Bonsai Trees

[pipersgrip]

Anybody into Bonsai trees here? Sometimes it can be a little disheartening because they start looking good after 30+ years. I love it though. It is such a nice relaxing hobby that teaches patience. Starting by seed is nice, but I find that finding smaller trees in the wild is the way to go to start. I found this nice little thick boxwood that I am trying to turn into bonsai. It already has a nice "S" shaped trunk. I started to do this art a few years ago, but Florida was just way too hot to keep trees; the sun baked them alive. NC is such a better climate for them. It is nice to get back into it. Does anyone have advice or interest in bonsai trees? I would love to see pictures if anyone has any. Unfortunately, none of mine are picture ready. Give it 20 years or so.

[s1m0n]

I've had a bonsai gingko for a couple of years, and I doubt it'll be the only bonsai here forever. I also have a couple of cutleaf (aka ming) aralias. They're not offically bonsais but they share something of the look. And they share the same window as the gingko.

Down the alley there's an apartment lived in by an old asian gentleman who has a fabulous collection of bonsais on his front and rear balconies. One of these days I might go and knock on his door, but I don't see him out all that often.

With Vancouver's huge asian population, this might be a hotspot for bonsai culture, at least in North American terms. I know of at least two local bonsai growers/shops, and I suspect there are others. I doubt many Canadian cities could say the same.

[brewerpaul]

Just yesterday I uprooted a little Barberry seedling from our front bed and popped into a bonsai pot. It's about 3" tall. I put it on a slant and am on the lookout for the "right" rock to counterbalance the slanting trunk.
Bonsai are a bit tough here in the Northeast. I've had several over the years, and sometimes they don't make it through the winter. I bury the pots in a sheltered location and hope for the best. Last fall I planted a Flowering Quince offshoot, but this spring I haven't been able to find it...

When we were in China last year, we came across a huge Bonsai garden on the back side of Tiger Hill. Some of the trees were much larger than the tiny ones I usually think of as Bonsai, but all were wonderful.

[dwest]

I love going to the National Arboretum Bonsai collection. They have trees that have been in cultivation for 500 years. I was thinking about doing that myself but who wants to hang around 500 years just to take care of a miniature tree? So I got me some dwarf conifers from Mountain Meadow Nursery in Weaverville, NC info@mountainmeadowsdwarfconifers.com so now it just looks like I have bonsai. So much easier.

[pipersgrip]

I love going to the National Arboretum Bonsai collection. They have trees that have been in cultivation for 500 years. I was thinking about doing that myself but who wants to hang around 500 years just to take care of a miniature tree? So I got me some dwarf conifers from Mountain Meadow Nursery in Weaverville, NC info@mountainmeadowsdwarfconifers.com so now it just looks like I have bonsai. So much easier.

Excellent, I live right next to Weaverville. I will have to give it a look.


Also Paul, have you ever tried a little shed to keep the trees protected from frost and wind in the winter? That could help the trees survive a bit.

[dwest]

We turned our attic into an overwintering growth chamber, cool enough to retain dormancy, warm enough to protect container grown root zones. Multiple banks of four foot grow lights and timers. I have a large collection of clivias that I can't seem to get rid of so I get them to set bud in the cool attic and bring them downstairs when they are in bloom. We also have a 4X8 framed bed outside using 2X12s that we keep slightly hardier stuff bedded in mulch covered with reemay fabric. I have to take a day in the fall and the spring to move plants up and down plus clean up the trails of soil, leaves, and bugs I create throughout the house.

I'll be selling twenty or so Acer palmatums I have been training for four years this weekend to help fund a tree replacement program in our neighborhood. I suspect many end up dying or getting planted outside but they are good starter plants for a novice.

My uncle Hashimoto, was a good friend of a bonsai artist, John Naka, who could make a five year old tree look ancient. If you haven't seen his Goshin, it alone is worth the trip to DC IMO. I have more than slight obsession for Chamaecyparis and Cryptomerias as the wife will attest due to his work.

[rhulsey]

I've been interested in Bonsai since I was young, but never took the time to learn the craft and have some of my own. I did, however, purchase on from a member of the Knoxville Bonsai Club in 1997, and since it was 13 years old then I guess it is going on 26 y/o. It is a 'grove' of ginkgo trees. Another local Bonsai club member has repotted it for me, and we changed the container, too. It is quite hearty, has to be watered every day, and lives outside all year round. The only time I bring it in is if there's a late frost and the leaves are budding out. I'll be glad to take a post a pic if anyone would like to see.

Reg

[pipersgrip]

Yea Reg, I would love to see pics of anyone's trees.

[brewerpaul]

Hey-- how would an unheated garage do for overwintering Bonsai of local species?

[dwest]

Hey-- how would an unheated garage do for overwintering Bonsai of local species?

Our garage(zone 7 or 8, who really knows?) which is cooler than our attic is where I keep our bananas over winter. It has one small double hung leaky window on the north side, the boiler is in the garage but it is a very small high efficiency thing and doesn't do much to keep the garage warm, just above freezing. I keep the bananas watered and they seem to thrive. They don't actively grow, in fact their leaves start to yellow but they always make it through. My more delicate stuff stays in the attic which even in the winter doesn't drop below 39°F. Everything sits on rocks in boot and shoe trays we got at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I keep water in the trays as it gets very dry up there during the winter. It's a hassle hauling water up so I got a carboy from Nalgene that I keep filled for watering. Dessication is the most serious concern I would think.

[rhulsey]

Yea Reg, I would love to see pics of anyone's trees.

Posted here and in previous post.

[pipersgrip]

Hey-- how would an unheated garage do for overwintering Bonsai of local species?

Yes, local trees will do just fine in an unheated shed/garage. In fact, it would be perfect. They still need that cold season, but that frost and wind can do damage to the small trees.




Awesome pic Reg, that is a very nice looking tree. I love the several in one pot; it is like a mini forest. That moss always gives it such a cool effect too. I love moss.

[Jayhawk]

I have a Fukien tea tree sitting out in the rain right now...it's currently my only bonsai. I've had ficus, serissa, jade, podocarpus, and a few others over the years.

I'm too busy and hope to move soon (if my house ever sells), so one is enough right now. I'll try to get a picture if it EVER stops raining.

Funny story, back when I was 23, my wife and I lived in an apartment complex in town that had a small woods behind it. I went out and found a cool looking little maple tree (only about 3 inches tall with just a few leaves), carefully dug it up, and potted it and put in on my balcony. I had it for about 2 months when my mother came over to visit and asked why I had poison ivy in a pot on my balcony! Obviously, I was not (and am still not) allergic, but I didn't keep the poison ivy bonsai. To bad it was poison ivy, it did looked rather nice and stayed small without any real work...

Eric

[mukade]

My father has grown Bonsai since the late 1970s.

I used to help him out when I was a kid.

He was in hog's heaven when he came to Japan for my wedding.
I have never seen a man so happy when I took him to a bonsai museum in Tokyo.

If you think Bonsai take a long time, you should see Hotsumi Terakawa work on a tree.
He is a Japanese master living in Holland, and my father's society invited him to do a demonstration at their yearly event back in the early 1990s.
He took a very ordinary looking tree and transformed it in less than an hour.
Amazing stuff.

Terakawa at work.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 0223740114#

Here are a few pictures of my father's trees.
He uses a lot of native British trees rather that are naturally adapted to the British weather.

Shakan(slanted trunk) field maple:


Shakan larch:


Nanahon-yose larch (seven-tree group planting - remember Japanese art doesn't like even numbers )


I live in Japan, but I see more Bonsai at home in the UK than here

[Jayhawk]

Wow, you dad does nice work! Those are some gorgeous trees.

Eric