Bonsai -- Show and Tell

[Change]

Thats true Moses, ill be keeping my eyes out for trees of all sizes.

Ive planted a dozen wisteria seeds that were harvested from a neighbors vine.

Wisteria looks like it have heaps of training potential, Ive seen a few mind blowing spiraled ones.

This season im keen to start a few seed grown bonsais so when im an old dude i can say in the Spring of 2012 i planted all these bonsais that are now 30+ years old.

My most prized bonsai is my 40 year old oak, when i purchased her from a 90 year old lady she told me the story of going on holidays in 1972 to Katoomba and picking an acorn they she brought home, planted, and turned into this amazing bonsai. This is the kind of story id like to be able to tell one day.

[myco]

i like to collect trees from the wild well kinda its illeagal wat i really mean is bush on friends properties

great way to get larger older more advanced trees

i've got a bunch of seed here i need to sow wich i bought for bonsai's

boab seed japanese black pine and a bunch of stuff theres a guy on ebay who has some pretty interesting seed

i got a bunch of it off him a couple of months back

just do a search for bonsai seed

[Moses]

yeah i keep an eye out on housing developement etc cos they'll just pull up everything

and local bonsai clubs have digs on people land when they hear of land clearings etc.

missed out a few years back on hundred year old grape vines they were lifting.

feral olives and hawthorns on local farms are a good source

Edited October 8, 2012 by Moses

[bogfrog]

^

You sound like a very resourceful bonsai enthusiast!

My garden is full of mature trees which self seed everywhere, which supplies me with a steady stream of baby manukas, kanukas, kowhai, fuschias, hawthorns and broadleafs.

Alot of them i am just training where they are in the ground, just tipping them every so often.

Even if i don't remove them and use them for bonsai, they will still look nice.

[DeadStar]

I have nothing to show because all mine are still sticks in training pot to fatten up there trunks but i have been scouring around nurseries for as many 4-5 year old aussie natives with interesting tunks to turn into bonsai.

For the tell now, type australian native bonsia into google and you can see some amazing trees

[Change]

The bottle brush bonsai look amazing

[DeadStar]

The bottle brush is my favorite also, followed closly by acacia howittii. They both look breathtaking when done well and are flowering

[Change]

http://www.anbg.gov.au/bonsai/bonsai-anbg-2007/bonsai-anbg-2007.html

[DeadStar]

DreamTimeBliss i have a few left over River She oak, weeping bottlebrush and morton bay fig seeds if your looking for a long term bonsai project.

[incognito]

I'm still kinda conflicted. My hippy friends are disgusted that Ive started a bonsai. They are all "ur torturing the plant spirit". Bah I dunno.

[DeadStar]

Maybe its in the plants spirit to be tortured. It takes all types to make the world go round

Edited October 10, 2012 by DeadStar

[incognito]

Meh I'm continually on the outer with my hippy friends.

For such self proclaimed open minded people they are so fucking judgemental.

[Change]

For such self proclaimed open minded people they are so fucking judgemental.

 

lol, its funny how often tree loving hippies are seen in this light

here are some tortured styled bonsais http://www.squidoo.c...sebonsaitorture

DreamTimeBliss i have a few left over River She oak, weeping bottlebrush and morton bay fig seeds if your looking for a long term bonsai project.

 

Sweet, ill pm you to work out some sort of a trade.

[incognito]

I liked the comparison to mowing lawns and trimming hedges.

Edit- removed bitch About hippies. They are people to. Even if they smell like cheese ;)

Edited October 10, 2012 by incognito

[Moses]

try telling your hippy friends that you are actually helping the tree release its spirit with the creation of the bonsai as in nature most trees will not grow to the majesty which you will help it attain.

[qualia]

actually wasn't one of the original thoughts that the small nature of mature trees condenses the spiritus, thus making it more concentrated and potent?

[incognito]

I'm going to grow my pot belly fig for a while to get a big trunk. It is grafted with a small leaf fig, so the leaves will be more compact.

U can do some cool things with figs with the aerial roots and all from what I have read. I'm going to try and find a big ass crystal and spread the roots over that. Will look awesome and appease my hippy buds.

I'll try and do a running pictorial thingy when I get my pc connection. Impossible on the ol iPhone . Well possible but this screen so tiny.

I wonder what a pot belly grafted fig spirit is like?

Conflicted? Angry? At peace with being slice and diced for human pleasure since its seedling days?

Forgiving? Submissive?

Edited October 12, 2012 by incognito

[Alice]

I wonder what a pot belly grafted fig spirit is like?

 

Hungry.

[Moses]

U can do some cool things with figs with the aerial roots and all from what I have read.

 

dont always have to rely on a rock to show off the roots,

try exposed root bonsai on google image

you can make an incredible cage like structure with some roots, a style more chinese than japanese i believe.

[bogfrog]

Could you train a strangler fig to be a bonsai?

You could sacrifice an old dying bonsai to the strangler fig to grow around.

Edited October 13, 2012 by bogfrog

[Moses]

Could you train a strangler fig to be a bonsai?

You could sacrifice an old dying bonsai to the strangler fig to grow around.

 

don't have to sacrifice anything find drftwood,an old root or branch and grow around that,

there is a bonsai technique whos name eludes me which involves stripping a piece off a tree/plant/seedling the entire length in one continual line and then wrapping around a piece of wood with great features so the bared section touches the wood so it bonds/grafts to it over time and you get an incredible aged tree in around 3years.

[2meke]

you're thinking of a phoenix graft moses. i'm doing a bunch this year. its a very useful technique for turning scrawny seedlings into something impressive in a short time. just go for a walk on the beach to find some good material or even just carve a chunk of wood to suit.

i'm trying to carve a hunk of wood to get the buttressed roots look. thats probably one of the hardest features to develop on bonsai.

if you use driftwood you have to soak in fresh water for afew months to get the salt out or just leave out for the weather to do over winter. otherwise just train the tree up around the driftwood and hold off doing the graft for afew months.

carve out any soft wood and use a wood hardener too. lime sulphur is preferred.

i've seen some old phoenix grafts where the cambium and bark had spread onto the driftwood quite a bit. given enough time it would cover the whole thing.

a cheap source of wire is your local scrap metal buyer. electrical wire comes in many sizes suitable for bonsai. you only have to pay scrap price. the copper can be a bit rigid for some people, just light a fire and chuck it in, that will normally aneal (soften) it. but with all metals they work harden so the more you bend it the stiffer it gets. i prefer stiff wire cos you can use a skinnier size.

Edited October 17, 2012 by 2meke

[bogfrog]

Here are two babies who are looking lovely with their new spring growth:

Larch (15 years trained, sourced from the wild as a seedling)

.......Unsure what sort of tree this one is, i was told me juniper sp.

[Stillman]

not true bonsai as I don't have the patience but some I have lifted some of my adeniums and alot of my seedlings have interesting shapes so I will probably invest in some nice bonsai pots and set a few as it warms up.

[myco]

wow tell me you photoshoped those pics stillman

that flower colour is fucking intense it feels like its burning my retinas to look at its so bright

a method i read about for desalinating stones and driftwood is to soak it in a mix of vinegar and water

wich is what i do and i havent had any problems so far

although i usually do this for the first few days then leave it to soak in a tub of just water for a pretty long period of time atleast a few months

that water also gets flushed out with fresh water often by myself with the hose aswell as the rain

its also a very good idea to do this just to kill any potentialy threatening bugs that may be hiding in the wood

so even if your wood comes from the bush far away from any salt water i would suggest soaking it anyway

it helps with striping any bark off aswell

driftwood is the best in my opinion though i have found some amazing pieces

i just collect stones and driftwood all the time i've got a fairly decent pile of stuff here now to use

its great to have a pile to be able to search through and find the right thing for the right plant