Think this Bonsai will make it?

[NickfromWI]

Bought in a deep pot a year ago. Valley oak (Q. lobata). A week ago I repotted it (which involved cutting 50% of the roots).

I shouldn't have repotted it mid summer, but our temps have been super cool this summer (82 degrees is a hot day lately) and didn't think it'd be a prob.

You think it's done for?

 

[MasterBlaster]

Good luck to the 'lil fellow!

 

[SkwerI]

Reminds me of some wealthy homeowners around here. They hire us (tree guys) to cut on their trees every year and the trees keep getting cut and cut until they die. Then the customer wonders why the tree died?

 

[woodworkingboy]

<iframe width="425" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Hgw_RD_1_5I" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[top_notch]

Never made a bonsai tree before, what's the rock for, and I take it you somehow bind the roots to keep the tree small?

 

[top_notch]

That's the perfect size tree for inside my traila.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Killed with kindness.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

Actually Nick, is that a small bud on the end of the shoot??

 

[No_Bivy]

unwire it ......salvage the pot

 

[Bodean]

How long have you had it?

 

[NickfromWI]

Reminds me of some wealthy homeowners around here. They hire us (tree guys) to cut on their trees every year and the trees keep getting cut and cut until they die. Then the customer wonders why the tree died?

Nope- this is different. Bonsai trees can easily outlive trees living in the best conditions in nature. It is through the constant pruning of the roots and branches that the trees live so long. The tree never "outgrows itself."

Never made a bonsai tree before, what's the rock for, and I take it you somehow bind the roots to keep the tree small?

The roots aren't binded to keep the tree small. The goal is to keep the rock in place in a little "nook" that was in the roots. As the roots keep growing, they'll look like the tree grew over the rock. Here's a much more drastic (and way better) looking example of how it can look:

The tree is kept small by constant pruning of the branches and roots.

Actually Nick, is that a small bud on the end of the shoot??

It is indeed. I think the tree has just gone into shock from it's first heavy root pruning. It's no longer sitting in full sun for now and I'll keep an eye on it. All the limbs still are green and the buds are in good condition.

I'll keep y'all updated.

The death march? HAH!!! Good one! I listened to it while typing this response!

love
nick

 

[SkwerI]

Nope- this is different. Bonsai trees can easily outlive trees living in the best conditions in nature. It is through the constant pruning of the roots and branches that the trees live so long. The tree never "outgrows itself."

Are you being a smartass or did you honestly think I don't know what Bonsai is?

 

[woodworkingboy]

As you guys know, bonsai is big here, but you see less and less old guys putzing around with them nowadays. The children aren't interested. I'd like to inherit a nice one and take care of it.

 

[Bodean]

Inherit?

Just yank one outta the ground and stick it in a pot.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Good idea! Where do these grow?

 

[Bodean]

Ft. Bragg, Juniper Pygmy Forest.

Next, question please.


We harvest tiny little pines and cypress from reforestation projects, pot'em up and water'em and watch them grow.
Try not to snap the tap root. Buckeye's too.

 

[woodworkingboy]

I defer to you on Bonsai, Deva!

No experience myself, but I do hear people say that it requires a lot of effort to keep the good ones..well...good! Something about a regular schedule of pruning, cutting roots, and repotting. Feeding must be in there too. I do love the sculptural qualities of plants with human intervention.

 

[NickfromWI]

How long have you had it?

Just barely a year, but it's been sitting in the nursery pot (which was about 6" deep vs. 3" deep) since I got it. I hadn't done a thing with it except watch it grow for a year.

Are you being a smartass or did you honestly think I don't know what Bonsai is?

I was being a smartass if you were. If you were being serious, so was I.

 

[pigwot]

I was being a smartass if you were. If you were being serious, so was I.

A great response, to which I uttered "huh?" (no one home to hear me)

If any of you get a chance to visit Longwood Gardens in Delaware (an old DuPont estate), there is quite a collection of bonsai from around the world, many of them are ancient.

Oh, and Nick, there is a job opening in the bonsai department:

Supervisor: Section Gardener—East Conservatory: Bonsai

 

[Bodean]

No Bivy has some pretty awesome bonsai's in the garden.

 

[top_notch]

How often are you supposed to pull the tree out of the dirt and trim the roots?

 

[NickfromWI]

totally depends, but aprox every couple three years

 

[MasterBlaster]

Something about "topping the tap root?"

 

[stig]

Best bonsai garden I know of is in White Mountains, CA, just north of Bishop.

The trees are somewhat bigger than ordinary bonsai, but beats them by several thousand years of age.

 

[pigwot]

Touché