another step

[sam]

Do you have a particular area you search for your materials to turn into bonsai? For you seem to have an eye for what you see the tree can be prior to collection.

Hi darlene
depends on what I'm looking for. sometimes mountain, sometimes shoreline, backyards, pastures, hedgerows, etc. always keep my eyes on construction projects before site work starts. developing a sense for the potential of material before you collect is imperative, IMO.

best wishes, sam

 

[Cadillactaste]

Hi darlene
depends on what I'm looking for. sometimes mountain, sometimes shoreline, backyards, pastures, hedgerows, etc. always keep my eyes on construction projects before site work starts. developing a sense for the potential of material before you collect is imperative, IMO.

best wishes, sam

How far have you driven...to go hunting for materials? I am intriqued by how you find such amazing materials.

 

[sam]

Sam

I was curious. How old do you think the Chinese elm is and could you tell us a little about its history. Its always interesting hearing about your trees previous lives.

unsure about the age of this tree; from the size of the trunk I would guess it's old. this is a chinese import brought in by a now defunct online company. I happened across their site, saw the offering and snapped it up. Very affordable, BTW. In hindsight, I should have purchased other things before they closed.

best wishes, sam

 

[sam]

How far have you driven...to go hunting for materials? I am intriqued by how you find such amazing materials.

not very far by mainland standards. our island is quite small and the highway goes 2/3 way around. the other 1/3 is accessible only by sea or a tough hike. from where I live, I can drive east 40 miles or west 40 miles and run out of road. its not so much the distance one travels but rather where you look and what you see.

best wishes, sam

 

[sam]

another step developing ficus and premna

premna defoliated before branch pruning and wire. collected ficus

best wishes, sam

 

[808an]

Sam,

The ficus that you collected. How long did it have to stay in a training box before you moved it into its current bonsai pot? What kind of root work did you have to do to it? Thank you for any info you can provide.

 

[sam]

flat cut the bottom then planted in a shallow box for about 2 years while looking for a large enough pot I could afford. finally found the 28" shallow oval mica the tree is in.

best wishes, sam

 

[808an]

Thank you Sam...I currently have a ficus living in what I think is too deep of a pot. I think I will remove some of the roots so that it would eventually fit into a more shallow pot. Knowing your ficus survived and is thriving after a flat cut gives me confidence to try what I am thinking of doing.

 

[Cadillactaste]

flat cut the bottom then planted in a shallow box for about 2 years while looking for a large enough pot I could afford. finally found the 28" shallow oval mica the tree is in.

best wishes, sam

Never fails to amaze me the girth of a successful rooting. I used to think of cuttings as tender tiny starters. I'm sure that still applies to some. But that I thought ficus was finicky and all...this makes me think they maybe hardier than I first thought.

 

[sam]

living in hawaii makes a lot of things doable. the base of this ficus is probably 25 inches across. the pot is 28 inches wide 3 inches deep.

best wishes, sam

 

[Cadillactaste]

living in hawaii makes a lot of things doable. the base of this ficus is probably 25 inches across. the pot is 28 inches wide 3 inches deep.

best wishes, sam

Location...location...location is the key then. I see...thanks for explaining. So possibly not done in a northern area that gets cold winters...

 

[Vin]

..the base of this ficus is probably 25 inches across. the pot is 28 inches wide 3 inches deep.

best wishes, sam

Sounds like something I should be able to buy at Walmart

 

[sam]

another step. development of a cascade purple bougainvillea

collected this cascade bougainvillea stump with 67 others of similar size in 2011. sharing some before/after pictures taken today of another step in the journey. the last picture is of a red bougainvillea with a great trunk

best wishes, sam

 

[Cadillactaste]

Again...Christmastime feeling when I open your posts! it's amazing...what you have accomplished with those trees Sam!

I must confess...I am stalking your past threads...in hopes of enlightenment as to your styling techniques and such.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Sam, your trees are amazing. I love them, and you have an excellent eye. Great job at styling. Thanks for sharing

Location...location...location is the key then. I see...thanks for explaining. So possibly not done in a northern area that gets cold winters...

Darlene - you can do ficus, just remember they are warm growers. Only work on them after night time temperatures are above 60 F in summer, and will stay that warm for at least 6 weeks after you do major work. This year was a bust as far as getting good growth outside for ficus for me, so I did no work on mine - just too cool. But most summers you can usually begin work by middle of June, and all of July. If during this window of time you want to "flat cut" a major trunk and root it, it is possible. Just be sure the weather is warm, or move it indoors if there are going to be cool nights.

Growth slows to a crawl once temperatures cool off. In northern Ohio or Illinois or Michigan, one can only keep ficus growing the whole year round if you use a warm greenhouse heated to have at least 60 F at night. But with our sometimes short summers, we just have to settle for 3-4 months of good growth per year if we don't have a nice toasty greenhouse.

 

[thumblessprimate1]

I love that juniper from post 10. It gives me some ideas that I hope will materialize.

 

[sam]

back in the day

cascade

best wishes, sam

 

[Cadillactaste]

cascade

best wishes, sam

Night shots are awesome!

 

[Lancaster]

Nice Boogies, Sam! Thanks for sharing!

-Troy

 

[sam]

tanuki

wired

best wishes, sam