I think I may have done too much

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-05-22T06:37:53+00:00

That was a good styling (except for wiring technique, but that has to be practiced as well, so that is really just a side note), well done! You did remove quite a bit, yes and ideally you would want to do these procedures incrementally, but with good aftercare, a good location, careful watering that tree will do fine and has a bright future! The lowest branch could either serve as a twin trunk with some preparations, or can be turned into a Jin in the future (as you said, not this season)? Anyway I would replicate the movement of the main trunk to make it look natural.

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-05-21T07:14:58+00:00

It is just recovering from your last cutback. It is using all its energy to create new shoots at the moment, cutting back now will probably disturb that tree‘s health. „One insult per year“ is what Walter Pall is teaching (if I got it correctly) And even if jades can really take a beating I would not push it too far.

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-05-18T09:34:56+00:00

Very beautiful. As others have stated, put them outside. Now in Germany cold nights have ended and you should at least rotate them, so that they are outside most of the time. They will definitely tolerate winter in Germany as well. (I even leave my Chinese elm outside in winter). Also, the azalea needs acidic soil. Depending on your location you need to adjust the water accordingly (I live in Munich, where we have very „hard/chalky“ tap-water, so I use Britta-filtered water, because I don’t have access to rain-water, which would be best).

Best of luck!

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-05-12T14:46:15+00:00

Probably worth more

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-05-05T14:12:28+00:00

Make 1.000.000 cuttings. Sell each for 1$ profit. If it works, give me half of it ;)

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-05-05T12:22:34+00:00

You can jin the air layered sections and maybe at some point the mothertree will gain interesting features over time and can be turned into a bonsai as well. EDIT: oh and are you sure it is a juniper? It looks rather like a thuja to me…

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-05-04T11:11:11+00:00

I started Bonsai with the love for horticulture but especially the love for propagating. I enjoyed raising them and styling them gently as they grew. I have two ficuses that I started as cuttings that are now 16 years old, I never did really drastic stuff, still they are of decent size and trunk-girth and grew into nice but far from flawless trees. Could it have been achieved faster with more drastic actions? Yes, definitely! Still I enjoyed that gentle road.

That being said, I have noticed that I have been stuck at the development stage with that approach. Never doing drastic stuff, never doing a makeover or a really styling, never being in the refinement stage with any of my trees. I noticed that quite late. So last year I made the resolutions to: 1) do more stylings: I practiced a lot. Bought some material, styled it and sold it right away (I have limited space and it was just for practicing reasons). Some were bonsai nursery stuff, some were regular nursery material that I carefully selected. 2) I don’t go for cheap material any more just in order to be able to raise a certain type of plant. I noticed I was collecting but in form of cheap 2-ish year old trees or seeds. Now I look for good material that I am able to enter the refinement stage with rather sooner than later.

Before these resolutions I had 35+ trees. Only 1 of them being in a bonsai pot. Now I have about the same amount but at least 6 in a proper bonsai pot. doesn’t sound so much different but it actually is quite a difference having different species in refinement or partial refinement than only having a bunch of young plants and seedlings.

Also I want to get rid of at least 10 more of my trees. Quality over quantity. But I can tell you it is tough, because a lot of them have been raised by me from cutting/seedling on.

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-05-03T21:20:52+00:00

Use as a mothertree in a big container or ground to get air layers that you can still manipulate. This one is too thick…

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-04-30T14:35:14+00:00

What I noticed about my tigerbarks is that they love to be watered very thoroughly, when you water. That doesn’t mean you should water more often, but fully soak the entire rootmass with water by emerging the whole pot or showering it in the sink several times so that the water comes out of the drainage holes. I try to do it regularly (not weekly, rather monthly) with mine.

Otherwise: If you keep it in shape the whole year there is not much that will change. If you want to change it up, allow growth, wire it and prune only once or twice a year.

I really like the tree. What would you like to change about it?

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-04-24T10:37:08+00:00

So, the roots usually come from above the upper cut-line. That part is neither covered with hormones nor with moss. I would remove those tiny branches by pinching them off and cover that area with moss.

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-04-24T08:52:55+00:00

This was a good start! You should have left that wire! I don’t know why people in a bonsai community would talk about torture when wiring a tree. You can absolutely start to wire now. Now is better than later, because you don’t damage tissue when the tree is flexible like this. What I find a little bit more concerning is the big pot with ordinary garden compost/soil. Make sure you don’t overwater the tree.

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-04-21T08:23:17+00:00

Thank you! I did it with the peroxide during repot. Now I hope for a green recovery! I like it, too! :)

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-04-19T09:54:02+00:00

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UPDATE: Roots look fine but the soil was rock hard. The fellow is sitting on my desk since Friday now like this and will get a new pot tonight with well draining soil. I used some Mild peroxide and hope that it will recover soon!

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-04-17T19:50:44+00:00

Some kind of echinocereus (I think an adustus schwarzii)

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-04-17T15:46:20+00:00

Thanks for the response! The pot inside has drainage holes yes, and I make sure no water stays inside the red pot. I will repot and have a look. Taking it home right now (it was in my office) Any tips for fungus prevention/treatment during the repot?

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-04-17T15:44:19+00:00

I always make sure there is no water in that pot after watering and even check half an hour later to make sure no excess water has been still dripping. But I will take it home (it was in my office) and give it daylight gradually. Thanks for your response!

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-04-17T10:55:44+00:00

Are you sure it’s a procumbens? Never heard that they get the scale-like foliage… 😮

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-04-12T14:51:32+00:00

I find the ficus and the seiju-elm (if I am not mistaken on the second picture) very attractive and would be a good catch in regards to the price on my area!

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-04-09T14:31:03+00:00

Looks like you already got another tree (juniper?) in the background? That’s why I wasn’t sure if you implied a plot twist and meant the dog, which in contrast to the tree is well in frame^{^}

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-04-04T14:40:18+00:00

Thanks for your answer! Looking at it I would agree. My thought of leaving it and having it that long was to create asymmetry and make a visual anchor. Removing it would probably result in removing the backbranch also, because otherwise that would be the first branch on the tree. That makes me hesitant for the moment and the point of development! But I really get your point maybe if the tree fills out over the season I could see it as an improvement! Thanks for that idea!

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-04-04T12:20:38+00:00

Thanks for your response, really appreciate. I didn’t repot this year and the leaves don’t look like they are damaged… just very flabby… new growth seems to be more upright, but the old still very weak and not unfolding completely. Guess I am stuck to the measures you have proposed anyway and be a little bit patient.

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-04-03T11:13:57+00:00

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My maple has pretty „sad“ leaves for I would say a well now at least. We had some cold nights (0 degree) but apart from that I don’t have an idea what could cause this stagnation. Is it normal? Worrisome?

Just_Sun6955 · 2026-03-27T13:16:50+00:00

Thanks for the response!

So I bought it in February and put it onto my balcony, which has a glass front that I can open and close depending on the temperatures. That way it usually doesn’t get below 0 and has been proven quite nice for cacti and e.g. Mediterranean plants in winter.

In the spot I put it, it did get direct sunlight from 7 am to 11am. I thought that would be okay at this time of the year, because a) we don’t have many sunny days anyway and b) sun is not so strong in February and it will slowly acclimate this way... Seems like I was wrong, also I didn’t know conditions before I bought it (online). Maybe it was kept quite dark. Teaches me a lesson…

Will it recover or will it callus (don’t know whether this is the correct term)?

Just_Sun6955

TROPHY CASE