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Bonsai -- Show and Tell

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Talk about sad bonsai tales bogfrog, my dad told me today his buddy just lost almost all his collection to a theif. Whoever it was obviously knew him and took most of a collection that was nearly 40 years work. People.

Heartbreaking.

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Can anyone recommend a good basic starter book for bonsai newbs ?? I to have a Chinese elm and a melaleuca in bonsai pots, and I have no idea. I'm growing a lot of eucs this spring and I would love to bonsai a specimen of each of them. Would be stoked if I could buy, borrow and awesome bonsai book for noobs

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One word. Ficus

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You only really need two books about bonsai and both off them are from the same australian family.

Bonsai with australian native plants by Dorothy & Vita Koreshoff

Bonsa Its art, science and Philosophy by Deborah R. Koreshoff

And if you want very basic you could get all three

Bonsai in australia by Dorothy & vita Koreshoff

I would lend you mine but i check them frequently as it has almost everything you would need to grow bonsai in aus

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yeah I believe it's very hard to bonsai eucs nicely - I've read that E. nicholii can work, but I reckon most euc species will have too-large leaves. I'd stick with melaleucas, the ones with small leaves & fine rough bark make it easier to create the miniature tree look. I had a nice little tea-tree but it escaped its pot a few years back & is no longer bonsai'd - it's a real tree now Gepetto! They bonsai themselves naturally in the wild, when they're growing on rock shelves or boulders in the middle of streams & the like.. you'll usually never be able to transplant these guys (as their roots probably go way down into the rock & they hate having their roots disturbed at all) but if you look at them you can get an idea of how that species might turn out as a cultivated bonsai.

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I really think eucs are most stunning plants. I've seen a few bonsais online that look superb. While I'm growing so many eucs may as well have a go myself. I do have a ficus, Chinese elm and malaleuca in little bonsai pots but I don't know where to start re. Training them.z

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I think Angophora costata would make a great bonsai specimen incog, it's so close to a eucy it's not funny.

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Casuarina are also a good native to bonsai.

Some bonsai folks say it could equal the beauty of japans black pine

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I really think eucs are most stunning plants. I've seen a few bonsais online that look superb. While I'm growing so many eucs may as well have a go myself. I do have a ficus, Chinese elm and malaleuca in little bonsai pots but I don't know where to start re. Training them.z

just goog'd these up broseph :)

http://blog.dallasbonsai.com/creating-chinese-elm-bonsai-part-1/

http://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=346

http://www.wikihow.com/Care-for-a-Chinese-Elm-Bonsai-Tree

thanks me olde' .. now I'll know what to do with mine to perhaps enhance it :)

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Repotted one of my favorite bonsai today.

I repotted into a bigger pot with %50diatomite %50sifted potting soil.

Im in the process of taking all my bonsai starters and potting them into much larger pots than they have been in.

After reading a few books and doing some google image searches, i now want much taller bonsai.

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gave this guy a new pot today, a bit late to repot deciduous but these chinese elms are hardy as. it's amazing how much a new pot can change a tree. the last pot i had it in was a shocker

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Edited by 2meke
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Is that an oak change?

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I have plans for this to be a River she oak forrest in the future.

I have put some movment low in some of the trunks and left some to grow straight.

I will repot them individually this year and give them an extreme chop back. I will then leave them for a year or two and then chop again, then find a big bonsai pot to start the forest scene

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Just wanted to share a few from the collection :)

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Thanks for sharing myco

I love the ficus roots over rock on the right side of the top bench.

Did you thread the conifer threw the deadwood yourself? I like that one also. Come to think of it you have a good mix of trees to your collection :-)

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thanks mate yeh I was very happy with how the root over rock ficus came out it was only buried for about 2 yrs

I exposed it all about a year ago now and its coming along nicely its very firmly attached to the rock :)

Yeh the one threaded through the deadwood is another old one I've just got to I did that one probably about 3-4 yrs ago when it was very ling and thin
I havent touched it since its basically become one with the deadwood now I finally decided to prune the shit out of it and start giving it some more shape :)

I try to do something a little different each time I've never actually bought a bonsai before I usually just buy cheap nursery stock and see what I can do
lately I have bought a few stock plants from a bonsai nursery they're pretty damn expensive though but they do have some very nice trees

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bonsai noob... not much to see here, but i did as someone suggested in this thread and looked in the bargain section of the nursery (this time with an eye for bonsai stock)

thought this would make an ideal starter. its a prostrate Kunzea ('Badja Carpet’) so it cascades naturally .

smells like thyme, looks like thyme, with pre windswept look for 7 bucks :)

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i have also acquired 2 different arborescent Sedums for bonsai-ing
and will practice on mum’s (soon to be revived) jade plant

plus have growing
Bursera fagaroides and Operculicarya decaryi (likey elephant trees), will shape
and ginkgo and cork oak seedlings as potential bonsai specimens

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post-3770-0-76436700-1443185662_thumb.jpg

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I thought i would show a few of my trees that will be getting the chop this year or next. I have been a bit slow to get to the maples before bud break.

Not all trees can take such big chops and have to be done gradually over a few years.

A trident maple that shows its full hight and where it will be chopped.

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A few japanese maples. One has been chopped but i didnt have the right tool to take it right back to where i want

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This maple needs alot of work done to the roots.

It was about 2mtr tall when i brought it. I chopped a meter off before i even put it in the car at the nursery

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A Port jackson fig.

I will keep the top and propogate it

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Chinese elm that has already been chopped a couple of times.

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And last but not least. New candles on my japanese black pine. :-)

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Edited by DeadStar
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love the Chinese elm I have a couple of seedlings that came up in maple pots from a local nursery

they have a huge one right next where they keep all their maples so there's usually always a few seedlings in any maples I get from them
its a nice little extra bonus if you can keep em alive and be patient enough :)

they're awesome plants perfect for bonsai with their tiny leaves

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I thought i would share a couple of bonsai tips.

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The kleensorb/diatomite and zeo-clor/ziolite make a perfect inorganic soil mix for your bonsai. It dries out quicker than organic soil though. So if you cant water every 1-2days some organic soil in the mix will extend the watering period.

The colanders come in different sizes and start from $1 at asian markets. They are great air pruning training pots. They help develop feeder roots closer to the trunk before you put your tree in a shallow bonsai pot.

And the bamboo skewer is for repotting. Use it to push the soil under and around the rootball.

The seedling in the training pot is a japanese black pine

Hope some of these tips help

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post-9477-0-46940800-1443513441_thumb.jpg

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Who's coming to the canberra bonsai show? I'll be there, maybe we could all go out for a feed afterward? Smack some nangs on the ass?

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Root training colanders looks great cheers for the tip DeadStar

I've been trying to source kleensorb in my town, rang just about all the pet shops .

Dunno if anyone stocks it but it seems it may be available at the monthly bonsai meets. Guess I'll find out at the show

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