Bonsai trees?

[iwannadie]

Anyone here into bonsai trees?

I've always loved them but never really took a plunge into one before. I had one a few years ago from home depot or something, it was pre-potted. It lasted a few months and dried up and died. Someone suggested the decretive rocks that they glue to the soil was keeping water from reaching the dirt. They said that those type of trees are great to buy as starter trees but to remove the glued on rocks first thing and re-pot it. I have been hesitant to buy one again though.

I recently saw a seed kit(Red Maple) on amazon for cheap with mixed reviews and gave it a shot, just planted my seeds today. I have mixed feelings on how it will turn out though ha. Supposedly I should see something worth while in 8 weeks.

 

[xjcannon]

Let us know how it goes. I got interested in growing a couple bonsai trees lately. Havent pursued it yet though.

 

[Alienspecimen]

You know what the easiest bonsai kit is...?

Pine. Very easy to find, especially in New England parks.

If you look closely in the open spaces where the grass is cut, you could find pine that has been trimmed by the lawnmower for a year or two and already looks like a hundred year old tree.

Good luck with your new hobby.

Boris

P.S. That eight weeks promise, sounds kinda fishy...

 

[iwannadie]

You know what the easiest bonsai kit is...?

Pine. Very easy to find, especially in New England parks.

If you look closely in the open spaces where the grass is cut, you could find pine that has been trimmed by the lawnmower for a year or two and already looks like a hundred year old tree.

Good luck with your new hobby.

Boris

P.S. That eight weeks promise, sounds kinda fishy...

I live in a desert, finding anything in the wild is not happening ha.

8 weeks to see a sprouting doesn't sound reasonable? Worst case I am out a few bucks but I have a little pot and some knowledge gained for the next go around.

 

[tbburg]

I've had a few over the years. 'Kept a juniper alive at about 5" tall for over 7 years. It got stolen when I moved out here.
The MAIN thing you have to learn with Bonsai is patience. It's a tree. Start one now, it could well out-live you. You don't have to get "Zen" about it or anything, but it is a lifetime hobby, if you want it to be.

Bonsai are hard to keep alive. Basically, think of it as a pet. They need daily care, especially the deciduous varieties.
What kills bonsai is lack of water, or over-watering. The pines(usually Juniper) are less affected, but all Bonsai need daily watering. Many also need to be misted two or three times a day. Especially here in AZ, with our 0% moisture in the air.

The glued on rocks of the store bought varieties don't prevent water from getting at the roots. The problem is, there is so little soil around the roots, and so little root mass, it's easy fro the whole plant to become dessicated and die in just a few days of neglect. You can't get around this problem by inundating the tree, and keeping it soaked for long periods like you can with other house plants because again, so little soil and root mass make it easy to waterlog and drown the roots.
Remove the rocks from a started plant if you like(I like to, those rocks are ugly) They're going to have to come out the first time you re-pot the tree anyway(a project every couple years) Most of the store-bought trees don't have moss growing around the base, but it's a good idea to cultivate some. Not only does it make a nice minature "lawn" effect, but the moss tells you if the tree is getting too little/much water.(If the moss dies, you're doing something wrong) It also promotes moisture retention around the base of the tree.

Starting from scratch, it's kind of hard to form a properly shaped "tree" in miniature first time out, especially with the maple. I had three of those before I got one to live for more then a couple months. (Got one to last for about 2 years) It also didn't like to take and hold a shape. 'Kept wanting to grow into a bush. But don't let my experience stop you. I think what I was doing wrong was in trying to keep the plant too small. In retrospect, I'd try to grow any leafy variety up to at least a foot tall.

Growing your own, here's a speedy growth method:
Start the tree in a regular pot, with plenty of good soil.
Allow one or two branches to grow to 3 or 4 times the height of you desired finished tree. They look really ugly at this stage, but the large branches force(allow?) the trunk to grow to a much larger size a lot quicker then it would achieve if you stop it at your desired height.(we're talking years here, properly done, a 2 year old tree can look ten.) When the trunk gets close to the diameter you want, prune the sacrificial branches back to the trunk, and allow the scars to start healing. Once the tree recovers from the shock of loosing the branches, re-pot in a bonsai pot.

 

[Alienspecimen]

I live in a desert, finding anything in the wild is not happening ha.

8 weeks to see a sprouting doesn't sound reasonable? Worst case I am out a few bucks but I have a little pot and some knowledge gained for the next go around.

Sorry, I didn't spell the "winter factor" in the equation when I wrote my response.

See, I have never lived below the 41st parallel. In the old country I had a friend who was very much into bonsai and from whom I learned a few tricks. The interesting part was that even the maple trees were never outdoors, they knew about the four seasons cycle and their leaves fell off at the end of September. I would be curious to see if in warm climates like yours they still keep their "instincts".

I still think you should start with pine, because you can form it into variety of shapes without looking abused, is easier to work with and it stays the same pretty much throughout the entire year.

Best

Boris

 

[tbburg]

I live in a desert, finding anything in the wild is not happening ha.

Wanna bet? I found a perfect specimen of a dwarfed Mesquite tree growing out of an outcropping of quartz off one of the trails to the west of highway 87. It was maybe 6" tall, and forming a perfect fan down the side of the rock face. 'Lower end of the branches were below the roots. It was really cool! Only reason I didn't harvest it was because I couldn't figure out how to get it out of the rock with the tools I had on hand without killing it. (You never have a battery powered hammer drill and masonry chisels when you need them,..)

 

[Alienspecimen]

Bonsai are hard to keep alive. Basically, think of it as a pet. They need daily care, especially the deciduous varieties.

Yup, thats what my impression is too. They need a lot more attention and skill than one might think.

I dont know what tools you used, but the friend I mentioned earlier thought that nailclippers were essential for the job...

 

[Cottontail]

Worse comes to worse come to Cherokee Crawl in Harlan KY next summer. There is a guy in a van that parks on the side of the road and sellz Bonsai trees!! Pick up a few from him!

Apparently they are a big business in Harlan Co! :roflmao:

 

[iwannadie]

Thanks for all the info guys, I did read and tried to absorb it all .

I was kinda disappointed with my bonsai kit already but I keep telling myself it is the training kit and it was only a few bucks.

The kit comes with a bag to put the planted pot/seeds into to create the green house effect. Well, the bag started leaking water instantly lol. I put the pot in the bag and watered as directed, I didn't put a drip pan under it figuring the water would just pull up in the bag, well it leaked, not a good sign.

Also, as for the bag/green house goes, should it be cinched tight at the top, left wide open, slight gap?

 

[tbburg]

Dude, seriously,.. patience. It's a tree. They take a while to grow.

'Not sure about the bag. As a general rule, you want the soil to stay moist, but not be completely inundated so I wouldn't bag the whole thing. If I was going to use a bad to greenhouse the pot, I'd set the pot on a saucer tray, the put the bag over the whole thing(opening down)and leave it loose.

Check this out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonsai_cultivation_and_care
(Great pic of a maple in the article too,..)

I keep thinking I'd like to try to get one of the Palo Verdes that seed off here on our property and try to make a bonsai out of that.

 

[UNCC_99XJ]

Worse comes to worse come to Cherokee Crawl in Harlan KY next summer. There is a guy in a van that parks on the side of the road and sellz Bonsai trees!! Pick up a few from him!

Apparently they are a big business in Harlan Co! :roflmao:

I was hoping you'd say something about that trip! lol.

First thing I thought of was when we drove into town and you said "Apparently the Bonsai Tree Business is pretty popular up here in the sticks!"...pretty much because all of us in the Jeep were thinking the same thing lol!

 

[iwannadie]

Dude, seriously,.. patience. It's a tree. They take a while to grow.

Uhm, where exactly was I being anxious? I mentioned the kit claimed to expect some sprouting up in about 8 weeks, I am not expecting anything before that....

 

[Alienspecimen]

Thanks for all the info guys, I did read and tried to absorb it all .

I was kinda disappointed with my bonsai kit already but I keep telling myself it is the training kit and it was only a few bucks.

The kit comes with a bag to put the planted pot/seeds into to create the green house effect. Well, the bag started leaking water instantly lol. I put the pot in the bag and watered as directed, I didn't put a drip pan under it figuring the water would just pull up in the bag, well it leaked, not a good sign.

Also, as for the bag/green house goes, should it be cinched tight at the top, left wide open, slight gap?

If we were able to discourage you, it was not intentional, believe me.

Good thing is, that trees aren't like pets and don't die at once, and you always have the time to fix whatever went wrong...But the best part is, that things progress slow and you don't have to learn everything at once. :yelclap:

Have fun, you never know it might turn much better than you expected.

Best

Boris

 

[Ben H]

My brother used to be big time into it. At one time I think he had over 100 trees and a nice little side business hunting/finding natural bonsai.

I know that in his earlier years he did a lot of experimenting with hollowing and burning out the trunks...killed a few, but a couple came out amazing. He had a sweet collections of different maples, cork oaks, baby apples, junipers, cypresses and pines.

Had a few really cool forests with water effects and whatnot.

Then he got a JK...sold most of them and built his jeep. Kept four of his favorite trees and sold all his tools.

If you get into it, just know that it can be a very expensive and time consuming ordeal.

 

[tbburg]

Good thing is, that trees aren't like pets and don't die at once, and you always have the time to fix whatever went wrong...

Not to totally disagree, but you can kill a bonsai in a week without water. You do have time to learn, but neglect will stop your project dead(literally).

 

[Matt S.]

My brother used to be big time into it. At one time I think he had over 100 trees and a nice little side business hunting/finding natural bonsai.

I know that in his earlier years he did a lot of experimenting with hollowing and burning out the trunks...killed a few, but a couple came out amazing. He had a sweet collections of different maples, cork oaks, baby apples, junipers, cypresses and pines.

Had a few really cool forests with water effects and whatnot.

Then he got a JK...sold most of them and built his jeep. Kept four of his favorite trees and sold all his tools.

If you get into it, just know that it can be a very expensive and time consuming ordeal.

And then you will have two completely useless topics that consume all your conversations... Jeeps and Trees.

 

[Wallyman]

Its early and i just started my coffee. I couldve SWORN that topic said
"bonsai TIRES" which would mean divine wind tires. i need to stay away from the forum before i get other things done....

 

[Wallyman]

disregard my prior post. I cant edit it now for whatever reason. bonsai does nto mean "divine wind" Thats kamakazi. Again an early morning brain not-yet-engaged mistake.

 

[87manche]

Worse comes to worse come to Cherokee Crawl in Harlan KY next summer. There is a guy in a van that parks on the side of the road and sellz Bonsai trees!! Pick up a few from him!

Apparently they are a big business in Harlan Co! :roflmao:

you know I nearly did.

Apparently they must be watered regularly, but not too much.

Everyone serious is using automatic watering systems.

It honestly looks super PITA.