Any Bonsai tree owner here?

Raymond Lin

Raymond Lin

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Raymond
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I bought one about 4 months ago, but since then I have acquired 3 more and just keep looking it aquire more, more interesting species...it’s probably too soon but I’m only getting cheap young ones from garden centres and not going to dabble in expensive trees until I know I can keep it alive over 12 months.

I picked up a Ficus today, I really like a Larch or Redwood.

Who else have Bonsai?
 
I don't have any but I do love them. I find them quite fascinating.
 
I kept them for years but having to water them constantly made me give them up.

I remember attending a 'masterclass' in Bonsai at Peter Chan's Heron's Nursery in Surrey back in the early 1990’s. The class was conducted by Dan Barton who had written a number of books on the subject. Fascinating subject.

Larch is a great subject to use, especially the Japanese Larch which is less vigorous than our native species.
 
Just chipping in because my wife bought me a Bonsai "kit" (amongst other things) last Christmas and having planted 6 seeds one germinated and is now about 3” long and falling over so I’m interested in any tips etc. to keep the seedling alive and start to shape it.
 
I don't have any now but have tried in the past. Mine bit the dust when I broke an ankle years ago and I did not get to watering them properly.

Some native species (either grown from seed or cuttings) are good, eg oak, hawthorn, rowan, various pines. A couple of others non natives that do well are Pyracantha and Pomegranate(even without bonsaing, it can make an attractive house plant and grows well from seed). Its worth trying almost anything but those with naturally smaller leaves seem to do better.

Dave
 
I found maples very good (even sycamore) as they respond very well to 'leaf cutting', where you remove the leaves (but leave the stem) in the middle of the growing season and the tree produces new, much smaller leaves, brilliant! Fruit can never be made smaller though.
 
Cartus said:
I found maples very good (even sycamore) as they respond very well to 'leaf cutting', where you remove the leaves (but leave the stem) in the middle of the growing season and the tree produces new, much smaller leaves, brilliant! Fruit can never be made smaller though.
Click to expand...

I got a maple back in May, there were a couple of leaders that grew really tall between June and July but I cut those back to encourage growth below, except it didn’t lol. It’s still pretty much the same density as it is now but more green, less red.

GIoMtdz.jpg
 
The Japanese maples are lovely plants whatever form they take but in bonsai it’s most important to develop a realistic stem or trunk with a taper. Young trees are often planted in the ground for a few years and given 'basic training' to give them a head start. I did this in a friend's garden in the 90’s intending to remove them after a few years, which I never did. The house has been subsequently sold and the current owners told me they like their little 'woodland' area in the bottom of their garden, the trees are up to 20’ or more now!
 
A friend runs a bonsai shop. Business is doing so well he's thinking of moving to smaller premises. <ba-dum, tish>

I'll get me coat.
 
DorsetDude said:
A friend runs a bonsai shop. Business is doing so well he's thinking of moving to smaller premises. <ba-dum, tish>

I'll get me coat.
Click to expand...

He’s doing better than my friend who started an origami shop - that folded pretty quickly after opening. :)
 
Larch?
 
Raymond Lin said:
I got a maple back in May, there were a couple of leaders that grew really tall between June and July but I cut those back to encourage growth below, except it didn’t lol.
Click to expand...
As you may well know that is a graft onto root stock, and it won't branch out below the graft.
The problem with Maples is the the distance between buds is naturally quite wide and its very difficult to keep them compact.

I've just air layered a couple of maples that have been in the ground a couple of years to thicken the trunk.
Hoping these will go for a couple of Shohin's. So far so good.

I've got a bit of a collection, including air layered coton easters that I did a few years ago
a couple of Yamadori hawthorns that are about to get mutilated next year,
An Ash Forrest ( that got hammered by leave cutting bees this year.)
Crab apple
Chinese cherry apple
the usual Chinese elms
Japanese and English Larch's
And more.
 
Cobra said:
As you may well know that is a graft onto root stock, and it won't branch out below the graft.
The problem with Maples is the the distance between buds is naturally quite wide and its very difficult to keep them compact.

I've just air layered a couple of maples that have been in the ground a couple of years to thicken the trunk.
Hoping these will go for a couple of Shohin's. So far so good.

I've got a bit of a collection, including air layered coton easters that I did a few years ago
a couple of Yamadori hawthorns that are about to get mutilated next year,
An Ash Forrest ( that got hammered by leave cutting bees this year.)
Crab apple
Chinese cherry apple
the usual Chinese elms
Japanese and English Larch's
And more.
Click to expand...

Hi, you clearly know your Bonsais, I am actually looking to acquire more, to be specific, a Dawn Redwood Forest. I have been sent photos of these 2, which one would you pick and why?

I can already tell No.1 is older, has been prune back quite intensively whereas No.2 hasn't had that happened yet and is much younger, although more trees.

1
MvRroRo.jpg


2
lBoDeAU.jpg
 
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Raymond Lin said:
Hi, you clearly know your Bonsais, I am actually looking to acquire more, to be specific, a Dawn Redwood Forest. I have been sent photos of these 2, which one would you pick and why?
Click to expand...
Canon or Nikon Nikon or Canon :D

Personally I'd go for #1 its more established, unless you put #2 back in the ground, its highly unlikely the trunks will thicken, and it will just become very leggy.

If you are "worried" about the space in #1,repot into something smaller, but not yet.
Late winter / very early spring.
Unless I miss counted, odd number of trees are the traditional method, there appears to be 8 in #2 and 5 in #1.
Which ever you decide either will take a fair bit of work.
One last thought they are both rather wet, especially #1 Bonsai's will drown, just as quickly as die of dehydration.
you will need to repot them with something suitable. Akadama is the usual, but that dry's out very fast and you need to be very diligent with the water thing especially in the summer.

This is quite a good link
https://www.bonsaiempire.com/basics/bonsai-care/advanced/calendar

There's another which name escapes me for now, but when I remember I'll post it here



Hope that helps?
Chris
 
You can turn anything into a "Bonsai"
This Fuchsia is in a small terracotta plant pot dish, that I drilled out to give a lot of drainage holes.
Its in a mixture of potting soil and orchid bark ( about 50/50 )
001.jpg

A small selection

011.jpg

Chinese Elm

003.jpg
 
Cobra said:
Canon or Nikon Nikon or Canon :D

Personally I'd go for #1 its more established, unless you put #2 back in the ground, its highly unlikely the trunks will thicken, and it will just become very leggy.

If you are "worried" about the space in #1,repot into something smaller, but not yet.
Late winter / very early spring.
Unless I miss counted, odd number of trees are the traditional method, there appears to be 8 in #2 and 5 in #1.
Which ever you decide either will take a fair bit of work.
One last thought they are both rather wet, especially #1 Bonsai's will drown, just as quickly as die of dehydration.
you will need to repot them with something suitable. Akadama is the usual, but that dry's out very fast and you need to be very diligent with the water thing especially in the summer.

This is quite a good link
https://www.bonsaiempire.com/basics/bonsai-care/advanced/calendar

There's another which name escapes me for now, but when I remember I'll post it here



Hope that helps?
Chris
Click to expand...

Thanks for your advice, I think No.1 will be the one, I was going to go for that one as the trees are more established. I know about the even and odd number thing in forest too.

In terms of watering and soil, Akadama is preferred, but winter is about to come soon, so will wait until February or so before repotting. As for watering, I do it daily and have been over the past 4 months.

But I also plan to get this..

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07C6979DK/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_1?smid=A3VNLDQNRYIVMC&psc=1

You can set it to water 10s, 30s or 99s every day. That should be fine for a week away.
 
Chinese cherry apple.
The fruit is a bit larger than a pea, but smaller than a marble

005.jpg
 
Cobra said:
Seems like a good price (y) I'm fortunate to be able to move mine around to provide shade at the hottest parts of the day, and I'm (Usually) home before it gets to hot at the height of summer.
Click to expand...

I come home for lunch most days at 12:30 so i can do that too.

I am going to get that pump thing and put a 20L bucket water as the source for the 9 days i am away. I think in November it won't need much watering, 10s once a day will be suffice.
 
Cobra said:
No is the short answer. I always add a little "something" such as orchid bark or potting compost to retain a little moisture.
Do you know about the kitty litter trick? sani cat pink is the same as Molar clay.

Obviously I don't know how much you know,
but this is a good guide on re-potting
https://www.kaizenbonsai.com/bonsai-tree-care-information/graham-s-guide-to-repotting-bonsai
Click to expand...

Yeah, I read that Tesco used to sell it but it’s discontinued so need to find something else similar.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Yeah, I read that Tesco used to sell it but it’s discontinued so need to find something else similar.
Click to expand...
Tesco's discontinued their own low dust version, but I think they still sell Sanicat pink.
If not I bet most pet shops or other supermarkets would sell it.
I did find that the Tesco version was a bit small granular wise though, anyway.
 
Cobra said:
Tesco's discontinued their own low dust version, but I think they still sell Sanicat pink.
If not I bet most pet shops or other supermarkets would sell it.
I did find that the Tesco version was a bit small granular wise though, anyway.
Click to expand...

what ratio do you make for your outdoor deciduous plants like Larch and Redwood?

I actually have about 3kg of these, they don’t have much if any Akadama mixed in them. I could get a bag and mix 30% in.

https://www.herons.co.uk/MobileDetail.php?Prod_ID=11864
 
Raymond Lin said:
what ratio do you make for your outdoor deciduous plants like Larch and Redwood?
Click to expand...
TBH I mix it until it feels right, but I would say in the region of 60% akadama / cat litter to 25% soil & 15% orchid bark.
But make sure the orchid bark is fine. I buy mine from a pet shop, "they" use it for substrate for some lizards / spiders.
I then put it in a sieve or similar ( I use pond baskets for water Lilly's etc ) and dunk it to make sure it drains fast, but remains slightly moist.
 
Cobra said:
TBH I mix it until it feels right, but I would say in the region of 60% akadama / cat litter to 25% soil & 15% orchid bark.
But make sure the orchid bark is fine. I buy mine from a pet shop, "they" use it for substrate for some lizards / spiders.
I then put it in a sieve or similar ( I use pond baskets for water Lilly's etc ) and dunk it to make sure it drains fast, but remains slightly moist.
Click to expand...

Thanks, trip to the pet store it is then, Moler Clay and orchid bark.

p.s. ordered the 5 tree Dawn Redwood, it's only £49.
 
Where is a good place to buy ? I quite fancy one or two to be kept indoors, looking at yht photos here i quite like the look of the mini apple tree and the lightest green plant that raymond lin posted.

I've seen them at garden centres but they seem very highly priced is this the norm?
Tom.
 
Tom_the_great said:
Where is a good place to buy ? I quite fancy one or two to be kept indoors, looking at yht photos here i quite like the look of the mini apple tree and the lightest green plant that raymond lin posted.

I've seen them at garden centres but they seem very highly priced is this the norm?
Tom.
Click to expand...

Garden Centre ones are cheap...my local garden centre sells them as little as £10. I have an Elm & Ficus from there. Most proper Bonsai Nursery (that's what they are call) sell them at £30+ for a young tree, up to thousands.

This is the Chinese Larch that you like.

https://www.herons.co.uk/Chinese-Larch

Beware that a lot of Bonsai are outdoors only, i mean trees are grown outdoors after all, even indoors tree will need sunlight. It will die without sunlight even if you water it well.
 
Tom_the_great said:
I quite fancy one or two to be kept indoors
Click to expand...
As Raymond says, how many trees do you actually see growing inside a house?
Most trees are hardy to at least -10oC even then light shelter, will suffice.
The Ficus ginseng aka buddha tree, so called because of the fat round distorted "roots", can be kept inside but I put mine out in the summer,
(web image) and bring it when the nights start to cool off.

If you buy anything from a garden center that in the house plant section now, best bet is to keep it inside at night as the temps fall
and over winter in a cool place inside away from a heat source ie radiators etc.

Most Bonsai's can be bought on eBay but make sure its a reputable dealer, people will stick anything in a small pot and inflate the price.


bonsai-ficus-ginseng-buddha-head.jpg
 
I have a ficus, they can look really cool when they start to grow aerial roots but quite difficult to achieve here in the uk as our humidity don’t get high enough, their leaves are also on the large size to give that miniature feeling.

I think larch and redwood are the most fun, changes colours to the seasons too. And when they are dormant it give you a little break as well, stick them in the shed for 3 months, water it a little once a month and bring it out about Valentine’s Day time.
 
Raymond Lin said:
their leaves are also on the large size to give that miniature feeling.
Click to expand...
I cut the large leaves off mine, when the smaller leaves ( back up leaves) are starting to show. ( the little green buds behind the mature leaf stems)
this keeps the leaves small. And the "tree" in proportion but don't over do it, or your'll kill it.
 
I'm on here, but I don't post or drop by that often.
http://weetrees.co.uk/phpBB3/index.php
It can be a bit clicky but they are quick to help a "newbie"
And of course there is always more than one way to skin a cat ;)
 
Of all the trees that I saw when I went to a Bonsai specialist place, this one stood out.

Even with a few months of keeping bonsai behind me, I think this one is still out of my league. It's grown on a rock, very shallow tray into Akadama meaning regular watering is an absolute must.

v6c7L1A.jpg
 
I don't suppose you are anywhere near Wisbech ( Cambs) are you?
This place is pretty good for a mooch around.
Reasonably priced and they sell everything you will need.
Chapel Ln, S Brink, Wisbech PE14 0RX
 
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