Frangipani

[Ron]

I recently saw some frangipanis for sale at a a nursery. I love the flowers on these but not the branches and trunks. At the time I didn't even remotely consider them as bonsai subjects. A few minutes ago I did a search on 'frangipani' here on the forum with zero results.

So just doing my nightly browsing of new bonsai-related listings on eBay, guess what turned up an hour a go:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Bonsai-Vienna-Ro ... 19baf52b55

[Jamie]

gday ron

i think you will struggle some with trying to grow frangipani as a bonsai, it wouldnt be any more that a few branches with massive leaves and huge flowers, i dont think the leaves or flowers would reduce either. honestly mate there are other flowering trees out there that can be bonsai that are much better suited to it. try azalea if you want stunning flowers mate


jamie

[Ron]

Hi Jamie,

Definitely no way on the frangipani, mate. Except for the flowers they're kinda ugly enough as garden plants.

You got me on the azaleas - I've got a few now as well as camellias, gardenias, crepe myrtle, lilly pillys, wisterias (which Ray Nesci assures me flower every year) and a boug which better survive winter or I will be very disappointed. (no pics - all small, green and totally boring at the moment).

Ron

[Pup]

G,day Ron I think your Bank manager is going to love me . I love your enthusiasm it like Jamie's full on. Your biggest problem at the moment is you do not know where you are headed.
Too many different trees is the trap we all fell into when we started. Then realisation kicks in, your knowledge pool how big is it to your stock. How much of the culture of the plants, you have that are potential Bonsai do you have.

Now the first thing is learning how to keep them alive and healthy. This is a long winded way of saying slow down mate. Work with what you have first.
Now I have had this talk with Jamie, and many years ago with Brett and was told to go fly a kite.

I am just trying to help I know the nursery people in your area will not thank me, but I am sure your Daughter and the Boss will.

Cheers nosey parker Pup

[Jamie]

i dont remember telling you to fly a kite pup but i do agree with what you are saying. it might have been brett that told ya that

this is good advice ron, i was actually thinking the same but didnt feel it was my place and i didnt have the heart to either. the other thing i am thinking is the stuff you are buying is rather small, while these are good while you are learning and trying to keep things alive i beleive that you should save on spendng 2,3,4,5 bucks on these starters and get something with a little more potential to it that doesnt need growing out for a long time, something that you can work on and get some results from. this was actually pointed out to me early on and it was rather good advice, i had a rather large amount of small starter trees in pots that would get them no where in ten years, when i finally realised this i counted up how much i had spent on these trees and realised for that i could of got a tree with a decent sized trunk and plenty of branching for option in a first style. i am pretty sure we have all done it when we first started. i know i did!

these little ones are cool for now while you are getting your feet, it wont be long before you want something you can work on i reckon

i hope this hasnt come across the wrong way, it is meant with the best intentions ron

jamie

[Ron]

Pup & Jamie,

I'm already getting to the point where I know what you're saying and I appreciate your honesty.

I've let collecting a wide variety of plants (and they're not all small) consume me to the point where I'm actually feeling a lot of stress from the number of plants - both in bonsai pots and plants pots - that I now have (I'm too embarrassed to actually admit to the numbers). There's no way that I handle all the work that needs to be done regularly on so many plants. Heaven help me when spring comes and all the repotting, trimming needs to be done.

Cheers,
Ron

[Ash Barns]

Ron bonsai is supposed to relieve stress not add to it. A solution may be to plant the majority in grow beds or boxes and work with your best 6 or so meantime. This way, as you become more proficient, you can then pick off your victims as they mature in the years ahead. Just thinking of your peace of mind.

Ash

[Ron]

Thanks, Ash.

Bit down in the dumps over it all today from the realisation that's been growing this past week of how over the top I went with my buying plants - and also despite most of it coming from bonsai nurseries, the second realisation is that much of it is probably crap. So much so that if I had a mulcher I'd be tempted to put 3/4 of my plants in it right now.

No fool like an old fool spending money he couldn't really afford to in the first place. The nursery people must have had a good laugh each time I drove away.

Anyway, I'll just leave things be until my mood improves.

[Bretts]

Hey Ron cheer up buddy. I really wish I had the time on the day we met at the nursery to go over this with you more than I did but as you know I had to bolt out of their and was still late to pick up my daughter from the airport.
Buying too many trees is something we all go through and although Pup may not agree it can also be a good thing. It gives you a chance to experiment with material and different species as a beginner. In time it will Balance out but if you are like most of us it will get out of control again.
I am sure the nursery that we met at would not be laughing at you. Maybe the ebayers are but that is in the past. The nursery we met at I find has starter trees cheaper than I can buy at the local nursery so your money is not wasted there.
Maybe my story will cheer you up
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=186
I have to get around to updating that
Planting the trees out is an option but I say the best way through this is come out of the closet. Be bold take a picture of the extent of your addition and post it so we can help you come up with a plan.

[Ron]

...Maybe my story will cheer you up
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=186
I have to get around to updating that
...

It did, thanks, Brett. That was very interesting and, yes, time to update it!! It's good to see that I'm not the only one who went overboard in the beginning.

[Mitchell]

Thanks, Ash.

Bit down in the dumps over it all today from the realisation that's been growing this past week of how over the top I went with my buying plants - and also despite most of it coming from bonsai nurseries, the second realisation is that much of it is probably crap. So much so that if I had a mulcher I'd be tempted to put 3/4 of my plants in it right now.

No fool like an old fool spending money he couldn't really afford to in the first place. The nursery people must have had a good laugh each time I drove away.

Anyway, I'll just leave things be until my mood improves.

I believe I understand where Pup and Jamie are coming from, but I see fault in their process.
I too am only starting out in Bonsai. One thing I do know is at the moment, small plants are for me. They are correct, I would condence your collection to those plants you wish to expend energy on. I dis-agree though, with the notion that you should have spent your money on one or two larger more advanced stock. The reason for saying that is, given our knowledge base, would not more stress be caused if you were looking at two $150 plants watching them die / feel you can not maintain them? I know I sure would, so at the moment I am content, I am saving for better stock but am happy with my miriad of starter stock and young plants bought from Ray.

If you feel over-come at the moment, why not pot some of the plants up and give them away as little presents to the kids etc? Or just as someone else said, plant them back in the garden.

I must say I am a bit dissapointed how in the dumps you seem to have become after this single thread. Over the last few weeks your enthusiasm has inspired me and I have been following all your threads.

Another point I would like to bring up is initially, Bonsai by yourself can be actually pretty boring, especially if you only have one plant to style. I would say it's very likely we loose a lot of potential bonsaists, through the fact people go blow $150 on their first plant, cut it back, style it, wire it, water it, feed it......wait.... wait.. wait. you get my point..... At some time in that progression you need a second plant to keep you busy....
So far I have spent over $100 on small starter stock, immature plants... I have killed a few and a few a thriving... I have learnt a lot. I now have way more plants than I can handle. I will condense these in the following months, so I can get a single stock plant around the $250-$300 mark and concentrate on it. Until now I was not confident to lash out on such an extravengant buy, so it may have cost me $100, but now I feel I can handle a more expensive plant, I did not before.


Any way, chin-up mate, I could come round and pick-up some of those plants for you We should get together at Ray's and have a look at some more mature stock. I have my eye on his juni's, he had one the other week priced low for it's size, i'll have to see if it's still there.

[craigw60]

Hey Ron everyone starts out buying too many trees its a right of passage. The best thing you could do is find a club and do some serious learning through them. The forum is great but theres nothing like hands on at a workshop. The other great advantage of clubs is that you can buy stock from members who are not commercial growers and also second hand pots etc. I would hate to tally up the number of trees I have been through to get to the stage I am at now, you need to handle lots of plant material in order to learn.
Regards from Craig

[Ron]

Hi Mitchell,

Thanks for your post in the frangipani and don't let my mood today spoil anything for you. I'm just feeling overwhelmed by it all at the moment.

Craig,

I have joined a bonsai club and the first meeting for me is next Sunday. I guess the loneliness of bonsai as a hobby can be a bit of a negative. I recently stopped playing the guitar one reason being arthritis but almost daily there was something to with other people with the same interest.

I'm kinda sorry I posted all this stuff now because the last thing I want to be is a downer for other people. However, I really do appreciate the friendly advice and support you've all shown me. Thank you.

Ron.

[astroboy76]

Hey Ron,

I started out the same way you did. And to make thinsg worse, my younger bro and his girlfriend started this hobby at the same time so not only did we all have beginners enthusiasm we also fell into an odd sort of competition with each other. If my bro bought a great crabapple, i woudl then go out and try to find one just as good if not better hehe. If i got a great wisteria he went out and got one too. this was more than having to best each other, it was also excitment. My bro would get a plant i didnt have and i just had to have it too. I wanted one of every style and varierty hehe.

Over the past year i have gone thru pure elation and weeks where i feel so damn positive about my plants and then out of nowhere BOOM! i woudl look at them all and feel so helpless. SO i do agree that taking too many on can be a stress but it can also be a pleasure. It feels great to have passion about something and to ne honest, having so many has forced me to study and research and bug people on this forum and a year on i am not only knowledgable but confident in my stock.

so hang in there and dont get stressed. Just continue working with what you have and dont mulch any!! some of the ones i first bought that i thought were great i later realised were not so good. Some i left in their pots, root bound and forgotten and some i stuck in the front garden and figured if nothign else they might look good out there.

Well, a year on and these forgetten treasures have proven to become gems!!

i think we all get a tad over zealous when we first start and we make mistakes and we over buy and we cant quite manage constraint as we are excited and overjoyed by the potential beauty of so many different styles and varieties of plants to work with. no two bonsai are the same so it is easy to pruchase 3 crabapplesa nd train them in different styles hehe. Trust me, i have been there.

my words for advice to you are: the ones you are unsure about, plant in a bare patch of garden or in foam boxed and forget about them, (water them of cause hehe). also, any small ones you feel you have outgrown or have had their use but you truly see no furutre, wack em in a cheap pot with some pebbles and a figurine and give them away to family and friends as gifts. I did this and they were so well recieved i had friends asking if they coudl have one as well hehe

also, find a friend to join your hobby with you or join a bonsai club if you havent already. Dont feel down. Its all part fo the process i think

[astroboy76]

oh and Ron, dont be embarressed about the amount of plants you have bought. Between my borther, myself and my brothers girlfriend, we have about 70 plants!! all in various stages of growth and training. i own 30 myself. and to be honest, i have finally come to a time where i can walk past a nursery without succumbing the itch to have to enter and search for a potential new bonsai. also, with time you will start to develop fondness for some over tohers. Some pklants just sing to you whilst other seem to just sit and stare hehe. The ones that dont sing to you...turn them into gifts!

you will refine your hobby. What you are going through is a right of passage as was said earlier. dont be hard on yoruself.