bonsai thread!

[Call_Me_Bob]

i started one called "bonsai workshop"

[RJSquirrel]

this one is a japanese boxwood i got for 2.00 and made bonsai..I cut it down and wrapped root ball up and been wiring the limbs to look like they were blowing in wind..I think it worked..the moss is live and the rocks are dead

I grow the moss in the yard remove all the soil and soak in neem oil before I apply it. It works too and just makes itself at home with some high light and misting..



to go with the wind theme Im making these look like little clouds on top of the plant..Been digging the roots out a long time and I think its workin ..I just dont know what this plant is..

the tiniest bonsai is an arbicola I put in hydroton and it seems to be workin too..

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[Call_Me_Bob]

The second one is a ginsing ficus I believe


You can call me Bob

[RJSquirrel]

I think you are correct "Ficus microcarpa"

the roots were a give away "roots that look like legs"

weee I put a tag on it too now!!!

[Call_Me_Bob]

It may be a different cultivar of microcarpa. Because I know of dofferent types that look like normal trees. Without the big roots. Never researched ginseng focus though. So maybe


You can call me Bob

[RJSquirrel]

question?

I want to get a small red dragon maple...most Im finding are 3-4ft. I read they are suitable for bonsai. A 3 to 4 foot tall planted tree in a 5 gallon bucket is big bonsai..Is there a reason I'm no finding smaller Japanese maples of this type?

I want to grow it on my coffee table

[Call_Me_Bob]

a maple will not live for long indoors. they need to be outdoors year round, except for a few days when you want to display. if you want something for indoors, get something tropical.

the -4ft trees would be cut down into a smaller size and over the years worked on until they take shape.

a good informational website is bonsai4me.com

[Miri the Wildmage]

I am doing something a bit weird here. I am growing my very first bonsai from scratch. My aunt is a horticulturalist who grows bonsai in her garden and in RHS greenhouses, and I'm hoping she'll help. I am taking pine seeds and freezing them for a few weeks, then soaking and planting them. anybody got some tips?

[harleymc]

Originally Posted by Miri the Wildmage

I am doing something a bit weird here. I am growing my very first bonsai from scratch. My aunt is a horticulturalist who grows bonsai in her garden and in RHS greenhouses, and I'm hoping she'll help. I am taking pine seeds and freezing them for a few weeks, then soaking and planting them. anybody got some tips?

After getting a huge no of bonsais stolen one night my interest has waned, so I've not tried the following ...

I read a fab article on growing pine from seed for bonsai in a magazine by one of the Japanese masters a decade or more ago. The supporting photos were awesome. You can get great results within a few years. the technique was counter intuitive to traditional approaches.

Mix - very free draining, a coarse sand was used.
Pot type - plastic colander to air-prune the root tips, this encourages multiple roots rather than one single tap root. As the trainee plants got bigger simply potted up into a larger collander without removing the old one.
Fertalizing was heavy, with frequent feeds of liquid fert.
Pruning - The apex was taken out very young to encourage masses of laterals from ground level, increasing trunk taper.
Wireing - heavy to cut into the very short trunk and establish spiraling of the vascular tissues, removed only after scarring was developing.
After about 3 years one of the low laterals was trained to become the lead/ new trunk.

Sounds radical, so maybe try this with only some of the seedlings and treat the others conventionally.

[Miri the Wildmage]

Sounds great, if the seeds germinate, I'll have a go!