Boise Bonsai show 2019

End of summer deals 3 conifers for 5 bucks.

 End of Summer 2019

3 Conifers =$5

I was right by the big box grocery store and I knew there would be some of theses small conifers I saw earlier in the spring. They were 70% off and it is the last weekend before school starts back up again, so I figured they would be a good chill project to take on. All are cold hardy to -40f. and were in 1/2 gallon containers and will be designed as small sized trees.

Here is an arborvitae that had a small section of dead wood and hints at a root spread.  When I was poking around the nursery I saw it would make a nice clump style tree.

I cut it back and wired it out with guy wires into the plastic pot edge. The largest trunk I cut back and did a Shari on the top. I wired a few branches, including the leader, which I curved up above the Shari section. No root work was done.

Juniper (Blue Rug) Tanuki

This tree was naturally bent over in a semi-cascade growing style.  I thinned out just a few small branches and cut straight into the root ball with scissors, kinda like butterflying a chicken breast. I tried to not mess with the roots too much, and kept most of the bark soil in place.  I put 3 screws into the trunk to attach it to a cool piece of drift wood I found on the shore of Redfish Lake.

The image above and below shoes the underside of the tree.

Below is the proposed front from a birds eye view. It is potted in a 50/50 blend of my bonsai soil and the bark it was planted in.  I sprinkled in beneficial mushroom spoors to aid in recover and growth.  I wired the downward growing tip to the drift wood

Juniper (New Blue Tam)

My approach was to shorten the branches and wire them into place. 

New bench

I made a second bench for my developing trees.  It is made out of redwood 2x4x10 boards and is 4 cinder blocks high, about the same height as my bonsai table.

I also moved the location to where the bonsai will get more hours of direct sunlight.  The old spot had two huge shade trees and was really getting only a few hours of direct light.  The new location will get afternoon light.  This location is right my the sidewalk and in the public eye, which I don't love but is ultimately the best location.  

March 2019

March 2020

End of March 2019

End of March 2019

Cotoneaster from a 2gallon can

The cuttings that I put in sphagnum moss in a cat litter bucket in the basement had rooted like crazy. 

I used the large boxwood stump (that I wish I didn't have) to make a Tanuki.  I threaded about ten cuttings between the holes in the stump roots. I used electrical tape inside out to hold them in place.  I placed it in a deep pot I tossed in some of the moss and tried to keep some attached to the roots from when I gently separated them.  I tied it in using jute twine.

I also planted two of the largest cuttings, about as thick as my pinkie each into old nusery cans.  I mixed in the soil from the cans with my bonsai blend, not wanting to use too much good soil.  

I did the same with three that I had arranged in a wide grow box.  I arranged them horizontally to see if I might develop a raft style.  

Lastly,  I untangled and arranged my irrigation system.  I tried to keep it as tidy as possible.

Natural uro inspiration

Natural Uro

Today, I went to walk around the Boise river to stretch my legs from a long flight from Florida yesterday.  Below are images from today's walk and from yesterday's stroll around a park in St. Petersburg, Fl.  

View "tree" pages to view the progression of my trees.

End of summer 2018 ...the winners an losers report.

Summers End 2018

It is labor day and the end of summer, I of course have a cold after being back at work for two weeks, so I didn't have the motivation to take better photos.

Below is my best success for this year and the only Siberian elm that survived collection from the plumbing supply story down the road.  Some really large wounds healed over with the use of that cut paste/duct seal from the hardware store.  

Next is the ginkgo.  It did not put on much growth this year.  Perhaps it was too shaded, but after a few years of intense sun I chose to protect my collection in a mostly sanded location under a large maple.  I also did root work this past spring, and re-positioned its planting angle.    

Next, a Siberian elm that I rescued from the front yard.  It grew really well.  Here it is pictured after cleaning it up a bit.

The olive, after the large chop this spring was really slow to respond and put out new growth.  Fresh leaves did not come out until about August.  Once the temps at night drop to around 50 she will come back inside.  I potted it a a pot that has a tray for this purpose.  Plus the green is a good compliment to the foliage.  After a slight trim I used two turnbuckles to lower the largest branches. 
(note the mating praying mantis's)

Now the losers.  I lost all boxwoods.  Two that traveled north with me and the monster that I collected.  Also, the sumo and monster Siberian elms never took.  The monster elm had lots of good growth initially, but this I figure was from stored energy reserves.  The large barberry, like the big box, just never responded at all.

I guess,  I was too extreme in bare-rooting the plants.  Perhaps the better coarse of action would to pot them up large in the existing soil root ball, to give adjustment time, and to do it over a few seasons.