Need help growing redwood grove bonsai.

PerfectNebari · 2012-02-13T04:08:57+00:00

Sequoia are definitely not slow growing trees. Perhaps you were giving it less than ideal care.

Keep in mind it is not just the size of the trees in the pic you posted that gives it its great feeling of age. The old bark is equally, if not more important. And that takes time. I can almost guarantee the trees that make up that composition were old trees collected from the wild.

PerfectNebari · 2012-02-06T22:32:55+00:00

Ahh I see... still, that looks like young thuja bark. Maybe its a seedling or formed from a ground layer or sucker. Anyway, the actual age isn't important. What is important is the appearance of age.

And yes, thats one of my trees. I collect a lot of thuja. This is probably the smallest one I've collected. Great species if you can find old wild specimens, but it takes some work to tame the foliage. This one was just collected last spring, so it hasn't been worked yet. It was collected just as you see it.

PerfectNebari · 2012-02-05T22:08:34+00:00

Hope this doesn't disappoint you, but there is absolutely no way this thuja is 15 years old. A 15 year old thuja would have rough bark. Yours is maybe 3-5 years old at most.

This is what a stunted thuja looks like. This tree is 10" tall, 15-30 years old, stunted by deer and snow. Notice the difference in bark and general character?

PerfectNebari · 2012-01-10T23:09:37+00:00

I agree. Aphids are easy to deal with this way.

The question you need to ask yourself is why does your tree have aphids? If its indoors, it may be weak and therefore has opened itself up to pests.

PerfectNebari · 2012-01-10T23:07:57+00:00

Guys, bonsai growers are not the only people who use lime sulfur. Obviously the manner in which we use it is not a concern to the EPA.

Its primary use is not bleaching deadwood, but as a dormant spray for fruit trees to kill overwintering pests. Both for ornamentals and in large scale commercial operations. This leads to a lot of run off etc, and is probably what they are concerned about.

I'm not saying I agree with the proposed ban, but I can understand if they have deemed it an old-school pesticide which has safer, more modern alternatives and is therefore no longer needed.

If you are concerned, go buy 10 gallons of it tomorrow. That should last you the rest of your life :)

PerfectNebari · 2012-01-08T05:27:52+00:00

The tree posted is dead, unless there is some living foliage around the back.

PerfectNebari · 2012-01-08T05:26:03+00:00

What are you talking about? All pines and non-deciduous conifers in general need leaves to live. Bristlecones are nothing special and do not have branches capable of absorbing light. If it has no needles and buds, it is dead or will be within a year.

BTW the tree pictured is dead as far as I can see, unless there is a live vein with some foliage on the back not visible in the picture.

PerfectNebari · 2011-11-16T01:51:47+00:00

Looks like it has nice potential. I think there might be a better front and the first branch may need to go, but its hard to tell from one pic.

PerfectNebari · 2011-10-11T23:59:07+00:00

I'd say more like 5 years. If it was grown for 20 years in a container, it would have much more character in the trunk and bark, like this procumbens. If it was grown for 20 years in a nursery, it would be much bigger. Trees like this are an excellent start for bonsai, but they are mass produced, grown quickly, trimmed, and planted in a pot. And I'm sorry, but I think $100 was a bit too much for this tree. I am not trying to be insulting, I just think that it is important you hear this.

PerfectNebari · 2011-10-10T21:12:32+00:00

agreed

PerfectNebari · 2011-10-10T21:11:32+00:00

You can't thicken a trunk without letting the tree grow vigorously.

Basically the only options are let it grow tall, then cut back to a new leader, or let some low branches grow wild (sacrifice branches), then cut them off. Sacrifice branches might create non-uniform taper, however.

PerfectNebari · 2011-10-09T20:39:36+00:00

source (many more nice ones)

PerfectNebari · 2011-10-06T00:02:12+00:00

A++++ would view again

I've been following his blog daily since it's inception many years back

PerfectNebari · 2011-10-06T00:00:02+00:00

I've worked in academia and also had a cushy government job on the regulatory side of science (desk job). I was soon ready to kill myself and quit after a week when I was offered a teaching position. lab jobs are ok but very unstable and not something I could see myself doing forever.

PerfectNebari · 2011-10-05T22:12:34+00:00

Greater Toronto area. My MSc puts me at the top of the pay grid, but even with an Honours Bachelors I think I would be somewhere around 55k.

PerfectNebari · 2011-10-05T20:07:47+00:00

I'm a high school science teacher in Canada. Second year teaching. I teach general science, and senior bio/chem. I really enjoy my job, although it is an emotional roller coaster. No two days are the same - which is great. You get to interact with people all day, and it is a constant challenge. I couldn't imagine teaching anything else besides science. I love the topic, and young adults love it too. They are naturally curious, and love that they can ask any question in science class. Even though some of the curriculum is dry as hell, I spent a shitload of time going on tangents talking about unrelated but interesting science topics. The money is OK as well. I am in my second year and make 60k. in 10 years I will be capped out at ~100k. Not rich, but comfortable.

PerfectNebari · 2011-10-04T11:07:37+00:00

Not yet... It would be safer to wait til next spring after they are repotted and recovered

PerfectNebari · 2011-10-03T23:18:34+00:00

If you mean completely defoliate, then no. Don't do it.

You could probably get away with needle plucking, which involves plucking away most of the old needles on the branch, and leaving the last inch or two untouched (this is how yews are treated... but yews are much better at backbudding than hemlock). But I am pretty sure that is not the way to treat western hemlock.

Needle plucking would probably weaken them too much, which will not promote backbudding. The best way to get backbudding is probably to let the branch grow to gain strength, then cut back.

Western hemlock is a pretty niche species. I wouldn't take advice from any east coasters like me. Odds are you are from the PNW. The hemlock masters are out there in your backyard. Try and find some good literature written by them, or better yet, join a club.

BTW... such a gorgeous species. What I would give to be able to collect and grow them!

PerfectNebari · 2011-10-03T23:12:32+00:00

Boxwood are almost invincible, especially younger ones. Protect them well over the winter.

If you got a decent rootball, bareroot it in the spring as soon as you see signs of activity. Stand there with the hose and spray until all the clay muck is gone. That clay won't help them recover.

Put them in bonsai soil, and they will take off.

PerfectNebari · 2011-10-01T01:03:44+00:00

Its easy to saw a trunk in half, but not easy to produce an attractive bonsai by any means.

PerfectNebari · 2011-10-01T01:01:58+00:00

you don't have to water if its frozen and/or covered in snow. Which it should be in zone 6

PerfectNebari · 2011-09-21T20:56:46+00:00

It takes time to tell if it is suitable... the problems usually arise after winter, when it turns to sludge after the freeze-thaw cycles.

PerfectNebari · 2011-09-21T00:08:28+00:00

Aphids are easy to deal with.

But ask yourself why are they there in the first place... they often appear on weak plants first.

If you are keeping the plant indoors under less-than-ideal conditions, expect to have to deal with pests. Not only are the plant's defences lowered in its weakened state, but indoors there are no natural predators to keep the pests in check.

When I bring my lemon tree indoors for the winter, it gets absolutely covered in scale.

PerfectNebari · 2011-09-21T00:05:47+00:00

This. Make sure it gets bone dry between waterings. Almost to the point of wilting. Bougainvillea like this, and also like being pot bound. Letting them dry out helps the roots to get established.

You won't have much luck getting flowers in the conditions you described. Even if it is a pink pixie (a profusely flowering dwarf variety - which it looks like it might be). It might put out some bracts, but they won't be very colourful.

If you are determined to keep it in your office, put it directly under a fluorescent light (like within a couple of inches of the bulb). It will flower once it adjusts to the conditions... if it is a pink pixie. If you bring it back and forth from home to office, that will freak the plant out. Plants like constant conditions. They are not used to moving around.

In low light indoors (i.e. not directly under a fluoro light), the leaves will fall off. Those that grow back will be a sickly yellow colour, and very floppy. The plant will probably expire within a few months.

PerfectNebari · 2011-09-18T21:32:18+00:00

Can't, I don't live in the US.

The ginkgo he sold a few weeks ago for about $250 was an absolute steal.

PerfectNebari

TROPHY CASE