Proposal: CE Mallsai / Cheap as chips Contest

[BobbyLane]

If anything I'm trying to bolster OP's argument that this could be a cool competition! Ryan referred to them as "$20 Costco mallsai" so having incorporated 3 of them puts the material price at about what @ConorDash threw out as a potential cap.

yeh go for it. i doubt he'll mind. not for me though.

 

[Agriff]

Now that is pretty cool! i guess since ficus is evergreen he can hide bits of trunk and noone will really know,

Yeah! And he chalked everything out to see where they make contact, then carved away the cambium on each side and applied rooting hormone. The idea isn't just that they'll appear to be one base but that they'll literally fuse over time. He's going to be documenting how the project does and I'm super excited to see what happens.

 

[TinyArt]

Sorry, I was responding to BobbyLane, and we posted simultaneously -- I edited, but too late @Agriff

 

[Maiden69]

I know not many speak Spanish but the pictures speak for themselves. I think David Cortizas have one of the nicest Ficus bonsais outside from a tropical environment (Thailand, India, Philippines, etc...)

11 Tiger bark ficus (mallsai) fused over a myrtle dead trunk - https://www.escueladebonsaionline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Unión_Fuerza_parte1_Ebook.pdf
2 BIG ficus into a HUGE ficus - https://escueladebonsaionline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/HUGE-PATATA-ebook.pdf
2 Tiger bark ficus fused together - https://escueladebonsaionline.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/TIGER-BARK-COMERCIAL-ebook.pdf

He have a few other books that are still free to read. He did removed a few, I guess since he sold some of the trees the owners may not want the books out there?

Escuela de Bonsai Online is under construction

www.escueladebonsaionline.com

 

[TinyArt]

Thunderstorm nocked my offline, earlier...
@Agriff that looked like a power screwdriver in the last picture -- are the trunks bolted/screwed together?

 

[TinyArt]

Well, here's a question: for those of us in too-hot climate zones, will you allow ficus? (I'd gladly go for a chinese elm, but if the summer heat didn't get it, the winter warmth probably would...)

...meanwhile, I dragged out a book & realized that Chinese Elm temp requirements match those of Serissa (which seem happy enough so far), so...

In for a penny, in for a pound!

(And back to my newbie fantasies of awesome penjing landscapes )

 

[Agriff]

that looked like a power screwdriver in the last picture -- are the trunks bolted/screwed together?

Partially, yes. He screwed them together just at two of the major junctions.

 

[PA_Penjing]

this is completely in my wheel house. I have been wanting someone to propose this idea actually haha. So I'd definitely be in. I don't think the time line needs to be as drastic as 10 years. These elms never stop growing

 

[TinyArt]

@ConorDash, I hope you haven't gone off this idea... (Mea culpa? )

Amazon has "small" and "medium" outdoor CE in grower pots, for about $21 and $26, from same supplier as the US big box stores use. Best price AND no blue pot hanging around later. (Luck of the draw, but that's the boat I'm in locally, anyway.)

Anybody else game???

 

[El Duderino]

Anybody else game???

I am definitely game. I bought the exact tree you’re talking about this past week from Brussels via Amazon (so free shipping and got it in two days) as soon as I saw this thread. It’s really not bad. Definitely a mass produced Mallsai pot but green instead of blue. Not the “S” shape I expected either. Pretty cool little broom. I’m going try what I learned from @markyscott in the Ebihara thread to build the trunk base. Looking forward to developing this little guy further. Should be fun.

 

[penumbra]

Its pretty cool but I am not sure I'll be enjoying it in 8 - 10 years. I wonder how many people in there 80s do bonsai. I'd like to think I will but it may not be realistic. I'll just watch.
Y'all have fun now.

 

[TinyArt]

@El Duderino seizes the lead!

 

[Eckhoffw]

I’m in. I’m sure I’ll see something at one of the box stores/home improvement places I frequent often.
I’m also sure I’ll kill it before the competition really gets going!

 

[TinyArt]

also sure I’ll kill it before the competition really gets going!

My bet is on the puppy, if so!

 

[ConorDash]

Yeah sure, sod it. For those who are not too good for it, such as Bobby , Ficus mallsai too.

The spirit of it is a cheap, beginner tree, to turn in to something good.

The time line of 10 years is kind of meaningless. If you are working on this tree for 6-7 years, I am quite sure that after 9-10, you'll be quite attached to it + like it and it will turn in to something good and worth your time.
So yeh, sure, mallsai ficus and CE. Rules don't have to be strict, its about learning and developing and doing bonsai.

Its a contest, no competition, in fact. No need for competitive spirit. Thats not what Bonsai is about, in my mind.

So Yeah, I dont know how these things work.. do we need a specific start date?!

 

[El Duderino]

do we need a specific start date?!

I like the idea of setting a completion date and letting anyone enter whenever they want but starting material has to all meet the same criteria…

 

[Carol 83]

I wonder how many people in there 80s do bonsai.

You will be one of them.

 

[Patrick K]

I bought the same Brussels $25 dollar tree on Amazon as @El Duderino. Looks a little different but also not quite s curves. I’m not a big fan of the exposed root style, do Chinese elms ground layer well?

 

[El Duderino]

I bought the same Brussels $25 dollar tree on Amazon as @El Duderino. Looks a little different but also not quite s curves. I’m not a big fan of the exposed root style, do Chinese elms ground layer well?View attachment 387613

Wow! That is quite different indeed. Looks more like something you'd see on a Ficus. Good luck with it. I'm no expert, but I'd have to believe you could easily air layer this tree. The top movement is quite nice.

 

[TinyArt]

I'm hoping for a standard S-curve, to see if I can coax it into being a raft eventually. It will be fun to see how many starting forms we can turn into how many interesting results --