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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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#433 ·
My leaves are gone on the maple. The Dawn redwood is getting close to being all gone also. Repotting time.

Also, now is a good time to grow moss(well, here) for the ground cover.

Grind in a blender or chop up fine and add water, some light ferts, and then slather it on the soil and around the base of the tree. Mist often(daily) and hopefully 30-50F temp ranges.

My Chinese elm tends to lose some leaves, but not all here, the cork bark elm loses most of them. The rest are evergreen.


Antbug, you might wire those branches and then the ones you do not want.
Winter maple branches are brittle, be careful.
 
#436 ·
Here are the two new trees. I love this juniper. For $24, it couldn't be beat! It did require some decent pruning, though. Not just anyone might have developed this shape out if this tree. I could have developed a totally different shape but decided on this one.



The other is a satsuki azalea.



I would call both valuable additions to my growing collection.
 
#441 ·
My First Bonsai! "Juniper"

So excited and influenced from you guys, that I had to find one my self before heading back to Utah :)

Stopped by a friendly Bonsai Nursery IN SACRAMENTO and picked up two Juniper Species. The lady said that these are the best beginner plants/indoor.

I'm gonna need lots of help/suggestions on caring for them and shaping them! :D

Im stopping by once more before leaving this Saturday, just incase theres another tree waiting for me ;)

Heres a lame pic of them!

 
#442 ·
So excited and influenced from you guys, that I had to find one my self before heading back to Utah :)

Stopped by a friendly Bonsai Nursery IN SACRAMENTO and picked up two Juniper Species. The lady said that these are the best beginner plants/indoor.

I'm gonna need lots of help/suggestions on caring for them and shaping them! :D

Im stopping by once more before leaving this Saturday, just incase theres another tree waiting for me ;)

Heres a lame pic of them!

Junipers are most definitely NOT indoor plants. They need to be outside year round.


Good find though.
 
#449 ·
Okay, I figured. They were sort of ordered from most to least favorite from right to left.

Wow! Do you have any other shots of your trees during other seasons?
Search this thread for posts by me, there should be quite a few of them :icon_smil
 
#450 ·
Here's a small update to the top three of my collection. The Chinese elm has put out a full new set of leaves. And it's still only mid-February. The root over rock trident maple is beginning to bud. The juniper obviously has all of its foliage.





 
#453 ·
Thanks! Sounds cool, post pics!

Late Winter is a good time of year to repot also, and certainly to moss the sediments.

Yogurt and moss, cut up finely, paint brush this on to the soil and then cover with plastic wrap loosely.

You can do the same thing for hard scapes where you need to moss a lot of rock or wood.
Thanks for the advice Tom. I got some "Kyoto Moss Spores" in MA when I got the Azalea and Juniper, any experience with such a thing? How long does the method you've described take? How are your trees doing?
 
#452 ·
Late Winter is a good time of year to repot also, and certainly to moss the sediments.

Yogurt and moss, cut up finely, paint brush this on to the soil and then cover with plastic wrap loosely.

You can do the same thing for hard scapes where you need to moss a lot of rock or wood.
 
#457 ·
Both of your bonsai are so-called "mallsai", mass-produced at places for malls and for sale at people at intersections on their cars' roofs. :hihi:

Unfortunately, mallsai generally tend to be unhealthy. I've never gotten one, as I couldn't bring myself to do so as a result of my purist aesthetic/borderline elitist attitude, but I hear that they're usually sold already half-dead, essentially. Because of this, they tend to turn away a lot of newbies because they think that if they can't care for a $10 tree, they surely shouldn't take the risk to invest in a real bonsai which would probably run them five to ten times that.

I'm just telling you guys this upfront so that you're not discouraged. Technically those are really pre-bonsai by most standards as they haven't got much shape or foliage to them, because they're thin branches cut from larger trees and rooted for a year before selling. Additionally, both of you guys seem to be keeping them indoors. Sure way to kill them. Trust me, I nearly killed my first tree by being stubborn and keeping it indoors, and if I'd killed it, I certainly wouldn't have put several hundred dollars into bonsai within a one year period from then!

Hopefully I haven't discouraged you guys too much. Let me know if you have any questions, and f you want links to some good bonsai places online, message me!
 
#460 ·
I figured...

Anyway, it's growing. I've been adding some npk weekly and have a lot of new growth. My watering routine seems to be working too.

After some quick research, I found the soil it's in to be completely wrong and really want to re-pot it. Since it's actually not totally unhealthy I'm apprehensive about doing so. I'd love to hear an opinion about the correct soil (not really soil I guess..) and proper way to go about re-potting it.

Edit - I just searched Mallsai, the bane of the bonsai community

I feel like tool :(
 
#458 ·
I got a Fukien Tea Bonsai from walmart for $7. It was dropping leaves when I got it, it was never watered. Ever since I bought it Ive watered it weekly and mist it a few times a day. Its doin well, even flowered. Its in direct light for a little while and indirect for a good while. Its indoors as it will die in the cold outside. According to the comments online, it dosnt seem to be an easy one to keep. Surprised its doing well...for now.
 
#462 ·
Are the moss spores from Joshua Roth? I bought some of those a few years ago. I have some growing right now in a small terrarium and some I keep outside in a covered plastic flat. When I first got them I sixed them with a little buttermilk. It takes a while to get going but then it does fairly well. It is a ver7y nice moss. Great color and texture.
 
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