bwaynef's brimming-backyard barrage of burgeoning bonsai

[bwaynef]

The one that came out of the plastic was barerooted (or as close to that as you can do w/ an azalea) and planted in straight kanuma. The other was planted in kanuma/pumice. There's no peat in the mix, and certainly not any that I've added. The one in the blue pot does have two different kinds of soil, now, but I think it should transition to the new soil pretty well. I *THINK* the previous soil was mostly akadama based. Seems too dark for kanuma and not so fragile. That said, the particle size was really small, but I think that has something to do with it being 4-ish years since repotting it.

 

[bwaynef]

As a follow up to post 72, of the 7 or 8 grafts I attempted only ones failed so far. The rest are budging the tape or grown through it.

This one’s a mess but it’s alive. I’ll have to contemplate what caused this after I get a closer look when I finish unwrapping it. Too tight, too much overlap, or too little prestretching the tape.

 

[bwaynef]

P. taeda, echinata, glabra, and virginiana. We’ll see how they do. Probably not smart to do this days before heading out of town and leaving the watering to a disinterested 11 year old, but I decided to jump when I had the chance.

 

[bwaynef]

This summer’s been tough but I’m still going. This hinoki had an interesting base but a weird bend in it.

It’s actually loose in the pot so a bit of engineering was required to shore it up. It’s not perfect but it’s better than it was. I ran copper thru the drain holes, coiling them right at or below soil level, then tied copper from them to a small screw in the bark. I’m expecting the wound from that to be handled well by the bark when that time comes.

A little more engineering and the rebar was fixed in place and I cut a block of wood as a brace and bent against that (protecting the bark with gasket material). I did the first tie at the top by hand by wasn’t happy with the movement so ended up using Jackie to get a little more sever bend in place.

 

[bwaynef]

That was a few weeks ago. I needed some scissor therapy last night so brought this one in before I lost it to self-induced shading.

Once thinned out, I added a few structural wires. I think the fronts a little off in the final picture.

 

[bwaynef]

I’m going on a trip in a couple weeks. My wife will be in a conference for 8 hours for 3 days. A brief search of things to do in Virginia Beach didn’t show a lot of bonsai stuff so I figured I’d kill time working on my own. I knew my barber chair stand wouldn’t travel well so I looked into borrowing a portable one from a friend. (Meco’s I think it was.) He’d sold it. Bonsai workstands that are in stock anywhere are pretty $pendy.

I had an idea that I thought was my own at the time but Im pretty sure I drew inspiration from a post here a few years back that I’d tucked away. One Rockwell Jawstand and a tabletop at Lowes and a few screws to marry the two and I’m in business.

There are a few things that can be added or improved, but this will do well for now. It seems a good compromise between functionality, features, and cost.

 

[bwaynef]

The tree isn’t much but flowers cover a multitude of …flaws.

 

[bwaynef]

At least the past 2 years this Amur maple has proceeded to leaf out so early and quickly that I haven’t been able to repot it at a point that I felt safe. I decided not to let that happen again.

I would’ve preferred something not so deep and maybe with a bit more space to
Let the roots run. We’ll see what comes of the tree in this pot and maybe it’ll justify the effort of finding a better pot.

I wish I’d taken an “upskirt” picture but was able to get to the bottom of the trunk.

 

[bwaynef]

Running late but just potted 2 Kotohime (inspired by Darth) from 1G cans and really dense soil into Anderson flats. I only took a pic of one. The other is largely the same. Also potted up a Carolina Hornbeam that has little taper but lots of movement. No pics of that one until the end of the week.

 

[bwaynef]

It’s HAPPENING! (These are mature Princess Persimmons that have reliably fruited for years now, but it’s the first time they’ve fruited in MY backyard.)

 

[bwaynef]

It’s just a nursery plant …but its a little more than “just” when its flowering. Taka no hana.

Also, from almost my backyard, aurora borealis last night in my inlaws driveway.

 

[bwaynef]

I didn’t get a before and doesn’t look like I’ve ever posted this one. It needs to be reduced and is in the process of being as you can see by the different qualities of foliage growing.

This one’s also a candidate for approach grafting but I like the blue foliage. I almost did it this summer. I’ll give it another year to cooperate.

No idea what species it is. Might not be fair to judge it til I finish repotting it and see if poor soil is what’s been holding it back.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Nice movement on it!