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Hello Bonsai thread! I've spent the better part of my life fascinated by Bonsai and this summer I finally put down enough other hobbies to have room for it. I planted some Silver Maple seeds this spring but I ended up burning them out. Whoops. I also bought a Jade from a friend and have been learning about pruning and propagating those. I've collected 3 different variety of Japanese Maple in the past few weeks and I'll be planting those this weekend for natural stratification outside. (I know I know don't grow from seed!) I have very limited botanical knowledge so it's been quite a learning experience. I live on the edge of zone 7/8. I come to you now in a time of need! I bought a roadside van bonsai.  Things started well! I believe it is a Green Mound Juniper. Please confirm. I read horror stories about them ranging from bad soil to straight up dying a week later, etc. I asked the "salesman" how long it had been in that pot and he said 3-4 months but who knows. I'll bite, what's $20 anyway? I pruned it in preparation for winter and I made sure to leave plenty (I thought) of growing buds on the end of the branches as I didn't want to shock it too much. It's been a couple weeks and now it's starting to seem very dry and brittle and losing some of it's intense green color. At first I attributed it to natural process but I'm concerned. The soil is quite hard and set to a point that I had to really dig and break it up just to get down and check the moisture below the surface. Could it be overwatering? I feel like I've been pretty sparing but maybe it's retaining more water than I thought. It was more than a month between bringing it home and pruning, with nothing but healthy growth. Also, it has been getting sun most of the afternoon. Some info I've found suggests that it doesn't want full sun.Fresh out the van:  Post prune:  Yesterday: 
Dr Intergalactic fucked around with this message at 21:51 on Nov 13, 2020 |
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Nov 13, 2020 21:30
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| # ¿ May 6, 2024 04:17 |
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Ok Comboomer posted:lmao who the hell buys bonsai from a van on the roadside I’ve never heard of doing that well, it's me. i did that. from my googling it seems like it's a relatively common racket in warmer zones. plates were from one state over. he had my size and up to 12"+ trees. they looked pretty decent but i was wary of dropping too much cash. when i left i drove around and could see in the back. guy had hundreds of more in racks of his 15 passenger/panel van.
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Nov 13, 2020 23:51
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$20Crocoduck posted:It's already dead unfortunately. aw man say it aint so
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Nov 14, 2020 00:04
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Crocoduck posted:Yeaaaaah unfortunately. How often were you watering? No more than once a week, and I only did a full soak like once a month. I assume when I dig it out there will be zero roots and I got bamboozled by the van man.
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Nov 14, 2020 00:15
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Crocoduck posted:That is way not often enough. I water my guys like twice a day in the summer. Trick is to stick a chopstick in the soil. If soil doesn't stick to the chopstick, it needs to be watered. One of the difficulties of keeping juniper (especially if they're on field soil like it looks like these guys are) is ensuring that it's able to dry out between waterings. womp womp. ok, well thanks for the info. The temps have slacked off here but it's definitely not cold yet, and it's in partial shade I guess I thought it would be fine. Lesson learned!
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Nov 14, 2020 00:24
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Crocoduck posted:Full sun for junipers. I mean to say it was getting like a half day of full sun, rather than in filtered light/shade all the time. Is that still not enough?
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Nov 14, 2020 00:37
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Crocoduck posted:I mean... more is better in my experience, but I've never been very succesful with Juniperus procumbens 'nana' which is what you mostly see out of those van sellers. I keep San Jose, Rocky Mountain, Sierra, Kishu, and Shimpaku juniper. Noted. That's awesome. I think I'm going to go back through the OP and get a little more direction. Appreciate the help.
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Nov 14, 2020 00:41
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Jestery posted:I had to say goodbye to some of my plants today That's a bummer man. I'm just now a year in an I can't imagine having to get rid of part of my paltry collection of seedlings and fledgling azaleas. Glad they went to a good home.
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Sep 13, 2021 17:16
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Peteyfoot posted:My sibling lives in Louisiana and had the hurricane wipe out quite a few of their beloved bonsai trees. Any recommendations on some kind of gift certificate or gift subscription a bonsai-enjoyer would appreciate? Price range can be $100 - $200 as a few people will be chipping in. Underhill is another option, and even more local than Brussel's. https://underhillbonsai.com/
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Oct 12, 2021 14:58
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Ok Comboomer posted:
I've only got one full year of bonsai under my belt that that has been primarily learning how to care for plants in general. I have ripped out languishing landscape azaleas only to have them explode with growth like yours. Another large clump came out of a friend's planter bed and sat in a ditch for a month or so before I got it into a box and it's going wild and loving life. Another I pulled out of a cold damage pile at a local nursery after the snowstorm that hit the southeast US about a year ago. All American landscaping varieties. They truly are tough as nails and beautiful to boot.
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Jan 20, 2022 21:14
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Annath posted:
It means everything. It will dictate what trees will thrive in your climate and inform pretty much all your decisions related to the care of your trees. With that said, welcome to the hobby and good luck with those seeds! I started in late 2020 (pandemic hobby) and after a few years I'm starting to see the fruits of my labor. It's a long long long timescale hobby, you know, because trees grow slow.  There are a lot of great resources out there! https://bonsaimirai.com/ Is at the forefront of American Bonsai and has a wealth of knowledge on their website, even in the free section. Lots of videos on YT and the like. https://www.bonsainut.com/ Is a very active forum where you can find a ton of info. There's also a sea of bad info out there so just go slow, take in as much as you're comfortable with, and don't be afraid to make mistakes!
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May 25, 2023 19:31
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Overwintering, depending on your hardiness zone, could be up to 1/3 of the year for your trees. Most broadleaf deciduous trees want to spend the winter dormant, outside. Safe from the wind and hard freezes. Your cherry will want to go dormant and then bud in spring. (They will be very happy there. Cold winters and warm/hot summers) If I can offer any advice it would be not to fight your climate. Grow what is comfortable there. I'm in 8b so I don't try to grow Larches and other Alpine species that can't tolerate the heat and humidity of a southern summer. Likewise, a lot of popular pines, junipers, and maples just don't grow well (or at all) in zones 9+. Grow what you like but do the research before you waste time and money killing trees that may not like your climate.
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May 25, 2023 20:58
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TheMightyHandful posted:Regular normal soil, grow in pots proportionally to their size Yup this is accurate. Also, if you can get them in the ground they'll grow much faster.
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May 30, 2023 14:24
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To get a better idea of how it all works, check out this link. https://bonsai4me.com/developing-informal-upright-trunks-for-deciduous-bonsai/
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May 30, 2023 16:50
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TehRedWheelbarrow posted:i had to give up all mine a while ago but im trying again.. in michigan... in near winter. go team Good luck! I'm in 8a so we have the opposite climate. I'm doing a fun experiment this year to see how much sun damage mine can take and still live. Trees are weird.
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Oct 17, 2023 22:12
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| # ¿ May 6, 2024 04:17 |
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What kind of soil did you use to pot it? The answer to your question is a chopstick or other small probe like tool. If you're using an organic mix it may not work as well but if you're using a more granulated/rocky mix you'll find it relatively easy to poke the mix down into all the nooks and crannies. You'll want to go slow and work the soil in a little at a time once you've got it positioned in the pot. You must be diligent otherwise you're bound to have air pockets. Many bonsai potting videos will demonstrate this technique. Hope this helps.
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Apr 2, 2024 14:20
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