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  1. BrianBay9

    Sinuous Crepe Myrtle

    That's a wild one. I like it.
  2. BrianBay9

    Crape Myrtle thread graft?

    Since this has moved from theoretical to specific I guess I should post some pics. Here's the CM in question. The decision is, one trunk or two? One trunk has nice taper and movement. As you can see from this angle, below, the second trunk is a straight cylinder. I could break up...
  3. BrianBay9

    Crape Myrtle thread graft?

    Yes. Just asking for any experience. I guess the positive thought is, if I drill a hole for a thread graft that doesn't take, it may be enough of a wound to stimulate a bud, as Brian Van Fleet suggests. At some point I'll report back. Right now the tree is just a trunk and I'm growing out...
  4. BrianBay9

    Crape Myrtle thread graft?

    I'll probably try, but they drop branches on a whim. I haven't heard of anyone that has done it.
  5. BrianBay9

    Crape Myrtle thread graft?

    Anybody successfully done a thread graft on crape myrtle?
  6. BrianBay9

    Chinese Elms escaped..

    Here's a good place to start. https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/the-science-of-air-layering.27034/
  7. BrianBay9

    Best way to fuse two trunks?

    Some species of trees will fuse trunks easily, but in my experience, oaks do not.
  8. BrianBay9

    CM BONSAI!!

    Mine arrived today in great shape! I would post pics but they'd look the same as @rollwithak above.
  9. BrianBay9

    Calling the Crepe Myrtle Experts

    I was successful with a couple of thumb-thick cuttings from a standard CM
  10. BrianBay9

    Calling the Crepe Myrtle Experts

    I just acquired my first CM's over the winter and was planning to approach them this way. Year 1, one third of branches left to run and flower while the rest are cut back. Year 2, different third left to run. Year 3 complete the cycle. I'd be very interested if that was the approach he tried...
  11. BrianBay9

    When/how to use Miracid and miracle grow?

    You test the water that drains from the soil. Let watering soak in, wait an hour or so, touch the strip to water at the drain hole.
  12. BrianBay9

    When/how to use Miracid and miracle grow?

    Are you on municipal water or well? Most municipalities keep their water basic (8 or so) to reduce potential problems with lead pipes. They should provide you with a report once a year with pH readings. You can assume you're basic and could benefit from some Miracid now and then. On a well...
  13. BrianBay9

    Elm Design

    I would reduce the trunk height by half.
  14. BrianBay9

    First raw bonsai from garden material

    There's no problem keeping all the roots you have, as long as reverse taper is not a concern as @Shibui notes. The entire goal of the first year after collection is to allow the tree to rebuild roots it lost during collection. Plant it and don't prune, style, move it, etc. Just let it...
  15. BrianBay9

    California Coastal Live Oak Progression Thread

    The fog belt - pretty much from Crescent City to Moro Bay, coast to 20 miles inland. Yeah, the LA Basin doesn't count. Good for your deadwood though. Yes, you can use a wood hardener.
  16. BrianBay9

    California Coastal Live Oak Progression Thread

    I like your carving there, but be aware the wood on coast live oak rots out pretty quick. If you're out of the fog belt, though, yours might do better than average. Nice start on that tree.
  17. BrianBay9

    Reciprocating saw vs Japanese hand saw

    I use the reciprocating saw exclusively when collecting, cutting roots in soil. Main advantages - power, and easily changeable blades. As discussed the dirt will quickly dull any blade. The recip. blades are cheaper and easier to change.
  18. BrianBay9

    A tough year of bonsai

    Are you close enough to the coast to harvest fog/mist/humidity? Something like shade cloth hung up vertically can capture humidity from the air, funneled to barrels. In South San Francisco I could collect more than 5 gallons a day this way.
  19. BrianBay9

    Design for trees that have one dominant root

    Gonna need a forklift for that thing! Oh wait. Is that your carved plywood "slab"? Still heavy I bet, but at least it's not a stone.
  20. BrianBay9

    Plant Growth Regulators for Bonsai Experimental Trial

    Any experimental data is better than no experimental data. You do what you can and see what happens. Very few of us have the space, time and material to do the experiment properly. You're doing more than most.
  21. BrianBay9

    Plant Growth Regulators for Bonsai Experimental Trial

    Nice start! The problem you will run into is lack of replication. One plant for each condition may not allow you to draw any conclusions. What if you have one "dud" plant because of its genetics? Better if you had at least three replicate plants per condition, but realistically you'd need...
  22. BrianBay9

    When to Yamadori?

    Yeah sorry. Sometimes you can skip a word without effect. But not "not".
  23. BrianBay9

    When to Yamadori?

    That's bad for your first collected tree. You don't want to take the very best available to you in the first attempt. Work out the kinks in collecting and after care. Once you're confident you can get that species to survive, then go back and collect better specimens. Good job. I'm sure...
  24. BrianBay9

    Pinus sylvestris yamadori

    Collecting from rock pockets is the easiest collecting - if you choose the right tree. As @riversedge says, rock the trunk and see if the root mass around it moves too. If so you might just have to clip a couple of support roots running into a crevice or two, and pry the whole root ball out...
  25. BrianBay9

    First post: Should I repot or air layer this first?

    I would repot into good soil, but with minimal root work. That might mean putting it back in the same nursery can. If it responds well then do air layers this year. You can put off the final air layer above the graft until you're sure.
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