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Re: first Bonsai :)

Posted: February 11th, 2017, 7:27 pm
by Kevin
Hello Wal,

Keep in mind when sourcing your collection that many / most deciduous trees require cold and a Winter dormancy.
Having said that the Chinese Elm is extremely adaptable and as i've learnt is quite suited to your Winters.

Have fun with your elm.

Good Luck,
Kevin

Re: first Bonsai :)

Posted: February 11th, 2017, 7:34 pm
by wal
Kevin wrote:Hello Wal,

Keep in mind when sourcing your collection that many / most deciduous trees require cold and a Winter dormancy.
Having said that the Chinese Elm is extremely adaptable and as i've learnt is quite suited to your Winters.

Have fun with your elm.

Good Luck,
Kevin
Would 2 weeks of winter count? Thats about all i get :lost: I've seen lots of crabapple up here hmm

Regards
Wal

Re: first Bonsai :)

Posted: February 19th, 2017, 1:38 pm
by wal
Can't believe the growth in just a few short weeks wow.... how long till this new shoot will harden up enough to wire straight up?

Regards
Wal

Re: first Bonsai :)

Posted: February 19th, 2017, 1:42 pm
by Pearcy001
Make sure you check the roots before deciding on a new planting angle Wal. If you already have then great, but if not I'd check them first.

Although the new leader may be at the right angle the roots may be the opposite. If you only have strong roots on the right and then you tilt it to the right it may be a possible regret in the long run.

I always take into consideration the possible future nebari before I tilt a tree, as it is much easier to grow a new leader in a different spot than roots.

Food for thought.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

Re: first Bonsai :)

Posted: February 19th, 2017, 1:45 pm
by wal
Pearcy001 wrote:Make sure you check the roots before deciding on a new planting angle Wal. If you already have then great, but if not I'd check them first.

Although the new leader may be at the right angle the roots may be the opposite.

I always take into consideration the possible future nebari before I tilt a tree, as it is much easier to grow the new leader than roots in a different spot.

Food for thought.

Cheers,
Pearcy.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk
Thanks :)
I want the pot flat again but the new leader is to fresh to wire straight up no? So i lent it over so its going up more than to the side

Regards
Wal

Re: first Bonsai :)

Posted: February 19th, 2017, 2:06 pm
by shibui
how long till this new shoot will harden up enough to wire straight up?
Depends on how careful you are, what sized wire, how well the tree is growing, etc.
Basically, you can wire whenever you think you can. You'll only need thin wire for such a soft shoot. Just be careful to wind the wire around the shoot, not the other way :oops:
I find that these really soft shoots will be set in just a couple of weeks.

In this case there is an alternative. Just tie the new shoot close to the existing trunk with tape, string, wire, ziptie, etc. I assume that is where you want it to go when you say straight up???

Re: first Bonsai :)

Posted: February 19th, 2017, 2:15 pm
by wal
shibui wrote:
how long till this new shoot will harden up enough to wire straight up?
Depends on how careful you are, what sized wire, how well the tree is growing, etc.
Basically, you can wire whenever you think you can. You'll only need thin wire for such a soft shoot. Just be careful to wind the wire around the shoot, not the other way :oops:
I find that these really soft shoots will be set in just a couple of weeks.

In this case there is an alternative. Just tie the new shoot close to the existing trunk with tape, string, wire, ziptie, etc. I assume that is where you want it to go when you say straight up???
Yes that is correct...... thank you once again :tu:

I have right down to 1mm wire and tiny zipties

Regards
Wal

Re: first Bonsai :)

Posted: February 19th, 2017, 6:45 pm
by wal
All sorted :tu:

Regards
Wal

Re: first Bonsai :)

Posted: February 21st, 2017, 4:06 pm
by Sambow
That looks much younger than 9 years old imho..

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Re: first Bonsai :)

Posted: February 21st, 2017, 4:13 pm
by wal
Sambow wrote:That looks much younger than 9 years old imho..

Sent from my SM-N910G using Tapatalk
Thank you mate
I totally agree but they said its 9 years old at Bonsai Place :lost: . It looked so lanky before and the branches started way to high up before, even with my professional wiring :lol:

Perhaps it was in a bonsai pot from the start and only fed water :lol:

Regards
Wal

Re: first Bonsai :)

Posted: February 28th, 2017, 8:32 pm
by wal
I can't believe this was a bare stick 33 days ago OMG :o

Regards
Wal

Re: first Bonsai :)

Posted: February 28th, 2017, 9:53 pm
by [ Kane ]
wal wrote:I can't believe this was a bare stick 33 days ago OMG :o

Regards
Wal
You have done well.
This is such a great thread & its pleasing to see everyone helping out - very different than the US sites I'm a member of!

I also had an old tree, I chopped it pre Xmas & I'm letting it grow on. I'll cut back shortly & do some branch selection, but for now its just doing its thing.

How the tree looked when I got it $10.
first-photo-nov2016.jpg
Dec - After Chop
chinese-elm-trunk-chop.jpg
Today
chinese-elm-growth-feb2017.JPG
Another small elm - I got a bunch of these for $5. I'm not sure if they are the same species, but anyhow.
small-elm-feb2017.JPG
Thanks
Kane

Re: first Bonsai :)

Posted: February 28th, 2017, 10:00 pm
by KIRKY
Hi Kane,
They all look like Chinese Elms. The last one looks like it needs a feed.
Cheers
Kirky

Re: first Bonsai :)

Posted: February 28th, 2017, 10:07 pm
by [ Kane ]
KIRKY wrote:Hi Kane,
They all look like Chinese Elms. The last one looks like it needs a feed.
Cheers
Kirky
Yes I think you are correct, its also been in a bit of shade lately, so I'll be putting it put in full sun tomorrow - do you use general fertiliser for Elms or a special elm? I have plenty of osmocot pellets.

Thanks
Kane

Re: first Bonsai :)

Posted: February 28th, 2017, 10:10 pm
by wal
I would give just about any fert... i feed osmocot pellets... also i give nitrosol every 2 weeks .... plus seasol every few weeks

Regards
Wal