Attila Soos
Omono
That this thread isn't already locked is a mystery.
"Lock the building, fire everybody!"
Not so fast, my friend. This is democracy in action. There will be mud-fights, and there will be sweet reconciliation. That's life.
That this thread isn't already locked is a mystery.
This is indeed all very, very helpful, and insightful, and I thank you for your response.
I'm sure I made many mistakes yesterday and will make many more in the future. Again, perhaps in my haste to DO, I overcommitted. There is every chance. But here's something that I've learned from talking to people (novices and professionals alike), reading books, and combing the Internet: there seems to be very little consensus and a whole lot of personal opinion. It's a very tough thing to wade through when you're trying to learn a new art....
"Lock the building, fire everybody!"
Not so fast, my friend. This is democracy in action. There will be mud-fights, and there will be sweet reconciliation. That's life.
Thanks, and no problem.
The great thing about bonsai, is that in spite of all the opinions and talk, the results will show whether or not one was right or wrong. All the talk in the world will not change the results, and everybody will be able to see it.
There are two kind of people: the hopeless ones (that will eventually drop out), and those who make mistakes, and learn quickly from them (by admitting their mistakes to themselves). If you belong to the second group, you don't care about being right or wrong. You care about how your trees improve year after year.
In 17 years of doing bonsai, I've learned that although there are may different ways of doing things, there is always one way that is the best way, and until you find out the best way, you are always wasting time and effort. When it takes 10 miles to go straight from point A to point B, you don't want to drive 50 miles to get across. But many people do.
Don't think it could have been said better. Again, thank you for your observations and insight.
I do want to ask a specific question about something you said about repotting. You had said something along the lines that repotting a tiny juniper into a bonsai pot was going down a dead-end. Were you talking about the shimpaku? If that's the case, I wanted to ask about something. The container it was being grown in was skinnier but taller and of very closely the same volume as the pot it was ultimately placed in. If this was a mistake, where SHOULD I have put it, as it clearly couldn't have stayed in its container for much longer? If this repotting doesn't work I'll obviously want to know for next time.
Thanks so much!
I do want to ask a specific question about something you said about repotting. You had said something along the lines that repotting a tiny juniper into a bonsai pot was going down a dead-end. Were you talking about the shimpaku? If that's the case, I wanted to ask about something. The container it was being grown in was skinnier but taller and of very closely the same volume as the pot it was ultimately placed in. If this was a mistake, where SHOULD I have put it, as it clearly couldn't have stayed in its container for much longer? If this repotting doesn't work I'll obviously want to know for next time.
The smaller the pot, the slower the tree will grow. If you had placed it in a pot larger/deeper than the one it came from, it would allow for more root, in more space (like placing a tree in the ground does). The more root there is, the more growth the tree will want, and that will speed up the thickening of the trunk, the growth being put out etc...
Taking a small tree and putting it in a small pot will yield you a small tree.
I learned from a few folks to ignore a bonsai pot until I have a tree that I can be happy with. I grow everything now in the largest pot that I have space for, and will work on them there until it is where I kind of want it to be (nothing I have now).
Given that the ground is not an option for you, here is what it should be in IMHO.
View attachment 23899
http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=XXLGT_WIFbOA2AXA-PGxAQ&ved=0CLEBEPMCMAI
The plan is to keep it in this particular pot not for a long time, but for 2-3 years. The plant has a VERY small rootball and, ideally, shouldn't be entrapped by the pot in that amount of time.
In those pots I water 2-4 times per day during summer. Mind you that is in 115F + with 4% humidity and 30+mph winds. I also only give morning sun to mine (under shade cloth the rest of the day) but elsewhere in the country you should be fine with more. I have a crab apple that has been doing just fine in such a setup for 4 years now.
from my all-time favorite bonsai website
I think Attila meant to say his SECOND all-time favorite bonsai web site