Let's Bonsai!

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Let's Bonsai!

jackpot: Aug 31, 2004; First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

Man, I don't think SA has ever let me down; I can't believe we've got a bonsai thread. :dance:

Mostly I'm just happy to learn that this whole thing is a lot more flexible than I thought it was; I thought that it was a really specific subset of plants that would grow thick roots while staying small (because lets face it, this is what we all dream of growing), I really had no idea you could basically "train" most plants to do that.

I've got a couple small jade plants in the windowsill that I can start with, but from what I'm reading they're very "leggy" due (probably) to a lack of light - they're in a north-facing windowsill. But at least I can try to fix the light and figure out where to pinch and where not.

This summer I bought a desert rose, in the hopes of turning it into something modest like this, but in the past three months it's added exactly two leaves. That's probably my fault - I kept it inside for fear of rainstorms watering it too much, and so I only watered it about once a month. From what I'm reading that's fine for winter, but probably less than it needs during the warmer months (zone 7A, Virginia). It's too cool to do it now, but next spring: outside all the time, and I'll just make sure it's draining well.

Gonna buy a ficus this weekend because seriously, who doesn't like ficuses?

# ¿ Oct 3, 2012 00:06

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# ¿ May 4, 2024 03:54

jackpot: Aug 31, 2004; First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

Here's my lovely looking jade - the guy's so top-heavy it can't even support itself. Where should I cut? Or should I at all? Dumb question, but when they say you should usually only prune in spring and summer, does that matter for indoor plants?

Here's my desert rose - those few leaves at the top are the new ones. If I want to keep growing the base big and fat, should I pinch those top leaves off?

Here's one I'm excited about - my avocado. I'm growin' it old school, the way my third grade teacher taught me. This one is kind of my hero, at 365 years old. Bonus: looks like :gizz:

# ¿ Oct 3, 2012 22:35

jackpot: Aug 31, 2004; First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

Richard Bong posted:

I have a cat who is kind of a d-bag and has started chewing on my ficus leaves now that I brought it inside.

Not that being poisonous has ever stopped a pet from eating something (when I bring everything in for the winter I have to keep half of my plants in the laundry room because of our cats), but I'm surprised your cat is going for it. Ficus aren't deadly poisonous, but they're not exactly pet-friendly, either.

# ¿ Oct 10, 2012 22:58

jackpot: Aug 31, 2004; First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

Richard Bong posted:

What kid of ground covers do you guys use? I just got some sphagnum moss I am trying out, if that doesnt work I am going to try dwarf thyme.

I don't know what kinds of moss I have - one is the plant-y looking stuff, the other is the vivid green kind that's so smooth it looks like velvet - but I'm trying both to see how they do. Earlier this year I grabbed a bunch from the local park, and I've been trying to keep it growing in the shadiest part of my backyard. It's hit or miss; for one thing it grows really slowly, and it's hard to tell why one patch thrived while another one died, when they're right next to each other.

I'm going to Ireland in a few weeks; if I wasn't afraid of customs seizing everything (before sending me to Guantanamo) I'd pack bagfulls of moss to bring home with me.

# ¿ Oct 15, 2012 19:12

jackpot: Aug 31, 2004; First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

I've got a willow leaf fig that's dropping leaves (a few dozen; it's still mostly covered), and some are going yellow - is this more likely due to over-watering, or could it be the changing temperatures? I went on vacation for two weeks, and halfway through asked a friend to look in on my plants; I don't know how many times she watered this one (she knows what she's doing, I'd hope she only watered it once, and lightly; I should've given her instructions). I haven't watered it since I got back, and I've moved it from the kitchen windowsill (relatively cold now, compared to most of the year) to a warmer area.

Figures, I spent around 30-something dollars on this one and I'm worried I've killed it. The ficus benjamina that I bought the same day for $3.50 is beautiful and healthy as the day I got it.

Here it is in better days:

jackpot fucked around with this message at 19:18 on Nov 30, 2012

# ¿ Nov 30, 2012 19:12

jackpot: Aug 31, 2004; First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

Damnit, this thing looks like poo poo. That top picture? It's lost a third of those leaves since I took the picture earlier today. A few minutes ago I gave it a shake and 20 leaves came down. I haven't watered it in two weeks, and it's such a small pot (about 6" at the longest point) I don't see how there's any water left in it at all. Any advice?

# ¿ Dec 5, 2012 06:00

jackpot: Aug 31, 2004; First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

Crocoduck posted:

This is the biggest I've ever seen photos of.

Jesus, it's like something out of the Shire. It doesn't even look real, it looks like someone's idealized conception of what the perfect storybook tree should look like.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2012 19:26

jackpot: Aug 31, 2004; First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

This is my willow leaf fig that I posted a while back. Clearly things are...not optimal. But is it dead? Even though all the leaves are gone, almost every branch has green stems coming off of it, I've got to think that's a good sign. I'm watering it about every 3-4 days, just like the other one (that's still perfectly healthy), guess I'll see what happens to it.

# ¿ Jan 11, 2013 05:53

jackpot: Aug 31, 2004; First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

Mizufusion posted:

I glanced at your post and was really hoping to see a cannabis bonsai.

# ¿ Jan 11, 2013 05:55

jackpot: Aug 31, 2004; First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

platedlizard posted:

I'm pretty sure the roots of poison ivy are more toxic than even it's leaves. The person maintaining this bush must have to wear protective gear to keep from breaking out every time they touch the thing.

He might be one of the lucky people who's not allergic to it; wiki says that's 15-30% of the population (I've learned the hard way that I am not in that group). My only objection is you can put it in any pot you want, but it's still a weed, and it looks like it. Maybe in time it'll grow into something better.

# ¿ Jan 11, 2013 07:35

jackpot: Aug 31, 2004; First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

Mr. Soop posted:

@jackpot: Your willow leaf fig isn't doing too hot. Dunno what the problem is if your other one is fine with the current watering schedule; my only thought is that if they're in different places in the house it could have something to do with it.

Damnit. I water them both at the same time (about every four days), and they sit right next to each other on the same windowsill. I have killed some plants before in my life, but damned if I've ever done it this fast. So strange.

# ¿ Jan 16, 2013 18:37

jackpot: Aug 31, 2004; First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

The Door Frame posted:

Avocado trees are a pain in the dick unless you're really careful with them. My dad is used to run the green house at the local high school and has the greenest thumb of any person I've ever seen and he's only been able to get 2 to grow into actual trees from the seed over the course of a decade

Goddamn avocado plants. I took a pit and did it just like they taught me in elementary school - toothpicks, water, etc, and after months of thinking it was going to rot to pieces, it sprouted - like crazy. Went from nothing to six inches high within a few weeks, big leaves growing out the top of it. Then I did what all the instruction sites tell you to do - I pinched off the top leaves, to encourage it to grow more before potting it.

And there it has sat, for two months now, no growth whatsoever since the day I pinched the leaves. I'm sure it's dead, but I've potted it just in case there's a miracle a'brewin'.

# ¿ Feb 11, 2013 22:16

jackpot: Aug 31, 2004; First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

jackpot, back in January posted:

This is my willow leaf fig that I posted a while back. Clearly things are...not optimal. But is it dead? Even though all the leaves are gone, almost every branch has green stems coming off of it, I've got to think that's a good sign. I'm watering it about every 3-4 days, just like the other one (that's still perfectly healthy), guess I'll see what happens to it.

Hello bonsai thread, things are looking up.

Back around December/January this thing dropped every single leaf it had. I always had hope, because the branches were still green...but not a lot of hope. I watered it throughout the winter, and started seeing little tiny bits of leaves a few weeks ago. This is it today.

And here's the avocado I thought for sure I'd killed! This thing was so young I thought for sure it was deader than dead, but in the last few weeks it's gone from nothing but a stem to this:

# ¿ Apr 16, 2013 15:53

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# ¿ May 4, 2024 03:54

jackpot: Aug 31, 2004; First cousin to the Black Rabbit himself. Such was Woundwort's monument...and perhaps it would not have displeased him.<

I fried my avocado. Put it outside because hey, they grow in hot places (found out later, they grow in hot places in the shade), only to come home at the end of the day and all four leaves are shriveled up. Is it a goner? Anything I can do, pull the dead leaves off?

# ¿ Jun 6, 2013 21:31

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Hobbies, Crafts, & Houses > Let's Bonsai!