2meke

why not hire half the county to spy on the other half

not a cactus but kanna grows quickly and very lush in such conditions. will still flower for you also.

it had 3 sets of spines. you need at least one for new growth.

yea man for sure. i just mean when you get down to the depth you want some gypsum in the bottom will keep penetrating the clay even further down. can't wait to see it man!

hey CBL have you heard how good gypsum is for breaking up clay? GIB board is just gypsum, heaps of off cuts at building sites. might be worth digging some into the bottom of your garden and it will penetrate and loosen the clay below for ya. plants will probably like it too.

this is a cross done by my mum of one of our scop clones and a Coromandel Cacti clone they call cuzcoensis. i call it a peruvianus because they sell other clones that look alot more cuzco than this one. coro has good pics of their "cuzco" http://cacti.co.nz/index.php/library/t/category/786- the scop is more than likely their clone too, but i got it elsewhere so can't be 100% on that. seeds are free. trades would be appreciated. it would be awesome if someone in perth wants to grow some and pass a few seedling/cuttings on to family for me.. scop mother x peru father. did i get that rite?

really good idea for a thread! this is the base of a bridgey seedling a few weeks after i grafted it 2 seasons ago. now the tip of the seedling didn't take so it's a good example of why its good to graft the top and bottom of a seedling if you can. stock is a pachanoi seedling. awesome little stock hasn't pupped once, don't know if its because the bridgey just wanted to grow or if its a really good grafting stock. will degraft before next season. the original seedling base still has a little dormant root bud so should be easy to root. oh yea the scion is 40cm now

i like to see spiders on my cacti aswell i was pretty stoked when these guys moved in one night recently.

all good. heaps more

gave a nice african fellow with a sad story an established cath red cutting. his local variety. he was amazed and very appreciative. very worth it. he's stressing about how he's going to hide it from his mates though lol. he said his nana would love some too. can't say no to a nana. edit: after bogfrog hooked me up big time i kinda also gave her a aztekium graft, because i didn't bid against her when i saw her bidding lol. so much generosity!

they all look good. i like the pot with bottle for seeds and cuttings. a mate made some nice ones from polystyrene boxes/fish bins. one stacked on top of the other with the bottom cut out of the top one and a light mounted to the lid on the top one and a hole in the side at the top for exhaust fan. just add more boxes in between if you need more height. quite a tidy and cheap way of doing it, they stack nicely. the heat from the light should be enough to keep it warm in there as long as your house isn't arctic. otherwise you'd need an individual heat mat for each box which would be a pain.. i think the same bins with a plastic or glass window in the lid would work good for seeds outdoors. i think he got his for free from fruit and vege shop. fish/shellfish markets have them too.

dang micro well done dude! what food do you give them?

i think that straight kitty litter might dry out too fast in aus man. try it on something but i wouldn't go re-potting all your trees in it. i read on a loph blog that some kitty litters are good in their mix too. i'm trying one that is made from zeolite. it seems quite good. similar in apearence to lime. i've read that it holds heaps of water and nutes. heres some ligustrum ovalifolium / hedge privet i rescued from the council over winter. these things are perfect for bonsai. they're extremely hardy and vigorous and you can reduce the leaf size a shit load i find the 2nd one pretty ugly at this stage but will see how it looks with a few branches and some carving.

copper is also good, they don't seem to touch it. i think it causes electrolysis with their mucus. all you need to do is strip the insulation off some electrical wire and wrap it around the pot or put it on the soil as a ring around your plants. not just one strand but a bunch. if it doesn't work twist some more wire into the bunch. or you could cut copper sheet into strips for around the pots but that could get a bit pricey.

i'm having a go at doing some oak air layers this year, i think they have heaps of potential. http://www.amazon.co...p/dp/0754821803 thats an amazing book. very cheap too. some can be quite expensive. bonsai soil is generally aprox 5-15mm sieved potting mix with some fine gravel/akadama. the specific mix would depend on your climate, size of your pot and species being grown. if you get your mix just rite you can use it for most trees. see if theres a local bonsai club and go along to their meets. it's normally just a bunch of dreary old farts but you'll learn alot and will probably get the chance to buy some good trees to work on for next to nothing. try not to buy "finished" trees, it kinda takes the fun out of it.

hey dreamtime lookin good. i have the same picea. i wouldn't bother with wire on that one. i took some wire off after a year and the branches sprung back to exactly where they were. just clip n grow for them. they get nice and bushy. if the needles brown up in the hot weather spray the foliage with water. they do drop their 3rd year (i think) needles. with conifers like them that can handle it a sharp spray with the hose give the foliage a good blast all over to help dislodge any bugs that try make home in there. damn a boab would be cool. just found this site, going to try get some seeds going. http://www.boabsinthekimberley.com.au/boab-trees/

nah its just a herd. so maybe i should thin out my garden to make room for some of yours then

awesome! love the buds. that last shot of the flower is incredible explorer scop peruvinoid i think these 2 will produce some cool offspring

awesome dude! drosera arcturi?

maybe try a small amount of coco coir in your mix to hold a bit more water. i think it re wets well after drying out too. sphagnum moss is good in a mix for bonsai that need a bit more moisture than normal. make sure your bonsai aren't root bound also. thanks for the parcel to mate! much appreciated.

what a champ! they'll write books about you one day mate.

i knew someone in perth that had a cool thyme lawn. smelt nice when you walked on it and if i remember correctly it didn't need to be mowed. it may have been a creeping variety. it was leading up to their front door so took a fair bit of traffic. they put a few pavers down so you could avoid walking on it all the time. i've been interested in this idea for a while.

awesome thread. i'd say theres a big pukatea out of view of the sign. i doubt they'd make a nice sign like that for a seedling.

awesome! thanks man. really enjoyed that. i've always thought the american indians are so different to us but that shows some similarities. i especially like the last one.