Recent content by matthughes404

@Adair M, do you remember what gauge copper wire that Tyler used to re-position the large branches during his demonstration? I'm thinking I'll need wire with similar holding power to for the side branches on my juniper.

Here are a couple of shots of my entry (after getting some extra moss and help from our guest artist Friday afternoon): Seeing it up higher on the show table really showed me how badly the tree is leaning back... when viewing it straight on, lots of the foliage is hidden. Tyler Sherrod, our...

A 5'x8' U-Haul trailer is only $19 if you return it to the same location within 24 hours, which is probably cheaper than renting a minivan.

No I kept it in my pants, thank you very much! :p

Got my pot oiled and put some moss around my tree the past couple of nights. I had a lot less usable moss than I thought, so I wish I had started on these finishing touches last week! I'll probably end up using crushed granite as a top dressing on the rest of the soil.

I'll be showing my procumbens juniper: That picture was taken a couple of weeks ago, after the first root prune out of its nursery container. I was lucky enough to have this pot on hand because I didn't have time to go shopping before the show! I had been planning to do a two-tree display...

It's usually sunny on warmer days, so I wasn't completely off base! :p One more question... what sort of watering schedule should I plan on? I've had a daily watering timer on my bonsai bench since spring, but I know that they'll need much less than that in the cold months.

Ah, I didn't think of this. Is that to keep them from coming out of dormancy on warmer days?

This is the first winter I that I've got a few trees in display pots instead of larger training pots, and I want to make sure I prepare for the cold weather. I'm in zone 7a around Atlanta, which has relatively mild winters. From what I've read on Evergreen Garden Works and Bonsai4Me, I...

Bringing this thread back from the grave! I finally had a chance to put a tourniquet wire on my trident maple last weekend, to try and build up some root flair for an air layer next spring. I think the reason everyone recommends copper is that aluminum wire tears very easily when you tighten...

@AlainK, can you use aluminum wire for a tourniquet like this, or is copper wire required? Everything I've read about tourniquet air-layering online says to use copper wire, but I haven't read a good reason why.

A couple of reasons: Try my first air-layer on something that I'm not super invested in My collection is still small enough that I'd love to have a shohin trident maple, even if it's just okay stock I hope this doesn't come across like I don't value your advice! I'm just curious to try out an...

I defoliated this maple about six weeks ago, without understanding the full effects of it. It did reduce the leaf size, but now I know that this is at the cost of thickening the branches. After seeing @AlainK's awesome results I think I'll apply a wire tourniquet to the tree this season, and...

That's going to be a great looking nebari after you chop the top!

I'm hoping to air layer the top half of my trident maple, because the trunk is too tall, and want to see if I can get a "free" tree out of the trunk chop. It's just getting to the hot part of the summer in Georgia... Did I miss my window this year? Or can I go ahead and start the air layer in...