Kanorin
Omono
Backstory:
Over the last month or so I’ve checked out a few bonsai books from my local library, began reading these forums, picked up a few tools (concave cutters, pruning shears, some pre-mixed “bonsai soil") and have started to acquire or re-purpose several plants to use and learn from as “training trees,” with the expectation that it will be the trees that will be training me more so than the other way around.
My training trees are:
Tiger Bark Ficus – About 8” tall. “Mall-sai” It was pretty cheap, has some neat-looking hanging roots, and I figured I could learn something from it. I repotted it already because it came in this cheap plastic wicking chamber (water on the bottom with a wick up to the soil) which seemed like a great place for fungus to grow. I have it outside for the summer, but I can bring it inside in the late fall.
Meyer Lemon – About 18” tall. Got this as a gift in early summer. It’s been growing pretty well just sitting on the porch in full sun and the poor-drainage container that it came in. Recently, the leaves have been fading from the vibrant green to a more dull green, so I figured I’d repot it (done) in a better container with more drainage and pay more attention to it at the least. I have it outside for the summer, but I can bring it inside in the late fall.
Juniperus chinensis – About 2.5 ft tall. Found it on the clearance rack for $10 because it had a few dead branches. I pruned those dead branches off, put it in full sun, and other than watering it haven’t done anything to it. It looks a lot better than when I bought it ~10 days ago. If nothing else, I’ve got a spot in the yard that I can put it in eventually.
Japanese Maple “Sangu kaku” – About 2 ft. tall. I probably shouldn’t have bought this because it was a bit expensive for a small tree, but I really enjoy the red bark / green leaf contrast. Plus, growing up I had a Japanese maple that had green leaves w/ red highlights that was my favorite climbing tree as a kid. I’m thinking about planting this in the ground for a few years, perhaps try to air-layer it at some point in the next 2 years (mainly just to learn how to do it, but a free tree is good too), then maybe chop, regrow and see if the tree and I want to work something out long-term.
My goal is to learn some bonsai-applicable techniques with these trees. What I’d like some help with are some direction as to what things I could begin to learn/work on with each tree and when. From my reading, it seems like some of these (like the ficus) are a bit more resilient and might be the best test subject to learn how to root prune, for example. And maybe there’s a different tree that’s a good subject to learn a different technique with. Some techniques that I’d like to work on (I know that for some of these I’ll have to wait a while):
If any of these trees survive the next few months and look like they have some potential, I’ll post an individual thread to get into the nitty gritty of that particular tree. Right now I’m looking for some more big picture advice e.g. “the juniper is a good tree to learn __ on. It’s best if you do that in __ month. Make sure not to do __ in the same season.”
Thanks in advance!
Over the last month or so I’ve checked out a few bonsai books from my local library, began reading these forums, picked up a few tools (concave cutters, pruning shears, some pre-mixed “bonsai soil") and have started to acquire or re-purpose several plants to use and learn from as “training trees,” with the expectation that it will be the trees that will be training me more so than the other way around.
My training trees are:
Tiger Bark Ficus – About 8” tall. “Mall-sai” It was pretty cheap, has some neat-looking hanging roots, and I figured I could learn something from it. I repotted it already because it came in this cheap plastic wicking chamber (water on the bottom with a wick up to the soil) which seemed like a great place for fungus to grow. I have it outside for the summer, but I can bring it inside in the late fall.
Meyer Lemon – About 18” tall. Got this as a gift in early summer. It’s been growing pretty well just sitting on the porch in full sun and the poor-drainage container that it came in. Recently, the leaves have been fading from the vibrant green to a more dull green, so I figured I’d repot it (done) in a better container with more drainage and pay more attention to it at the least. I have it outside for the summer, but I can bring it inside in the late fall.
Juniperus chinensis – About 2.5 ft tall. Found it on the clearance rack for $10 because it had a few dead branches. I pruned those dead branches off, put it in full sun, and other than watering it haven’t done anything to it. It looks a lot better than when I bought it ~10 days ago. If nothing else, I’ve got a spot in the yard that I can put it in eventually.
Japanese Maple “Sangu kaku” – About 2 ft. tall. I probably shouldn’t have bought this because it was a bit expensive for a small tree, but I really enjoy the red bark / green leaf contrast. Plus, growing up I had a Japanese maple that had green leaves w/ red highlights that was my favorite climbing tree as a kid. I’m thinking about planting this in the ground for a few years, perhaps try to air-layer it at some point in the next 2 years (mainly just to learn how to do it, but a free tree is good too), then maybe chop, regrow and see if the tree and I want to work something out long-term.
My goal is to learn some bonsai-applicable techniques with these trees. What I’d like some help with are some direction as to what things I could begin to learn/work on with each tree and when. From my reading, it seems like some of these (like the ficus) are a bit more resilient and might be the best test subject to learn how to root prune, for example. And maybe there’s a different tree that’s a good subject to learn a different technique with. Some techniques that I’d like to work on (I know that for some of these I’ll have to wait a while):
- Keeping trees alive and healthy
- Shaping the canopy via branch and leaf pruning
- Shaping branches using wires
- Growing, chopping, and regrowing trunks to induce movement and taper
- Root pruning / encouraging more horizontal, fibrous roots
- Propagation by cuttings and air layering
If any of these trees survive the next few months and look like they have some potential, I’ll post an individual thread to get into the nitty gritty of that particular tree. Right now I’m looking for some more big picture advice e.g. “the juniper is a good tree to learn __ on. It’s best if you do that in __ month. Make sure not to do __ in the same season.”
Thanks in advance!
