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TPT Bonsai Thread! Show off your collection!

65K views 617 replies 73 participants last post by  plantbrain 
#1 ·
So a couple people were suggesting we do this. So we are :hihi:

Post pics, list species, anything special you're doing, just summarize and talk even if no one is listening, etc. :icon_lol:

I'll start.




My Chinese Elm and first bonsai. Got this guy in mid-late February of this year. I'm surprised it's fared this well with everything I've put it through. It's bouncing back though :proud:

I'll post pics of my Maple tomorrow, it's cheering up after its 2 day ride in a dark USPS box.
 
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#575 ·
The second tree is now written in stone, I am revealing the identity.

20 year old California Juniper, another informal upright, very, very nice branching and the foliage is very thick, curves in the trunk are very good. Trunk is slightly under an inch thick. Tree is about 14" tall.

I have 5 more bonsai I am planning on buying in the next 24-72 hours.

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#587 ·
I do plan to go to a bonsai club meeting eventually. Don't get me wrong, I understand completely, but so far all of the schedualed meetings I have seen for September and October have not been at a time that I can attend. Most of the ones I have seen are late in the day, like starting at 5pm, if you count the time it takes to drive to san jose, etc. I would be coming home very late which I can't do..

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#588 ·
Yay, my Ming Aralia came in today!! Also I got my two african violet's in today and btw they look amazing! I have huge news that above and beyond beats all of the above news 2-to-1. Today my indoor African Gardenia finally opened the first of about 30-40 flower buds! I have had this plant for over 4 months now and waited all this time for this moment... I just have to say, despite all the claims that the scent is different than true gardenia's (African Gardenia is not a true gardenia, but they are distantly related taxonomically speaking, they make incredibly easy houseplants, I have mine in a east window, no grow lights, desert humidity, high 60's temp) they smell exactly the same, albeit a little more faint. My flower color is pink. I just bought a couple zisha bonsai pot's, I plan to buy a stand/desk/elevated mat/the-bamboo-mat-thingies-you-see-under-the-pot-for-show, whatever you want to call it, etc..
 
#594 ·
I just made groundbreaking success. It appears me and the parents have reached a mutually agreeable deal. I am going to decommission one 20g aquarium and significantly reduce the electrical cost in the fish department and in return I have the right to hang a single grolight fixture of no greater than 60 watts and have the right to use the remaining dresser space for a plant growing rack, but I have to pay for everything myself.

What this means is I am now going full-time in to this new hobby with plant growing racks, grolights, maybe eventually even hydroponics. But it's still in the middle of discussion and it's probably going to take weeks and weeks for this to all be finished.

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#595 ·
I just made groundbreaking success. It appears me and the parents have reached a mutually agreeable deal. I am going to decommission one 20g aquarium and significantly reduce the electrical cost in the fish department and in return I have the right to hang a single grolight fixture of no greater than 60 watts and have the right to use the remaining dresser space for a plant growing rack, but I have to pay for everything myself.

What this means is I am now going full-time in to this new hobby with plant growing racks, grolights, maybe eventually even hydroponics. But it's still in the middle of discussion and it's probably going to take weeks and weeks for this to all be finished.

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I love your enthusiasm! I take it from your posts that you are younger and that is a good thing as bonsai needs more young folks!
I would encourage you to really do your homework as you are getting started with trees.

It also appears from your posts that you are trying to grow indoors. One of the major issues with growing trees indoors is vigor and the health of the material. If it very difficult to really do bonsai if your plant material is not vigorous...growing strongly. Yes, you can grow a few plants indoors but in general they will only exist and will not develop at rate conducive for bonsai. Humidity, proper lighting, air circulation, lack of seasons and pests are the primary issues...over coming one or two of these obstacles might be possible but when you combine all these factors your chances of success are greatly reduced.

Bonsai, perhaps like aquascaping, is one of those rare art forms in which the material is constantly changing and growing...its never finished. A tree that does not grow and only exists will quickly become boring and drop off your radar.

There is so much misinformation about indoor bonsai out there...unfortunately it seems that most vendors will tell you whatever you want to hear about trees growing indoors just to make a sale. There are even a few books on the subject. I am in my 3rd decade of this marvelous hobby and I have seen hundreds of people try to do indoor bonsai and I can't really say any of them have been all that successful.

I would encourage you to start a few trees outside as well if you can. I think in a very short time you will be able to see for yourself the differences and begin to understand the difficulties of successfully growing indoors.

One source of information that might be helpful to you is a user on the BonsaiNut forum named Redwood Ryan. He is a young man...probably early college age, that has been growing indoors for a couple years now. Early on he demonstrated some of the same enthusiasm for indoor trees as you. I would encourage you to check out some of his threads on Bonsainut. He has has some limited successes, but I suspect you will see that now, in spite of all his efforts and ingenuity, he's beginning to understand that growing indoors presents the most difficult path in the bonsai hobby.

I am certainly not trying to tell you what to do...not my place...just sharing my experiences because I would love to see you successful with your new hobby. I know it has brought me much enjoyment and satisfaction over the years....especially after I stopped trying to grow trees in a place that is not conducive to their survival:icon_bigg

I wish you the best of luck!
John
 
#601 ·
There's a club locally near you, ask them. Why? Because the local clubs will tell you what grows well in your specific region.

You also get to meet and see what they are doing and this helps a lot, then the rest is practice.

Cut cut cut.

Like stem plants, Bonsai need maintained and trimmed.
 
#603 ·
Yuji Yoshimira's classic "The Art of Bonsai" is an older book that I believe is a very good text for learning the basics of bonsai. For design purposes perhaps John Naka's 2 book series is also good(can't call the name right now and perhaps its out of print but I bet you could find it on ebay).

However, you have opportunity to see a lot of good trees and meet lots of bonsai folks here in just a couple weeks at the Carolina Bonsai Expo in Asheville. This is the 18th annual and it is the bonsai event not to be missed in the Southeast. It is the second weekend in October and is always held at the NC Arboretum. 15 or 16 Clubs from PA to GA come together for a show and display competition. There will be about 10 or more vendors and several demos and workshops over the course of the weekend. Parking is the only expense to get you into the show$8.

There are a number of Columbia folks that drive up for just the day. I will be there all weekend representing my study group and also selling a few trees in the vendors area. Sunday afternoon, I will be teaming up with a good friend and the curator of the bonsai collection to do a short demo. There is also an auction on Sunday afternoon where typically you can find more than a few good deals on trees and supplies.

You can find out more information from the NC arboretum website...a quick google should put you on it in a second.

BTW, Colin Lewis(from your book) was the guest artist at the expo last year. Rodney Clemons will be this year's guest.

Hope to see you there!
John
 
#604 ·
Ficus looks georgous. I've had it maybe a week now. Today I got my flowering crown of thorns houseplant in the mail. I got my Swiss Cheese Vine in the mail on Tuesday, biggest leaves are maybe 20", it's a young plant so hopefully in a year or two they'll have doubled. I have an extra special plant coming in soon, this one is quite possibly the mandarin dragonet of the houseplant world. It's flowers scream look at me and it laughs in the face of roses, gardenia, hydrangea, passionflower, lilies, and all others who come before. It's not a bonsai. It's extremely rare and extinct in the wild, I had to fork over 150$ for this particular specimen.

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#605 ·
Ficus looks georgous. I've had it maybe a week now. Today I got my flowering crown of thorns houseplant in the mail. I got my Swiss Cheese Vine in the mail on Tuesday, biggest leaves are may be 20", it's a young plant so hopefully in a year or two they'll have doubled. I have an extra special plant coming in soon, this one is quite possibly the mandarin dragonet of the houseplant world. It's flowers scream look at me and it laughs in the face of roses, gardenia, hydrangea, passionflower, lilies, and all others who come before. It's not a bonsai. It's extremely rare and extinct in the wild, I had to fork over 150$ for this particular specimen.

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What's it called?any pics of ficus?
 
#611 ·
Yes, they are about to lose their leaves.
I trim and wire then. when spring comes around, they put out nice new fresh green leaves.

I water these two species heavily, even more with the BC, I use clay soil and use a very deep moisture tray, trivet so the bottom of the pot is always wet/submersed. Groups or single specimens. DR need trimmed a lot during the growing season.

Finding good BC is not easy though.
Well, unless you live in the SEA US and want to go out looking in a boat etc.
Then you can find awesome stuff.
 
#615 ·
Wow.. it's been a while. Well a few weeks ago I met up with some bonsai folks, a sensei and apprentice. We chatted about the hobby, had some lemonade. Worked on the juniper, at the end the sensei handed me a big potted maple and asked to come back in 3 weeks to show him what I was able to accomplish with the given characteristics of the tree. That this weekend. I guess I'm an apprentice in training now.. Oh and btw since i last posted I've now also got an illex holly weeping elm two cherry brush a jade inside oh and a big formal cypress. I've learned some interesting terminology, some of it overlaps with aquascaping. Most of them had never worked with aquatic plants I think they seemed pretty interested.

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#618 ·
HC + Seiryu Stone

Bald Cypress are leafing out nicely, Black pines have been trimmed(4-5x a year where I live), Elms are all full blown.




Emergent Belem hairgrass+ Serpentine Stone:
Not quite filled in, the grass will get shorter and denser in the next 2 months or so. It over winters really well here. HC dies if it gets below freezing, so I have to take that in or replant each season.

 
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