Magnolia challenge

Some say magnolia and dogwood are unsuitable for bonsai. I disagree. Therefore I challenged myself to see if I could successfully develop both. I trunk chopped a dogwood at the wrong time early this spring and lost it. I will try dogwood again in time.

But, I've had this Magnolia for about a year now. Got it from home depot specifically because it looked so weak, thin and sickly at the time. I tell you I was determined! Well, it sort of sat there last summer in the garden, 5ft tall in a 5 gallon plastic pot, getting sunburned, abused by birds and basically going nowhere.

It's shown good vigor this year as I have been really pushing organic fertilizer. While doing this, I also made major branch cuts systematically over several weeks to reduce the stress of the process and keep things moving.

So today was the final big branch cut, followed by a quick and very wet repot while disturbing the roots as little as possible. The roots were reduced by about 1/3 and as such I will keep the tree in shade and pretty much sopping wet for at least a week or two watching intently for any signs of trouble.

Also note I was VERY pleasantly surprised to see gorgeous, balanced radiating roots all around an elegant flare at the base (which had been under the soil line thus far). So this one will have an absolutely excellent base of exposed roots.

Topside, I'll "leave it go" for the remainder of the summer, hoping the final round of budding may produce a new branch or two just above the graft line, one of which would become the new leader. Regardless, I will leave the current top so I can enjoy flowers again next spring, then start basic branch development.

There is also the potential to air layer the current apex to make a shohin tree after new branches develop closer to the graft scar. Pulling that off over the next year or 2 would be a great victory for me, as I have always loved Magnolia.

I thumb my nose at the old ghosts who tell us this or that tree is "unsuitable" for bonsai. If you love it, grow it and enjoy it! Can't wait to add a pic of this tree in bloom next spring...

White Satsuki Azalea

June 2010




This is a white satsuki azalea from Rosade's. The tree was admittedly a bit neglected and really needed some close attention. I immediately removed the grown-in wiring and set the azalea aside in the garden for a couple weeks to determine it's needs. During this time, I did some basic maintenance pruning and thinned out 1 or 2 areas of unrestrained growth.

Well it sort of sat there soaking up water fertilizer and sunshine, and when it began to show tiny buds on the base of the trunk I felt I was ok for some action. Inspiration hit and I whipped out a neat pot with an interesting glaze that I think will really set off the white flowers next year.

So here's the re-pot, new wire and a bit of further trim.


Sept 2010



Just three months later and the tree is beginning to take form. It still hasn't recovered full vigor despite frequent feeding. A bit lower pH seems to have perked it up a bit recently, so I'm feeling better about that. With some careful wiring, and precision pruning with a pair of cuticle scissors (!) this azalea's major branch structure is now in place.

I have to acknowledge a bit of inspiration from John Naka's sketch below. Apparently, the sketch was printed on folding auto windshield sunscreens to raise money for the National Bonsai Foundation.

Mossy Moss

I've volunteered to give a talk on moss at the BSSJ September meeting. I'm not sure how it happened but I'm actually enthusiastic about it. On the one hand I will have to learn everything I can about moss between now and then, and on the other I'll have to know it well enough to explain it to others without sounding like a complete idiot.

So, the first thing I did was head on over to Moss Acres and buy a sampler pack of 4 different species of moss. I have a perfect place to propagate and grow this stuff, nice and shady and wet under my bonsai benches! A great (but expensive) alternative to mulch!

Also, I mentioned the upcoming talk to a friend of mine who led me directly to her mom's backyard where lots of really nice moss grows. I gathered up a few square feet of about 3 different species. One of them looks excellent for bonsai and so I spent some time playing with it this morning. The result is the picture above.

I have three of these plastic trays that look like huge petri dishes. I got them from Wal*Mart just for cultivating moss, drilled holes in the bottom for drainage and so we'll see how it goes.

I haven't really done much with moss except collect it and stick it in my pots...so I have a couple months here to become an expert. Wish me luck!

Rescue Ficus

This ficus was one I picked up at Clover nursery, where Bonsai club meetings are held. While attending my first workshop, this tree was offered for rescue and I gladly accepted it. I will certainly have to find a way to compensate it's previous owner for handing it over.

You can see now it's healthy and happy in a proper pot. I am still of two minds about the single large air root descending straight down from just the wrong place on the second trunk bend...a quandary. Everyone who has seen this tree comments about it, and it is definitely a unique feature. BUT IT'S ALL WRONG!!!

Honestly I can't bring myself to snip it...maybe next year...

Frankie's Ficus

You gotta love this one! I brought my girlfriend's 7 year old son to Rosade's to see if he had any interest in bonsai. He likes watching me fuss with my trees and always wants to "help" so I decided to get him a tree and see how it turns out. He picked out this tree, following some good advice from Tom DeSimone.

Well, you can't really blame a 7 yr old for having a short attention span, and so after I simply kept it watered for a few weeks it's pretty clear baseball and "silly bands" are way more important to a 7 year old than some tree in a pot!

So, I took liberty to repot it without disturbing the roots too much, and integrating a nice piece of Indonesian driftwood for effect. Now, what you're looking at is a picture taken the next day, so it still has significant development ahead of it in this configuration.

Before showing Frankie his restyled tree, I asked him to remember in his mind what it looked like before, and asked him to draw the basic shape. He drew the tree's previous shape with respectable accuracy (remember 7 years old!) and then I showed him what I had done. I guess he liked it, but this was only moments before we were leaving the house for a round of mini-golf and milkshakes, so the little whippersnapper was a bit short on analysis and critique...

Porcelain Berry

June 2010



This porcelain berry was considered a nuisance by it's previous owner. It was rather neglected, but grew a bit out of control before being chopped back to ground in preparation for removing the remaining stump. I was able to save it by carefully digging it up and potting it into a medium-sized flower pot in the spring of 2010. I retained a bit of clay soil around the base of the trunk as I did not want to risk damaging the few, frail remaining roots. Otherwise, I provided generous room for root growth in premium bonsai soil and kept it well watered. I let it sit in shade for a few weeks, then slowly moved it to full sun as the new growth extended top side and early leaves attained full size. I watered and fertilized normally after seeing good vigor.

August 2010



The vine grew vigorously all summer. I twisted the new vines into a swirling form I expect should integrate well with the old gnarled trunk. This required about 3 non-traditional wiring sessions over the course of the summer. Constant but moderate leaf pruning also kept the growth manageable.

Below the surface fine roots grew quickly, filling the medium-sized flower pot from the June 2010 picture. I was pleasantly surprised by the volume of roots, and therefore felt confident trimming out about 20%. This semi-repotting was also a good opportunity to remove the last remnants of heavy clay soil remaining from the original potting.

The current pot had been sitting on the shelf at Rosade's for a long time. I admired it for it's clunky square shape and heavy appearance. I acquired it specifically with this porcelain berry in mind and am glad I did.

Juniper Wave

This guy came straight from nursery stock. I hacked it down to just 3 branches and shaped them in a rather simplistic semi-cascade form. There is obviously nothing formal about the composition but the tree is cute with a hint of windblown and I like it. Also, this is my first juniper so I have set it up this way in order to use it as a test bed for learning juniper techniques (pinching, wiring, etc).

Interestingly the tree is yet too weak to support the weight of the main branch in this configuration, so without wire the whole thing flops down. As such, I have to really keep an eye on the wiring and change it pretty frequently to keep from scarring the trunk and branches. Hey practice makes perfect, no?

Eventually it will need a proper pot and maybe it will turn into something.