaping or "training" to it all I have done like I said before was repotted which I wish I had done into a shallow type tray/pot.
Is it too late to take it out and put into this type of pot?

boytjie · #15 09-22-2008, 01:37 PM

Cool idea for a thread! Thought I'd toss in my

I used to live in South Africa, where you could grow bonsai outside year-round. When I repatriated, I got a permit from the USDA (lengthy and involved process, involving an exorbitant fee and a 24-hour quarantine period, stateside) to import six of my trees. Four survived, including my baby, pic attached. This is a South African strangler fig (Ficus), about 50 years old. It started life as a forgotten nursery plant that was so big it had busted out of its pot. The nursery owners figured it had been in the back of the greenhouse for 25 years. They let me have it for a few bucks.

The scar on the side is the original trunk, which I removed. The tree was originally about five feet tall. It's now about a foot tall; the new "trunk" is what used to be a bottom branch. Seven years later, in Upstate NY, it limps along, not entirely happy with its surroundings, but still growing!

Swamper · #16 09-23-2008, 02:57 PM

Stephen that looks really cool. So this fig bonsai is 57 yrs old? amazing!! I presume you are growing it indoors?

boytjie · #17 09-23-2008, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Swamper

Stephen that looks really cool. So this fig bonsai is 57 yrs old? amazing!! I presume you are growing it indoors?

It was probably about 25-30 years old when I got it from the nursery. As a bonsai it's been in training nearly 20 years, so it's around 50 now. (Estimated.) I do grow it indoors. It currently lives with my parents in their sun room, since I don't have a lot of natural light in my apartment (mostly north-facing), and my light cart space is all taken up by the orchids.

On a side note, strangler figs are tough to grow as bonsai, because they don't typically grow big root systems of their own, relying instead on their host trees for support. (Until they choke them, that is.)

Swamper · #18 09-23-2008, 03:31 PM

Thanks for the side note. I was wondering about that. I see a lot of strangler trees out here in the wild...strangling the life out of some other tree

bonsai1504 · #19 09-23-2008, 05:59 PM

swamper, it is mot too late to put it into a smaller pot. it might take a few years and a wood training pot to get the roots small enough to put into a bonsai pot. some growers often raise their plants in the ground and lift them each year to prune the roots. wiring can be done while the tree is in it's training pot, but wait about a month before wiring a repotted bonsai.

Swamper · #20 09-23-2008, 06:07 PM

Thanks Cullen. I appreciate the info. Maybe I will try to change it but Im afraid of the root system I will find there. I am planning on purchasing a new one this weekend at Miami Bonsai. Any advise? what to look for and what to keep away from.