Did someone say "Literati"?
- Thread starter Adair M
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M. Frary
Bonsai Godzilla
I kind of like the midway stage.
Wilson
Masterpiece
Looking good! Definitely enjoying your spring updates/posts!
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
If someone said literate....
They got far reaching FVG's.
Where is the final pic of 90% of that beautiful foliage removed.?
Or can I assume it is coming in the proper 10 years future?
Literate?
Dunno...
But I like it a lot!
Sorce
They got far reaching FVG's.
Where is the final pic of 90% of that beautiful foliage removed.?
Or can I assume it is coming in the proper 10 years future?
Literate?
Dunno...
But I like it a lot!
Sorce
Waltron
Chumono
the flamingos do it for me.
Oh, it's got a long way to go. I half bare rooted it to begin getting it out of Julian's turface. And up potted it.
The bark is still juvenile. Down at the bottom, the first couple inches have shed the juvi bark, so maybe in 10 years... I think Julian said he airlayered it about 20 years ago. It takes about 30 years to begin to get good bark.
The bark is still juvenile. Down at the bottom, the first couple inches have shed the juvi bark, so maybe in 10 years... I think Julian said he airlayered it about 20 years ago. It takes about 30 years to begin to get good bark.
just.wing.it
Deadwood Head
M. Frary
Bonsai Godzilla
Turface isn't a Boon endorsed substrate.
It doesn't to muck.
chansen
Shohin
Turface is really small, which is the main reason I stopped using it. I like to have a consistent particle size to help increase uniform saturation of the root mass. Also, others have noted a crust can form on it when using organic fertilizers which impedes drainage. It does not break down like akadama can. Akadama can break down when it's wet, when it's dry it's solid.
Turface is too small. And the way it's shaped doesn't allow for much air.
The shape of the particles in Boon Mix are more round. Lava, pumice, and akadama.
Think of marbles in a glass. Lots of space for air. Now think of a glass full of pennies. Much less room for air.
Turface particles are rather flat like a penny.
Yes, akadama does break down. When it's fresh, it's open and coarse. A coarse soil encourages fast root growth. Which is what you need when you've just repotted. Later, you want more fine roots. Well, akadama breaks down, which encourages fine roots.
Wondrous stuff akadama. After 3 or 4 years, yes, it's broken down to the point you need to replace the soil.
just.wing.it
Deadwood Head
I see, thanks!
wireme
Masterpiece
When you say need to replace the soil after 3-4 years how much are you talking about? Bare root to the core? Just around the edges? One side at a time again?
The question relates to trees established in your Boon mix already not transitioning into it.
Nice tree, I like it and what you've done. For some reason I was curious how it would look with left branches trending up and right trending down. So I scratched at it a bit to see and got this far.
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Cadillactaste
Neagari Gal
Someone has a fetish with pink flamingos? I like the tree Dario...Will you later reduce the foliage from it or keep it as is?
As you know, bare rooting conifirs is a bad idea. So, we Half Bare Root them to ease the transition from whatever they were in to Boon Mix.
As an aside: Boon didn't name his mix "Boon Mix". Others did. He was merely trying to replicate the mix he used as an apprentice in Japan.
But he DID invent the HBR technique. It's not done in Japan. Because they don't have to. Their bonsai are already in something similar to Boon Mix.
When Boon returned to the US after his apprenticeship, he saw that trees didn't fare well if they were repotted into Boon Mix. The roots just wouldn't grow into it. But he knew that trees loved it in Japan. So, as an experiment, he did a half bare root repot, and the trees grew new roots in the new mix like crazy. He's never turned back. (A year or two later, you HBR the other half.)
So, you will never see this in any book or magazine unless it's about Boon, or one of his students.
When Warren Hill was curator of the National collection, 7 bonsai died. Another dozen were very sick. In desperation, they called Boon for help. He found they all had bad organic based soil. He repotted the dozen sick trees in Boon Mix and half bare rooted them. All but one recovered fully.
So... once the tree is in Boon Mix, you don't have to HBR. It's in good soil. But you can. If you are changing into a new pot, or changing the shape of the root ball, or changing the planting angle, or simply you want to refresh the soil, a HBR is a good idea.
I did a HBR on this juniper just because I noticed it was draining slowly. It's been in Boon Mix for decades. Didn't change the pot or anything:
Also, doing the HBR allows you to really get a good look at the nebari, and you can fix problems. I eliminated a couple problem roots during this repotting. (I also removed all the wire and thinned it. Will probably rewire next fall.)
The flamingos... Red Neck Study Group.
Cadillactaste
Neagari Gal
How many of them do you have...from that group?
Cadillactaste
Neagari Gal
A few years back...the girl scouts did this fundraiser. Where you could prank a friend and flock them with flamingos. Lol...I only wished you were closer Adair. I would have sent them to you after posts of the redneck flamingo thing. Quirky...that's for sure.
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
Some bat like flamingos too!
What would JKL have to say about that!?
Sorce
What would JKL have to say about that!?
Sorce
Ok, for the Atlanta show, I didn't put in a pink flamingo, but I did put in a white Egret!
The rock has a natural pool, so I filled it with water so my Egret could go fishing!
Cadillactaste
Neagari Gal
Very classy Adair!
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