Acacia Advice, Please?

Omar said:
Are Acacias treated as sub-tropical or deciduous when grown as bonsai?
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Do not know variety but some Acacia are hardy here in zone 8 where we sometimes get below 0 degrees F;).
 
Dorian Fourie said:
Well honestly if it dies now it dies. No more sentimental value to it. My friend that left it is now a ex friend after he screwed me out of R100k.

I will continue to try and grow it but not with the passion I had before. I can put that effort into a more deserving tree.

But I do like the way you described it. I learnt a few good lessons strangling that tree.
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Complete understanding of angst of swindlement. However tree is innocent of this so please allow self to love and feel love of that innocence;). Has nice trunk to work from.
 
That is probably the only reason why It is not in the bin. The tree didn't do anything to me so I should keep it alive. The piece that died back and cut off could be the dead friendship.( wow. Deep thoughts today
 
So the tree has been growing nicely after riding itself of the old evil :eek::confused::D

But now I need to decide how I would like to proceed with this. The 2 branches that have currently grown are still young and can be wired.
15781733_679653625549074_4610288497711156966_n.jpg

This is what I was thinking as a possibility
15781733_679653625549074_4610288497711156966_n.jpg

Thoughts?

Any suggestions?
 
I'm like a staunch AWB when it comes to Acacias. I love them so much, I only see them in their naturals styles.... :eek:
My other problem is, if I wanted to go outside the box, i'm pretty daft when it comes to design and vision, so I guess i'm pretty much of no use to you here....:rolleyes:
Hopefully the virt wizard @YukiShiro will dazzle you with his innovative thinking....:p
 
Hi everyone,

I'm sorry! It's been a lo-o-o-o-o-ng time. Starting uni has been hectic. :oops: On the bright side, my bonsai is still alive and has grown (always a massive plus) :p.
There are a couple of things I'd like to ask, if you don't mind. :)

IMG_5111.JPG
You can see the patches of yellowing. Not the most flattering picture ... :( :confused: P.S: I don't use the Pot Plant fertiliser in the background ... that's for my other plants ... I use a fertiliser specifically for bonsai.

It's raining in the next few pics, so her leaves are closed up ---

IMG_5117.jpg

All of the pics are about a week or two old, as it's night right now so I can't take photos, but I've been procrastinating long enough, so I'm just going to use these.

IMG_5112.jpg
IMG_5113.jpg
(That near-death pot plant is my Dad's. Just so you know. :P )

IMG_5118.JPG
As this photo is a bit old ... that 'swirl' now contains some green moss that's growing quite well ...IMG_5116.jpg

Some of the leaves went a little yellow and she dropped a few, although not too many, thankfully --- I think perhaps as a result of the sun scorching them a few times as well as the pouring rain we had (a while ago) --- but she's doing better now, with a flush of growth in a few places, so I'm not too worried, although I would like to know whether it would be best to pull those leaves off or just leave them be --- ?. Admittedly, they bother me a little, but not overly so ...
The tree has grown a lot, as you can see, and I'm wondering when would be the best time to prune. Additionally .... shaping ... how does that work? :eek: And when does that happen? And how would I even decide on the shape I'd want to guide the tree towards? As you can see ... the shape is ... interesting.
It's Autumn where I am, so the weather is getting colder. Will the Acacia's leaves fall off? Do I bring her inside? I've been leaving her outside through the rain and the scorching sun of late summer and now the cold, partly because she's a tree (even if she's a bonsai) and I want her to harden against the climate and not become sensitive, and partly because she's hella heavy :D. I'd rather she lose a few leaves and toughen up than be unable to handle the weather. Do I still fertilise her about every 3 weeks (although I actually fertilise about one a month, and a little under what they suggest, as I'm terrified of scorching her roots) or is it less/ more?

Are there any bugs I should watch out for? I've seen quite a few black and white insects on her that I usually brush off with a paintbrush when I can catch them (I really try not to kill them). There doesn't seem to have been an obvious adverse reaction by the tree to their presence yet. And ants! I remember something about there being a symbiotic relationship between ants and the Acacia, but I also know that my other plants get their roots destroyed by ants if we let the ants take over. (Note: my bonsai is not covered in ants or anything, just one or two here or there; nothing out of the ordinary. I'm just curious as to the effect of ants on Acacia.)

As a result of the rain, some of the bark has blackened (I tried to prevent this by moving the bonsai closer the the wall -- and ergo under the roof -- when it rained for long stretches of time but it still happened. :oops: Thus, some of the bark on the main trunk has peeled backwards (not off; it's still attached) ... is there a way to encourage the Acacia to not lose that piece of bark or is that not possible? And is there a way to encourage the trunk to grow thicker?

I'm sorry for the long post, and thank you for all your help. :)
P.S: I haven't located a bonsai group yet ... although I haven't tried to as much as I should ... :oops: I'm kind of introverted, so ...
 
Angela said:
Hi everyone,

I'm sorry! It's been a lo-o-o-o-o-ng time. Starting uni has been hectic. :oops: On the bright side, my bonsai is still alive and has grown (always a massive plus) :p.
There are a couple of things I'd like to ask, if you don't mind. :)

View attachment 142878
You can see the patches of yellowing. Not the most flattering picture ... :( :confused: P.S: I don't use the Pot Plant fertiliser in the background ... that's for my other plants ... I use a fertiliser specifically for bonsai.

It's raining in the next few pics, so her leaves are closed up ---

View attachment 142879

All of the pics are about a week or two old, as it's night right now so I can't take photos, but I've been procrastinating long enough, so I'm just going to use these.

View attachment 142882
View attachment 142883
(That near-death pot plant is my Dad's. Just so you know. :p )

View attachment 142889
As this photo is a bit old ... that 'swirl' now contains some green moss that's growing quite well ...View attachment 142892

Some of the leaves went a little yellow and she dropped a few, although not too many, thankfully --- I think perhaps as a result of the sun scorching them a few times as well as the pouring rain we had (a while ago) --- but she's doing better now, with a flush of growth in a few places, so I'm not too worried, although I would like to know whether it would be best to pull those leaves off or just leave them be --- ?. Admittedly, they bother me a little, but not overly so ...
The tree has grown a lot, as you can see, and I'm wondering when would be the best time to prune. Additionally .... shaping ... how does that work? :eek: And when does that happen? And how would I even decide on the shape I'd want to guide the tree towards? As you can see ... the shape is ... interesting.
It's Autumn where I am, so the weather is getting colder. Will the Acacia's leaves fall off? Do I bring her inside? I've been leaving her outside through the rain and the scorching sun of late summer and now the cold, partly because she's a tree (even if she's a bonsai) and I want her to harden against the climate and not become sensitive, and partly because she's hella heavy :D. I'd rather she lose a few leaves and toughen up than be unable to handle the weather. Do I still fertilise her about every 3 weeks (although I actually fertilise about one a month, and a little under what they suggest, as I'm terrified of scorching her roots) or is it less/ more?

Are there any bugs I should watch out for? I've seen quite a few black and white insects on her that I usually brush off with a paintbrush when I can catch them (I really try not to kill them). There doesn't seem to have been an obvious adverse reaction by the tree to their presence yet. And ants! I remember something about there being a symbiotic relationship between ants and the Acacia, but I also know that my other plants get their roots destroyed by ants if we let the ants take over. (Note: my bonsai is not covered in ants or anything, just one or two here or there; nothing out of the ordinary. I'm just curious as to the effect of ants on Acacia.)

As a result of the rain, some of the bark has blackened (I tried to prevent this by moving the bonsai closer the the wall -- and ergo under the roof -- when it rained for long stretches of time but it still happened. :oops: Thus, some of the bark on the main trunk has peeled backwards (not off; it's still attached) ... is there a way to encourage the Acacia to not lose that piece of bark or is that not possible? And is there a way to encourage the trunk to grow thicker?

I'm sorry for the long post, and thank you for all your help. :)
P.S: I haven't located a bonsai group yet ... although I haven't tried to as much as I should ... :oops: I'm kind of introverted, so ...
Click to expand...
Hi Angela

Looks like both of us have been busy. Sorry that it took so long to write a response. Still waiting for you to let us know where in SA you are as it makes so much difference to how you will treat your bonsai in the future.

With regards to your acacia.

Right now, I would cut off all the lowest branches. Your tree looks very happy so removing the branches won't do any damage. Then leave the tree as it is and do not work on it. Start to reduce your watering as with it getting colder, you want the soil to dry out before watering again to that there is no chance of root rot happening. The leaves should start to turn yellow and fall off. IF they do not, then you will have to remove all the leaves yourself by Mid - End June. Acacia's need to loose their leaves and rest during the winter months so keep your eyes on that. If they fall off on their own, bonus.

Then it is the waiting game till your tree starts to bud. When that happens, I would suggest repotting it and making sure you have a image in mind of your future tree. When you repot it, you will make sure the angle of the trunk is correct and then you will look at trimming back your canopy.

Have a look at the following link. This is the best way to describe how you will go about trimming your canopy on the acacia.

http://lennardsbonsaibeginnings.blogspot.co.za/2012/06/acacia-burkeiblack-monkey-thorn.html

I hope that helps but let us know how it goes.
 
I was born and raised in South Africa. Now that I'm in China, I want a tree like this, can't find one anywhere. I'd even love to have a doringboom, I miss seeing them.
 
I have blue leaf acacia growing in my back yard, but they look nothing like your tree. They are considered an invasive species here and will grow everywhere - water or not. They tend to take a shrub-like form, but can grow into a pretty large tree if you trim them to a single trunk.

Other than that they are indestructible. Prune them, bare root them, jump on them, drop them out of an airplane... not sure how to kill them :) I get them growing out of the hardscape by our pool when seeds drop into the cracks.

Your tree (with the small compound leaves) is much prettier.

thumbnail.php.jpg
 
Bonsai Nut said:
I have blue leaf acacia growing in my back yard, but they look nothing like your tree. They are considered an invasive species here and will grow everywhere - water or not. They tend to take a shrub-like form, but can grow into a pretty large tree if you trim them to a single trunk.

Other than that they are indestructible. Prune them, bare root them, jump on them, drop them out of an airplane... not sure how to kill them :) I get them growing out of the hardscape by our pool when seeds drop into the cracks.

Your tree (with the small compound leaves) is much prettier.

View attachment 146046
Click to expand...
South Africa and Australia both had the genus Acacia tree but they were actually very different types of trees. The African Acacias were the trees like the black monkey thorn and camel thorn etc and are like the trees that you see in almost every Africa safari video ever shown looking like an umbrella on the savanna
IMG_0662.JPG

Then the Australians had the Acacia like yours B-Nut that looks totally different

Now because Africa is actually more of a going backward continent (instead of going forward) and Australia the opposite (going forward and not backward) the botany experts of Australia laid claim to the Acacia genus and secured the rights to keep the Acacia genus for their varieties of trees with no fight from the clueless Africans. Africa had to reclassify all their Acacia into the genus Senegalia and vachellia.

Believe me that this was not well received in Africa.
http://www.krugerpark.co.za/krugerpark-times-3-1-acacias-21849.html
 
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