Search results

  1. Stan Kengai

    Temperatures on the rise in Georgia

    After a week of bitterly cold weather that saw temperatures rise above freezing for about 6 hours, forecasters predict a warming trend ahead. The cause of the rising temps, forecasters say, is the University (sic) of Georgia's loss in the national championship game, which negates the need for...
  2. Stan Kengai

    Winter habits of Chinese quince

    I have acquired a few Chinese quince over the last couple years and haven't had time to learn their habits yet. We've had a really warm spell since January 8, and all of my Chinese quince are starting to leaf out. By leaf out, I mean leaves unfurling. This coming week we are forecast to get...
  3. Stan Kengai

    5 foot tall shohin Trident maple

    Back story: I got this tree in 2010 from a bonsai nursery. It had been grown over a tile (poorly) and had almost no taper, but the shape of the trunk and fat roots intrigued me. Having been out of bonsai for several years and wanting something approximating mature, I put it in a bonsai pot...
  4. Stan Kengai

    Stan's Chinese Quince

    This tree was purchase in June of 2014. The plant was in a relatively water retentive mix and did not seem very strong. Almost as soon as I got it home it developed an infection on the lower trunk. A previous cut started shriveling, and over the next few months, the bark "wilted". I repotted...
  5. Stan Kengai

    Japanese Quince accent

    This is a Chaenomeles contorted salmon pink from Brent at evergreengardenworks.com It is a 4 year old cutting that I made of an extremely contorted branch. It's in an Erin pot, which is too big. But I haven't decided on a planting angle yet. The large (above the) surface root is somewhat of...
  6. Stan Kengai

    A Strange Case of Leaf Reduction (garden visitor)

    In the garden today, I found this strange creature attempting to defoliate a trident maple. At first glance, I thought it was a fungus. I've never seen anything like it. Turns out to be a Hag Moth caterpillar, a.k.a. Monkey Slug. Sorry I didn't get anything for scale, but the bugger was...
  7. Stan Kengai

    Shuho pot

    Not much bonsai excitement this time of year. Still awaiting the Ume blooms. So I'd thought I'd post this pot I recently purchased. I must admit that I have seen very few Shuho pots that I have liked, and none nearly this good, IMHO. To me his glazes are normally garish and distracting...
  8. Stan Kengai

    Trident Maple - Need air-layer tips

    I have a Trident maple in a growing bed that I want to air-layer this spring. I put a wire tourniquet at the proposed layer site this past fall (like I've seen on a couple of Japanese blogs). The swelling got out of hand pretty quickly and the layer site lost the proportion that made me want...
  9. Stan Kengai

    What happened to IBC?

    I know things were slow over there, just wondering if this is temporary, glitch, hack or other. It is/was a great place to see work by international artists.
  10. Stan Kengai

    Ebay's best (reprise)

    I was browsing Ebay this evening and came across this stunning shohin black pine that can be yours for only $94.99. Darn, I shouldn't have told y'all. Now someone will beat me to it. That curly right bar branch is a sight to behold, but my favorite is the apex that is thicker than the base...
  11. Stan Kengai

    Flowering Quince 'Dragon's Blood', but not really

    I just wanted to share some pics of the Quince I got this weekend. The variety is supposed to be 'Dragon's Blood': semi-dwarf with bright red double flowers. My plant has dark pink flowers. When the flower first opened, it was marbled pink and white (or pale pink). Could this be because it...
  12. Stan Kengai

    Crab Apple - Opinions? but I'm not going to listen :P

    Here is a Crab I got this weekend from Steve Cratty at Plant City Bonsai. It is 9" tall and has a +1.5" trunk. I knew the moment I saw it what I wanted to do with it, but I'd like to see what you 'Nuts think, just in case you see something better. I don't know the variety. A few of the...
  13. Stan Kengai

    Soil mechanics regarding particle size

    A little soil mechanics lesson, if I may. The idea struck me that I should share this when I read an exchange on another thread about inexpensive Turface. Imagine two identical bonsai pots filled with Turface (or any soil component), where pot A has only 1/4" sized particles and pot B has...
  14. Stan Kengai

    Inexpensive Turface MVP

    Soil sifting time is here again, in anticipation of next spring and the few quinces I'll repot this fall. In checking around today for soil components, I came across Turface MVP at Ewing Irrigation for $9 for a 50 lb. bag. I'm not guaranteeing your local store will have it at this price, but...
  15. Stan Kengai

    Article on mycorrhizal fungi

    I came across this article on mycorrhizal fungi, and thought I'd share it with you 'nuts. It's not a scientific article and is geared toward landscaping, but I think it's interesting and somewhat useful. It also makes a strong argument for using organic fertilizers on mycorrhizae dependent...
  16. Stan Kengai

    Ground layering a hornbeam?

    Back-story: I have an American Hornbeam that was collected from a stream bed last spring. It is currently growing in a garden bed and will probably be there for several more years as the trunk is only about 2" right now. (Aside: I know, why not collect a larger tree? This tree was growing...
Top Bottom