Bonzai tree Discussion

[Xaqaria]

Picture of my new bonzai collection, although right now all it is is twigs in dirt. I have 6 starters for 8 different kinds of trees and I'm hoping at least 2 of 6 takes root for each one. Does anyone else have bonzai trees or any interest in them? Its definitely a large commitment since they take years and years to grow but its worth it in the long run.

[Snooze]

soooo, wich ones of those do you smoke? j/k for reals, i been thinking about raising one. i suck at sociable stuff such as asking stuff so ill just read other peoples questions.

[Howie]

Awesome Xaqaria. I took up this hobby last winter. I have manged to kill one and I have two remaining. It is intriguing how much can go into the art of Bonsai. I have a lot to learn. One of mine is ready to begin grafting....I think.

[Xaqaria]

To me the first thing to learn is patience. It will be at least 6 months before I know whether any of these have even grown root or are just dead twigs in dirt.

[Xaqaria]

soooo, wich ones of those do you smoke? j/k for reals, i been thinking about raising one. i suck at sociable stuff such as asking stuff so ill just read other peoples questions. The last time I tried growing bonzai trees I grew a pot plant from a seed at the same time. The pot plant is the only one that survived, and you can take from that whatever you want.

[skuruza]

WOO BONSAI! i got one and 10 seeds. glad people into it! i do need some advice though: i am planting seeds late summer, so instead of winter ima put them into a fridge. for how long should i do so? hehehe. a tip: use the mini greenhouse things if u plant and then it gets colder, like me. ima plant them in little pellets that grow with water and are designed for growing plants ( obviously) and i think they will work well. cheers

[Howie]

Mine has began to grow a lot of new growth. I really don't know where to hack this thing. I bought a book and it makes little sense to me. I went to this show at this arboretum near me that was incredible. They had beach trees, maple, almost any deciduous tree you can think of. That looked exactly like a full grown tree. It is an art. These people new what they were doing. There was a 56 year old pine. Forget what kind it was. The beach was forty. Awesome!

[wasup]

Can I ask why it's worth it in the long run?

[Howie]

Can I ask why it's worth it in the long run? Why is anything we create worth it? ~ Not meant in a smart ass tone.

[wasup]

Well most things we create are worth it because they provide some sort of reward and can "give back to you" in some way. But with a bonsai tree, it is just a tree. You create it... but it stays a tree just kind of there. I don't know why that is worth it in the long run.

[Howie]

Well most things we create are worth it because they provide some sort of reward and can "give back to you" in some way. But with a bonsai tree, it is just a tree. You create it... but it stays a tree just kind of there. I don't know why that is worth it in the long run. I can certainly understand your view. Although I myself do not agree. Plants, trees, flowers, regardless the time line, are nature's things you see grow and develop, they are very rewarding. More over when you play a role in their develpoement. Killing stuff with roundup is fun too!? HMMMM.

[Xaqaria]

Mine has began to grow a lot of new growth. I really don't know where to hack this thing. I bought a book and it makes little sense to me. I went to this show at this arboretum near me that was incredible. They had beach trees, maple, almost any deciduous tree you can think of. That looked exactly like a full grown tree. It is an art. These people new what they were doing. There was a 56 year old pine. Forget what kind it was. The beach was forty. Awesome! If by hacking you mean pruning, then the best way to do it for yourself is just to look how the trunk area grows and imagine what it would look like as a normal size tree and where it would be. If the trunk curves to one side, imagine it on a hilltop and trim the branches so it will eventually grow to look like it has been windswept in one direction for years. If the trunk grows fairly straight (which it will probably do) wrap wire around it once it has new bark but is still flexible. Then you can bend it in to whatever position you want and the wire will hold it that way until it grows in to that shape. Be careful to make sure that the root system is strong before bending it though, you may damage or kill it by setting it off balance otherwise.

[Xaqaria]

Well most things we create are worth it because they provide some sort of reward and can "give back to you" in some way. But with a bonsai tree, it is just a tree. You create it... but it stays a tree just kind of there. I don't know why that is worth it in the long run. To me its no different than sculpting with clay. A clay statue is really just a lump of clay that has been baked to hold its shape. It doesn't really give back to you in any way (unless you use it as a paper weight) beside being nice to look at. A bonzai tree is a living sculpture that takes years to shape, and more than one life time to ever finish. Like any art, it gives you the opportunity to see how well you can mimic and/or improve upon nature, while giving nature an equal hand in the process. Its like sculpting with a friend; but that friend happens to be billions of years old and has a mass of 6,592,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons.

[skuruza]

someone help me in my question plz?

[Howie]

Thanks for the info Xaqaria I would like to get some pictures up of the way it stands now and see it progress. Being a landscaper I have been trained to prune, cut and trim correctly but in an entirely different application. In both cases you are manipulating the object to get a specific result. With Bonsai it is almost unnatural for a lack of a better word.

[Xaqaria]

WOO BONSAI! i got one and 10 seeds. glad people into it! i do need some advice though: i am planting seeds late summer, so instead of winter ima put them into a fridge. for how long should i do so? hehehe. a tip: use the mini greenhouse things if u plant and then it gets colder, like me. ima plant them in little pellets that grow with water and are designed for growing plants ( obviously) and i think they will work well. cheers You should put them in the fridge for about how long the winter would last, so a couple months.

[wasup]

Wait, why would you put them in the fridge? I thought winter was a *bad* thing...?

[Howie]

Wait, why would you put them in the fridge? I thought winter was a *bad* thing...? For many deciduous trees that is part of their climate. So for the tree to loose it's leaves and do everything else a normal maple, beach, etc. would do, you try to create a similar climate. Oh yaaa. Winter is still BAD!

[Xaqaria]

Actually, the reason why you put the seeds in the fridge is because years of evolution have made the seeds of some deciduous trees only germinate after going through a dormant winter. Also, I forgot to mention, the seeds need to be moist while being refrigerated. The best way to do it is to put them between two damp (not soaking wet) paper towels. Also, I said a couple months, but the exact time is different for different types of trees. You should look up the specific seeds that you are using and you'll probably find out how long they should be kept cold.

[skuruza]

i am doing japanese elm

[Xaqaria]

Did you start from a seed? How long has it been growing and what does it look like now?

[skuruza]

seed

[bob_barker]

cool lil trees I got one of them desktop bonzai garden kit things from a bookstore and it doesnt work... but if it did.. it would be the coolest lil tree you ever did see

[skuruza]

i am still gethering info on how to plant and stuff, but i do plan to plant in those little pellet dirt things....