My first virt, help needed!

[Kenji B]

Hey guys, so yes I am very new to all of this. This is a portulacaria afra that I had recently acquired for free. It wasnt in the best shape but after a decent prune and some time in my care it seems to be doing well. It is backbudding and new leaves are emerging where old ones had fallen off. So far I have trimmed back branches that are unpractical and have left possibly usable ones without cutting too short (dont want get rid of anything before thinking through!). I am after some help as to what direction I should take this as I am having difficulty seeing the possibilities. I guess I will cut off certain branches, and cut back the fatter ones that I want to keep to promote taper and ramification. This little guy is about 18 cm from base of substrate to highest point. Ill get the ball rolling with my very first virt! oh and sorry for the photo quality, ipod is all I have for camera atm!

What I think will be the front


Rotated to side, not very appealing


Back?


My first virt. A pretty safe approach I guess. I can see other options that involve cutting out the second trunk on the left and maybe going for a semi cascade?

Your help and vision will be taken in and appreciated!

P.S sorry about the image sizes, I resized on photobucket but it only seemed to work for one photo...

[Kenji B]

[lackhand]

I like the idea you have for the virt. The trunks show decent harmony, though on the main trunk (right in the photo) I think the first branch on the right might be a bit too strong. You could try to regrow it, or just pinch it so it doesn't get any bigger while the rest of the tree kind of catches up. Honestly I think the biggest problem you might face is leaf reduction - not sure how it goes on these, but I don't think they'll get as small as what you're showing in the virt.

The local bonsai show had a few of these, one was about three feet tall, and pretty impressive. Looked like a pretty credible tree! I know they're recommended for beginners around here because they're very durable and will bounce back from the mistakes we all make as we learn. Keep us updated, I'm curious to see how fast this thing will go for you.

[Neli]

Nice virt! Another option maybe?

ff37c56c-28fd-4052-ba89-c0e84ccdf8d7_zps1ce4002c.jpg

[Kenji B]

Lackhand and neli, thanks for your input. I agree on that first right branch lackhand it seems to detract from the balance of the tree. I am very happy to have found portulacaria afra as it seems to be the perfect starters tree and even better for my starting needs. I am currently experimenting with branch pruning and pinching and learning quickly about the pinch and grow method, these things put out new leaves so quickly! I also now have around 20 cuttings in either water or soil beggining to take root. My current experiment on a more "finished" afra is to heavily pinch top growth to allow the growin energy to the base of the tree which could do with a bit more fattening up while achieving finer ramification up high. I am curious as to the level of leaf reduction and ramification i can achieve with these because their stems if growing quickly can be quite puffy and heavy like a succulent, however i am sure once i have had a bit more time to experiment I will be able to achieve decent results! Hopefully in time i will have a few decent trees going and maybe some nice cuttings to give to friends! I have had difficulty finding as much documentation or progressions on p.afra so maybe I will try to help add to whatever bonsai information is out there! When i get back to my computer and camera I will upload photos of my progress

[kcpoole]

Awesome Kenji

I have got 2 Myself and they are super easy to look after and develop. They can be wired easily, and set in place in only a few months when wired.

lots of fertiliser, they do not need much water, and the leaves reduce very well.
do a Search and you find quite a few threads on them,and this one is good
viewtopic.php?f=130&t=11336&hilit=jade

I will also add a wiki page for them when i get a chance or someone else can if they want:-)

Ken

[Kenji B]

Hi Ken!

I have already done a search also including the many different names people call them! Spekboom, elephant bush, baby jade etc haha. I did find that information from the guy that had 100 of them very helpful, letting them dry out and wrinkle to create more interestig bark texture sounds worth a try! A wiki page would be great

[kcpoole]

I took a new photo of mine today for you. It is the small leafed variety.

Gets full sun and watered only morning. Gets wired when needed to put branches into shape.
the left hand low branch needs to fill out and the left of the apex needs to be fuller

Ken

[Kenji B]

Thats cool ken! Any before and after pics? How long have you had this one?

[Kenji B]

OK so time for an update, I removed more of the branches and have taken a new approach so my last virt is now scrapped here is a photo after the chopping, that was about three weeks ago.


Since then I have repotted and built another little grow/display box for it and some other experiments and it has started to back bud all over. I really like the shape this is taking and am glad I kept my options open before removing too many branches. Here is a photo of it as of today, the red line is where I am thinking about cutting to balance the tree out.


Here is a pic of my little grow/display box that I made using an old wine box, I am using two CFL bulbs which seem to be doing the trick. If you look closely you can see I have edited the pic to show what the little guy would look like after the proposed trunk chop.


So far I am really happy with the progress and general direction the tree is going. I think for now I am going to let this guy grow to regain its strength then when the time is right do some pruning to encourage backbudding and ramification. I do have a question about something that has been bothering me for a while now...


This is my largest and first plant, a while ago I did a fair bit of pinching around the apex to ramify and slow the top growth, this has worked and the leaves have also reduced nicely but they are a yellowy green colour in comparison to the older leaves. Also the lower larger leaves are wrinkled slightly as if the tree needs watering, however when obviously watered well they still stay wrinkly. I am curious if a co2 deficiency could be the cause of the wrinkling? I have been closing the grow box to keep it warm but poor air circulation has resulted. As for the yellow leaves maybe a Nitrogen deficiency? I am still trying to work out a good feeding plan, it seems to be growing quite slowly at the moment.

Any help and advice will be appreciated!!!

P.S sorry again if the pics are quite large

[Neli]

Looking good!
Maybe you can consider cutting the big stump between the trunk and the first right branch? It can be curved anywhere very well. P. heals from within...from inside.
Yellowing means chlorosis, on other trees, not sure if on Jade is the same.
Can also mean overwatering, or not enough light???

[Kenji B]

Hey Neli!
Cheers for the reply, yes I think it is maybe an iron deficiency or something along those lines, i think there is enough light, had thought maybe too much was a possibility since this seems to be happening to the tops of the plants but i think its more like new growth is in need of more nutrients. I understand your suggestion to chop the stumpy bit, i think i will play it safe for now and see how it develops. It will probably go down the line once the tree is strong again.

[nananaja003]

work out how to resize pics I will have to ask the kids !!
บาคาร่า1688

[kcpoole]

work out how to resize pics I will have to ask the kids !!
บาคาร่า1688

check out some howtos here on resizing
https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index. ... lay_online

Ken