aidan13
Yamadori
Bear with me, this is going to be a long post!
Intro
In another thread I mentioned my intentions to bonsai some rosemary cuttings I propagated a few months ago, and now that I've figured out a plan for what I want to do I've decided to start a thread to chronicle this experiment. First, some backstory:
I'm in school right now and I live in the dorms, so growing conditions are far from ideal. In spite of that, I have brought along a few plants to keep me company. (I didn't bring anything I truly cared about; I wasn't optimistic about survival rates) In utter defiance of the laws of nature, I have managed to keep a small ficus, a spider plant, and a small fern alive under a desk lamp in my frigid room with little to no natural light coming in from outside.
With that unexpected success under my belt, I decided to bring in an addition to my burgeoning dormitory garden. Rosemary is one of my favorite plants and the dining hall had several potted rosemary plants resting on counters for decoration, and it was clear that they were not going to last much longer. I figured I had nothing to lose and took about four or so small cuttings, no more than two or three inches, and stuck them in plastic cups with a fast draining cactus mix, covered them with plastic wrap, and lo and behold, they all took root! I was shocked! This was around Thanksgiving time, and by mid/late December they all started pushing new growth pretty quickly, and I gave most away to friends in the dorm, but kept one for myself.
Fast forward to now, and I have had this cutting in its cup, using string and paper clips to try and put a little extra movement in what is to be the trunk while trying to decide what I want to do with this cool little thing that I have somehow managed to grow in less than hospitable conditions.
The Plan(ts)
I have decided on trying to train the cutting as a bonsai, of course, but here's my idea: I will have a landscape complete with a variety companion plants, but every plant in the composition will preferably be an herb or other edible of some kind. All the plants will have to share similar soil/water/sun preferences, of course, and to make the composition believable, they will have to be as close as possible to being in scale with the tree. Fortunately, researching suitable plants to use hasn't been a problem. The primary herbs I'm thinking about including all hail from the same region as rosemary and all share similar horticultural needs. Here's the breakdown of what will be in the composition:
Tree:
Rosemary, Rosemarinus officinalis (The upright, rather than prostrate variety.)
Groundcovers:
1) Elfin Thyme, Thymus serpyllum (Very, very small leaves, creeping habit, forms a dense mat.
2) Corsican Mint, Mentha requienii (Again, very tiny leaves, though not as small as Elfin Thyme, in my experience. Also forms a tight mat.)
Smaller plants/bushes/brush:
1) Small-leaved upright thymes such as Turkish Thyme, Lemon Thyme, English Thyme.
2) Possibly small-leaved varieties of Oregano and Marjoram, but these may be hard to find with leaves small enough.
I am definitely including Elfin Thyme and Corsican Mint, as I know they are in scale with the tree. I will not be letting them run wild however, otherwise they'd just grow over everything in the pot. More on how I'll specifically be using them later.
For the upright thymes I am envisioning them as smaller plants, such as low growing shrubs or scrub bushes you might see growing near to a tree on a rocky outcropping somewhere, which is the scene I am going to try to create. More on that later, as well. I want to try to include the oregano and marjoram for the sake of variety, but if I have trouble finding cultivars with small enough leaves, they'll have to be left out. And my gut is telling my that less is more, anyway, and I don't want to cram too many plants into the pot and make the composition overly busy. I think that the Corsican Mint and Elfin Thyme, with one more upright thyme should give the desired variety while not being too much.
The Composition
My vision for the herbal landscape is this: A gnarled, lone tree, growing amongst a stony outcrop on a hillside, or perhaps in some alpine environment. The rocks have been slowly uncovered by centuries of weathering, and look as if they've grown out of the ground just as much as the tree and plants growing in between their cracks. The tree grows on top of this raised mound of broken down, partially buried stone, and scattered below and around it are other smaller rocks and bits of weathered boulders poking through the surface. Growing amongst the stones and in crevices in the outcrop are scattered patches of scrub and small, hardy shrubs, eking out an existence in the bleak desolation. Imagine grey skies and rocky, mountainous terrain. It is mostly dry, always windy, and when it rains, it lashes the solitary tree as with a whip.
Now, that is what I have in my head. Whether or not the plants I've chosen to use are the absolute best species to represent this scene is definitely questionable, but I'm set on using the herbs, for a few reasons:
1) I love them! Herbs are one of my favorite plants to garden with, and that's a good enough reason for me.
2) They grow fast. Using faster growing plants means the composition will mature faster. Not only does this mean I will see results sooner, but I can get in on the process of developing the plants earlier. With the rosemary I can start with a cutting and achieve a well-developed tree, while still being able to watch and guide its development from a tiny little plant in a cup to a mature bonsai in a much shorter span of time than with a true tree. I enjoy cultivating a plant from a small cutting much more than buying a pre-bonsai, or an even more developed piece of material grown by someone else. I feel more involved with the process, and more attached to the plant.
3) The novelty factor. A landscape in a pot made entirely of herbs? I don't care how traditional you are, that's pretty cool. Or at the very least, different.
4) No matter how well it actually ends up, it will be the most aromatic bonsai anyone has ever smelled!
Pictures and Progress
So, now that I have given you guys a little background on the idea for the experiment, here's what I've actually done to get it started. As I said, I had been growing the little rosemary whip in a plastic cup from the dining hall up until I could figure out what I wanted to do with it. I could only find one picture of it in the cup, and that was taken shortly before I transplanted it into a larger container. I couldn't find any pictures of it earlier than that one. But as you can see, I was using paper clips and strings to just put random movement into the plant; rosemary will usually develop a pretty gnarly, twisted trunk all on its own, but in the spirit of "why not?" I thought I'd go ahead and get a head start.
Once I'd decided on going the herbal bonsai landscape route, I decided it was time to move the little guy into something larger to allow the roots to develop and the trunk to develop and thicken. I know that the best way would be to stick it in the ground for a couple of years, but in my experience, rosemary that has always been container grown thrives in containers, but field grown rosemary do not transition well to pot culture, even if they survive. And in any case, I'm content to watch the little guy grow in a pot. Container gardening is more enjoyable for me, and even if it wasn't, the plant can't travel with me if it's in the ground. I'll also have more control over development if the little guy is in a container. For me, the pros of keeping the rosemary in a container outweigh the cons of having to wait longer for a trunk, or never reaching a particular size.
In the picture you can see all the materials I used for transplanting. First off I used a fabric I got from Home Depot to line the bottom of the container (which itself is simply a plastic cover to a grocery store cake that I spray painted so that it wasn't transparent) and to prevent soil from draining out the holes. Apparently it has some use in septic systems, I'm unclear as to what exactly. But, it does not break down, lets water through and not soil, so it works for me! Second, I added a layer about half an inch deep or so of the small river stones to promote good drainage.
For the soil, I'm using fast draining miracle grow cactus potting mix. This is what I rooted all the cuttings in, and what I've always used for rosemary in the past, as well as mixing it in to the soil for my ficus, and I've never had any problems. It's not high-grade Japanese akadama, but for my purposes it has always worked. I'm also a bonsai newbie, as well as a broke college student, so money is always a concern, and if I can get a bag of Miracle-Gro the size of multiple bags of specialized bonsai mix for the same or less, I'm going to have to go with the Miracle-Gro, unless it turns out not to work, which thus far it has.
I also included the first of the stones that will comprise the rocky outcropping. They are fossiliferous limestone (Why yes, I did take GEO101 last semester!) picked up off the ground around campus. I'm in Wimington, NC, so the stuff is everywhere, and due to the way they are formed they look very wild; full of nooks and crannies and very porous. I am aware that because they are comprised of lots of dead sea critters cemented together the calcium content is much higher than in other rocks I could have used. However, fortuitously enough, rosemary, thyme, and Corsican mint all happen to thrive in alkaline soil! So, if the calcium does leech into the soil enough to significantly alter the pH, it shouldn't have any adverse affect on the plants.
I didn't place the rocks in a carefully planned out arrangement, as I'm still not sure how exactly I want the final outcropping to look. I have the idea in my head, but carrying it out will have to wait until there's more to work with, and so I haven't bothered with the nitty gritty details. I put them in there first to see if the alkalinity did in fact affect the plant, be it positively or negatively. I also figured it would be good to see if the rocks held up to watering and such. If they break down, or for some other reason are unsuitable, I'll know and can find another type. In addition, I figured it couldn't hurt to have the roots interact with the rocks a bit. If they grip a couple of them, it could influence how I end up constructing the final composition in ways I wouldn't have thought of myself. It also feels fitting that the tree has some say in where it wants the rocks, seeing as rosemary has a somewhat unruly, unpredictable growth habit anyway, and doesn't really lend itself to precise branch placement, root work, etc. due to its specific peculiarities.
I also decided to plant the rosemary on a tile a couple inches below the soil, a technique I'd seen mentioned here a few times. Taking into account rosemary's touchiness about its roots, I figured if I could go ahead and develop a decent root flare/nebari early on, it could save potential trouble down the road. It should also help with the eventual transition to a shallower pot, as in my experience with them, rosemaries tend to push their roots down, rather than out.
Finally, I dressed the top of the soil with some more of the small river stones to prevent watering from washing the soil off the tile (which admittedly is a bit closer to the surface than I meant for it to be. Oh well.) and exposing the roots while I'm trying to develop them.
I've also included a very rough little sketch of what I'm going for with this. The description above of the scene I have in my head is more specific and detailed regarding exactly how I want this to eventually look, but for those who prefer visuals, this is roughly in the ballpark of what I'm imagining. Please forgive the poor artistry! I'm not exactly DeVinci. And the sketch isn't a formal plan for branch placement or trunk development either! I'm just trying to get a visual feel for my overall vision of the tree.
Conclusion
So, that concludes my marathon post! If you didn't read all of it, don't worry, I don't blame you at all.
I must say, though, I'm really excited for this. In addition to just being a fun experiment, there are several aspects of the idea that I find very compelling and harmonious. Even though the scene itself is reminiscent of an alpine environment, the composition is very tied to the ocean. The plants being used are all from the Mediterranean, and can be found growing near to the sea. Not only that, but they are all edible and often used in cuisine from that region, especially seafood. Furthermore, the composition includes rocks that were formed from the remains of creatures that lived in the sea millions of years ago, and were collected here in Wilmington, on the Atlantic coast, as was the rosemary plant!
There is also an element of experimentation and not knowing what to expect that I find very enticing. The unconventionality of the materials, the having to adapt to the unpredictability of the rosemary; it all makes for quite an appealing mix!
I will update this thread as the project progresses. Please feel free to share ideas or offer comments or criticisms. I am still just beginning with bonsai, and any advice on techniques, things I could do better are much appreciated. The more know-how gets thrown at this project, the better it will turn out!
Intro
In another thread I mentioned my intentions to bonsai some rosemary cuttings I propagated a few months ago, and now that I've figured out a plan for what I want to do I've decided to start a thread to chronicle this experiment. First, some backstory:
I'm in school right now and I live in the dorms, so growing conditions are far from ideal. In spite of that, I have brought along a few plants to keep me company. (I didn't bring anything I truly cared about; I wasn't optimistic about survival rates) In utter defiance of the laws of nature, I have managed to keep a small ficus, a spider plant, and a small fern alive under a desk lamp in my frigid room with little to no natural light coming in from outside.
With that unexpected success under my belt, I decided to bring in an addition to my burgeoning dormitory garden. Rosemary is one of my favorite plants and the dining hall had several potted rosemary plants resting on counters for decoration, and it was clear that they were not going to last much longer. I figured I had nothing to lose and took about four or so small cuttings, no more than two or three inches, and stuck them in plastic cups with a fast draining cactus mix, covered them with plastic wrap, and lo and behold, they all took root! I was shocked! This was around Thanksgiving time, and by mid/late December they all started pushing new growth pretty quickly, and I gave most away to friends in the dorm, but kept one for myself.
Fast forward to now, and I have had this cutting in its cup, using string and paper clips to try and put a little extra movement in what is to be the trunk while trying to decide what I want to do with this cool little thing that I have somehow managed to grow in less than hospitable conditions.
The Plan(ts)
I have decided on trying to train the cutting as a bonsai, of course, but here's my idea: I will have a landscape complete with a variety companion plants, but every plant in the composition will preferably be an herb or other edible of some kind. All the plants will have to share similar soil/water/sun preferences, of course, and to make the composition believable, they will have to be as close as possible to being in scale with the tree. Fortunately, researching suitable plants to use hasn't been a problem. The primary herbs I'm thinking about including all hail from the same region as rosemary and all share similar horticultural needs. Here's the breakdown of what will be in the composition:
Tree:
Rosemary, Rosemarinus officinalis (The upright, rather than prostrate variety.)
Groundcovers:
1) Elfin Thyme, Thymus serpyllum (Very, very small leaves, creeping habit, forms a dense mat.
2) Corsican Mint, Mentha requienii (Again, very tiny leaves, though not as small as Elfin Thyme, in my experience. Also forms a tight mat.)
Smaller plants/bushes/brush:
1) Small-leaved upright thymes such as Turkish Thyme, Lemon Thyme, English Thyme.
2) Possibly small-leaved varieties of Oregano and Marjoram, but these may be hard to find with leaves small enough.
I am definitely including Elfin Thyme and Corsican Mint, as I know they are in scale with the tree. I will not be letting them run wild however, otherwise they'd just grow over everything in the pot. More on how I'll specifically be using them later.
For the upright thymes I am envisioning them as smaller plants, such as low growing shrubs or scrub bushes you might see growing near to a tree on a rocky outcropping somewhere, which is the scene I am going to try to create. More on that later, as well. I want to try to include the oregano and marjoram for the sake of variety, but if I have trouble finding cultivars with small enough leaves, they'll have to be left out. And my gut is telling my that less is more, anyway, and I don't want to cram too many plants into the pot and make the composition overly busy. I think that the Corsican Mint and Elfin Thyme, with one more upright thyme should give the desired variety while not being too much.
The Composition
My vision for the herbal landscape is this: A gnarled, lone tree, growing amongst a stony outcrop on a hillside, or perhaps in some alpine environment. The rocks have been slowly uncovered by centuries of weathering, and look as if they've grown out of the ground just as much as the tree and plants growing in between their cracks. The tree grows on top of this raised mound of broken down, partially buried stone, and scattered below and around it are other smaller rocks and bits of weathered boulders poking through the surface. Growing amongst the stones and in crevices in the outcrop are scattered patches of scrub and small, hardy shrubs, eking out an existence in the bleak desolation. Imagine grey skies and rocky, mountainous terrain. It is mostly dry, always windy, and when it rains, it lashes the solitary tree as with a whip.
Now, that is what I have in my head. Whether or not the plants I've chosen to use are the absolute best species to represent this scene is definitely questionable, but I'm set on using the herbs, for a few reasons:
1) I love them! Herbs are one of my favorite plants to garden with, and that's a good enough reason for me.
2) They grow fast. Using faster growing plants means the composition will mature faster. Not only does this mean I will see results sooner, but I can get in on the process of developing the plants earlier. With the rosemary I can start with a cutting and achieve a well-developed tree, while still being able to watch and guide its development from a tiny little plant in a cup to a mature bonsai in a much shorter span of time than with a true tree. I enjoy cultivating a plant from a small cutting much more than buying a pre-bonsai, or an even more developed piece of material grown by someone else. I feel more involved with the process, and more attached to the plant.
3) The novelty factor. A landscape in a pot made entirely of herbs? I don't care how traditional you are, that's pretty cool. Or at the very least, different.
4) No matter how well it actually ends up, it will be the most aromatic bonsai anyone has ever smelled!
Pictures and Progress
So, now that I have given you guys a little background on the idea for the experiment, here's what I've actually done to get it started. As I said, I had been growing the little rosemary whip in a plastic cup from the dining hall up until I could figure out what I wanted to do with it. I could only find one picture of it in the cup, and that was taken shortly before I transplanted it into a larger container. I couldn't find any pictures of it earlier than that one. But as you can see, I was using paper clips and strings to just put random movement into the plant; rosemary will usually develop a pretty gnarly, twisted trunk all on its own, but in the spirit of "why not?" I thought I'd go ahead and get a head start.
Once I'd decided on going the herbal bonsai landscape route, I decided it was time to move the little guy into something larger to allow the roots to develop and the trunk to develop and thicken. I know that the best way would be to stick it in the ground for a couple of years, but in my experience, rosemary that has always been container grown thrives in containers, but field grown rosemary do not transition well to pot culture, even if they survive. And in any case, I'm content to watch the little guy grow in a pot. Container gardening is more enjoyable for me, and even if it wasn't, the plant can't travel with me if it's in the ground. I'll also have more control over development if the little guy is in a container. For me, the pros of keeping the rosemary in a container outweigh the cons of having to wait longer for a trunk, or never reaching a particular size.
In the picture you can see all the materials I used for transplanting. First off I used a fabric I got from Home Depot to line the bottom of the container (which itself is simply a plastic cover to a grocery store cake that I spray painted so that it wasn't transparent) and to prevent soil from draining out the holes. Apparently it has some use in septic systems, I'm unclear as to what exactly. But, it does not break down, lets water through and not soil, so it works for me! Second, I added a layer about half an inch deep or so of the small river stones to promote good drainage.
For the soil, I'm using fast draining miracle grow cactus potting mix. This is what I rooted all the cuttings in, and what I've always used for rosemary in the past, as well as mixing it in to the soil for my ficus, and I've never had any problems. It's not high-grade Japanese akadama, but for my purposes it has always worked. I'm also a bonsai newbie, as well as a broke college student, so money is always a concern, and if I can get a bag of Miracle-Gro the size of multiple bags of specialized bonsai mix for the same or less, I'm going to have to go with the Miracle-Gro, unless it turns out not to work, which thus far it has.
I also included the first of the stones that will comprise the rocky outcropping. They are fossiliferous limestone (Why yes, I did take GEO101 last semester!) picked up off the ground around campus. I'm in Wimington, NC, so the stuff is everywhere, and due to the way they are formed they look very wild; full of nooks and crannies and very porous. I am aware that because they are comprised of lots of dead sea critters cemented together the calcium content is much higher than in other rocks I could have used. However, fortuitously enough, rosemary, thyme, and Corsican mint all happen to thrive in alkaline soil! So, if the calcium does leech into the soil enough to significantly alter the pH, it shouldn't have any adverse affect on the plants.
I didn't place the rocks in a carefully planned out arrangement, as I'm still not sure how exactly I want the final outcropping to look. I have the idea in my head, but carrying it out will have to wait until there's more to work with, and so I haven't bothered with the nitty gritty details. I put them in there first to see if the alkalinity did in fact affect the plant, be it positively or negatively. I also figured it would be good to see if the rocks held up to watering and such. If they break down, or for some other reason are unsuitable, I'll know and can find another type. In addition, I figured it couldn't hurt to have the roots interact with the rocks a bit. If they grip a couple of them, it could influence how I end up constructing the final composition in ways I wouldn't have thought of myself. It also feels fitting that the tree has some say in where it wants the rocks, seeing as rosemary has a somewhat unruly, unpredictable growth habit anyway, and doesn't really lend itself to precise branch placement, root work, etc. due to its specific peculiarities.
I also decided to plant the rosemary on a tile a couple inches below the soil, a technique I'd seen mentioned here a few times. Taking into account rosemary's touchiness about its roots, I figured if I could go ahead and develop a decent root flare/nebari early on, it could save potential trouble down the road. It should also help with the eventual transition to a shallower pot, as in my experience with them, rosemaries tend to push their roots down, rather than out.
Finally, I dressed the top of the soil with some more of the small river stones to prevent watering from washing the soil off the tile (which admittedly is a bit closer to the surface than I meant for it to be. Oh well.) and exposing the roots while I'm trying to develop them.
I've also included a very rough little sketch of what I'm going for with this. The description above of the scene I have in my head is more specific and detailed regarding exactly how I want this to eventually look, but for those who prefer visuals, this is roughly in the ballpark of what I'm imagining. Please forgive the poor artistry! I'm not exactly DeVinci. And the sketch isn't a formal plan for branch placement or trunk development either! I'm just trying to get a visual feel for my overall vision of the tree.
Conclusion
So, that concludes my marathon post! If you didn't read all of it, don't worry, I don't blame you at all.
I must say, though, I'm really excited for this. In addition to just being a fun experiment, there are several aspects of the idea that I find very compelling and harmonious. Even though the scene itself is reminiscent of an alpine environment, the composition is very tied to the ocean. The plants being used are all from the Mediterranean, and can be found growing near to the sea. Not only that, but they are all edible and often used in cuisine from that region, especially seafood. Furthermore, the composition includes rocks that were formed from the remains of creatures that lived in the sea millions of years ago, and were collected here in Wilmington, on the Atlantic coast, as was the rosemary plant!
There is also an element of experimentation and not knowing what to expect that I find very enticing. The unconventionality of the materials, the having to adapt to the unpredictability of the rosemary; it all makes for quite an appealing mix!
I will update this thread as the project progresses. Please feel free to share ideas or offer comments or criticisms. I am still just beginning with bonsai, and any advice on techniques, things I could do better are much appreciated. The more know-how gets thrown at this project, the better it will turn out!
