Bonsai anyone?

[ChanellG]

Gina, we get that a lot with pecan trees. Come to think of it, it happens with oaks and maples also. I am constantly plucking babies out of my flower pots and warning others about trees I notice that are coming up in their yards. It's amazing how absent people are about that sort of thing. Much easier to control them when they are tiny.

Air-layering -- is that where you take a branch or other part and bend it slightly to "plant" it in soil to root another plant?

 

[Gina145]

Chanell, those baby maples and maybe even the oaks could very easily be developed into bonsai if you let them fatten up for a couple of years first. The chairman of my bonsai club has a huge maple tree in his garden so he's constantly digging up seedlings. He uses some of those for root grafts (something I haven't tried yet), but he gave me one a couple of years ago and it's starting to develop into a nice little tree.

The layering technique you describe sounds like ground-layering. Air-layering is slightly different because it's usually done on a branch that can't be bent down to the ground. Instead some of the bark is stripped off, rooting hormone may be added and then it's wrapped up with soil or sphagnum moss inside plastic while new roots form. There are a few different methods and you would probably need to read up a bit on this if you want to try it.

The thickest branch I've successfully air-layered was over an inch thick.

 

[ChanellG]

Oh, that is what I want to do with the Japanese maple I have in the back yard! I've read about that and was planning to try it after the tree went through it's flowering cycle, but I just haven't got to it yet. I may do that to a branch on my blue berry bush as well. There is also a low branch on my mom's avocado that I feel should be pruned, but there is no way she is going to let me cut it. I might be able to persuade her to air layer it after the tree fruits (it has already flowered).

I would much rather start new plants than just throw away pruned off parts and I don't have a lot of space so anything that can produce fruit and be a bonsai would be an advantage. I just don't have a lot of time for the care right now, and then there's the cost of soil and containers and everything...

 

[Gina145]

Be careful, Chanell, you may end up like me. I also hate throwing away pruned off parts and end up propagating everything in sight. The maple and blueberry sound like a good idea, but avocado isn't ideal for bonsai. Of course there's nothing wrong with growing it as a small tree in a pot like I've done with my avocado seedlings.

The best time to air-layer branches is in spring, so if you're going to do it, it's best to sacrifice the flowering and fruiting cycle on the branches you use.

 

[ChanellG]

The maple just flowered and someone I know wanted to propagate a piece so maybe I'll get at it. I don't have any moss, but I have some organic compost I could try. I have always admired bonsai, but maybe I should just stick to something small I can keep indoors in moderate to low light.

I would like to have a small avocado that could produce enough fruit for me to enjoy one or two avocados per week. I love avocado and it's so expensive sometimes; then there's the waiting for it to ripen, etc. One day! LOL, just like my future bonsai

Oh, BTW, already too late on the propagating, lol.

What is the best plant for bonsai?

 

[Gina145]

There is no one best plant for bonsai. I've got masses of trees of all varieties, though most of them are a long way from being proper bonsai yet. The tree in my profile photo is a Ficus Natalensis, which is an indigenous South African Ficus, though I believe one can get them in other countries. I grew this one from a cutting about six years ago.

Ficuses are very popular for bonsai and are one of the species that can be kept indoors. If you want an indoor tree then you have to be careful what tree you choose. I've often read about people buying junipers after the seller has told them they can be kept inside, but they always die. And from what I've read indoor bonsai need a lot of artificial light. Some trees can survive in low light, but it will affect their growth pattern.

It may be late for propagating, but there's no harm in trying. I haven't tried an air-layer on a maple (I've only grown mine from cuttings, and some of them have rooted at the wrong time of the year) but I've had success with Celtis and Pomegranate air-layers that were started in summer.

 

[ChanellG]

I guess there is a lot to know about bonsai. I've always thought of it as an indoor activity with miniature trees that didn't get very large. It never occurred to me that bonsai trees would be best outdoors.

We used to have shrubs in my grandparents's yard that, after I became an adult, I tried to prune to look more like trees because they were pretty tall by then. I had them looking a bit like bonsai at one point, and the guy my aunt had doing the yard work at the time asked who had done them. When I said me he was impressed. (Don't know why...) Unfortunately, she had them cut down completely not long after that. Claimed she had to.

 

[Gina145]

It's so sad that your grandmother had those shrubs cut down because they could probably have been dug up and put into pots. That kind of thing happens all the time. The experts go and dig up old trees in the wild or hedges that are being removed and turn those into bonsai. It sounds like you've got a natural talent for bonsai.

I think a lot of people expect bonsai to be an indoor activity because bonsai shows are usually held indoors. But bonsai are first and foremost trees, and sadly many species can't survive indoors. Most tropical species can if given enough light. There are lists of suitable species on the internet if you want an indoor tree, but most trees will do better outside when conditions are suitable. I have some sensitive trees that I keep outside when it's warm enough but bring indoors at night during winter. I've been told they shouldn't be moved every day and should be left inside all winter, but in my climate it seems to work.

Where do you live? Your climate would have an influence on which trees are best for you to try.

 

[ChanellG]

I think of bonsai as an indoor activity because any time I have ever seen someone trimming a bonsai tree on television or in a movie it was always indoors. It was always these little trees with nice shapes that were kept inside like house plants either in someone's home or place of business. In the movies there is always some person who is either Asian or into Asian culture depicted as mindful or enlightened or studying martial arts (stereotype?) who is maintaining the bonsai as a hobby.

Oh, and I live in Louisiana.

 

[Gina145]

I don't know too much about Louisiana's climate, though a quick Google search tells me that it is semi-tropical. What kind of precautions need to be taken with sensitive trees really depend on how low your temperatures drop at night. Where I live our winter temperatures rarely drop more than a few degrees below zero Celsius and I've only seen snow three times in my life. We do have quite a lot of frost though and that can be a problem for sensitive trees.

A general rule seems to be that if trees naturally grow in an area they can safely be kept outdoors there even in winter. Sometimes a little bit of shelter may be required. I've come across people online who are unable to grow certain species because it never gets cold enough and I even saw one person refer to keeping some of his trees refrigerated during the winter.

The right bonsai can certainly be kept indoors permanently as long as it gets enough light and humidity. I haven't bothered to study this too carefully because I prefer my trees to get sunlight, even in winter, but my bonsai club has a talk on indoor bonsai scheduled for July. There are books on the subject though, as well as information online.

 

[ChanellG]

Louisiana's climate is hot and humid except for those miraculous time when we actually get to experience another season for longer than a few days. I've experienced some brutal winters, but I don't ever remember it getting below 20F at any hour of the day ever (thank goodness!) On the rare occasion that we see snow (once or twice a decade?) it is never more than a couple inches and it barely lasts

It's green year round here; the leaves don't even start to turn in fall until late November. However, summer is a whole other story. You could probably cook on the sidewalk or the asphalt. Also, it can rain quite a lot.

I am definitely going to have to do some reading on bonsai. Maybe that will be my next Pinterest obsession, lol.

 

[Gina145]

If you search Pinterest for bonsai, I'm sure you'll find some fantastic trees. I started a board there, but so far I've only added a couple of my own trees. I really should look for some exciting ones to add to it. I just need to find some time.

Your winters sound pretty similar to mine, except that it's not green all year round here. A few of my trees have already lost their leaves (it's Southern hemisphere autumn) while others have got lots of red leaves on them at the moment. I hate winters but I can't even imagine living in a place where the ground is covered in snow a lot of the time.

A climate like yours should give you a lot of options, though sensitive trees like Ficuses will need protection in winter if you choose to keep them outdoors in summer. I still think you should try to propagate something from that Japanese Maple even if it is a bit late in the season.

If you've got patience you could even try growing something from seed. Some seeds germinate very easily. On 2 March this year I had a mango for lunch and discovered that the seed had already developed a small root inside the fruit, so I had no choice but to plant it. Less than two months later my seedling is already about a foot high. It's not ideal bonsai material, but if I can style it into a nice little tree, I'll be happy.

 

[ChanellG]

No choice but to plant it huh? LOL. What's the link address for your Pinterest bonsai board? (I am never going to get anything done, lol!)

I just pulled up Pinterest and typed in bonsai and OMG, I must have this:

I can't wait until Claudine sees this! Just what I needed, lol, one more thing to add to the list...

 

[RoyalFeather]

My new trees are doing well with their transfer and are green and healthy.

How long should I wait before I start to train them?

 

[claudine]

No choice but to plant it huh? LOL. What's the link address for your Pinterest bonsai board? (I am never going to get anything done, lol!)

I just pulled up Pinterest and typed in bonsai and OMG, I must have this:

I can't wait until Claudine sees this! Just what I needed, lol, one more thing to add to the list...

It's so beautiful!!! I've never thought about it before but after I saw this picture I realized that it may be pretty easy to make a bonsai tree from a rose - roses grow so fast.
I prefer to let my roses grow the way they want but it's a really lovely idea