Siberian crabapple

     Stratifying some Malus baccata aka siberian crabapple seeds. they were 40 days into a 90 day stratification when I noticed that some of the seeds had sprouted. I took these seeds out and planted them.

Malus baccata next to scissors

     One week after planting the germinated seeds I saw this. Here in Inglewood the winters and summers are very mild. It rarely dips below 40 degrees fahrenheit.

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     This is a close up

Close up

     It's amazing to see how much these seedlings have grown. When they get about 4 to 6 inches I will cut the tap roots and plant them in individual containers.

Two weeks after planting

Close up

Update june 24:

Five months later and the crabapples are looking gteat. Growth was slow at first. A little fertilizer and they pepped up.

Rosemary

Rosemary

  One of the great advantages of rosemary is the small leaf size. It also can have a great green color and silvery accents. Some people myself included find the aroma of the essential oil very pleasing. I saw this tree at the local box store. I think i paid around $8.00 U.S. for it. it was tall and had many twisting branches. What I really liked about this tree was its trunk. The trunk looked braided, and it had bark that looked like it was peeling. It had a branch on the side that I was not sure if I was going to keep. I decided to keep it.

Close up

           The look I’m going for is of a gnarly old oak. Here in California we have a lot of live oak. The old trees have huge branches that touch the ground and then come back up. I am going to give it a domed top and have the branches go down then back up.

Planned silhouette

     I potted the rosemary in mostly volcanic rock and Turface. I would say 70 inorganic and 30 organic. Organic materials retain water. Since I didn’t add that much organic material the soil dries out quickly. To compensate for the lack of organic material I added a layer of moss. This will slow evaporation a little bit.

Back or future front?

Bonsai greetings from the south bay

Greetings from Inglewood California. I love bonsai. I read, dream, smell, and sweat bonsai. A year ago a woman at work gave me a small Procumbens nana juniper and I was hooked. My plant collection has exploded. My pot collection has grown I have learned much through looking for information, and even more through making mistakes.
    One thing I have noticed about people in bonsai is that they are passionate. This leads to much argument and controversy. I hope that my blog can remain light hearted and a fun read. I am going to log my misadventures this year. I am applying to school to continue my studies in horticulture as i hope to own a nursery one day.

Ficus Microcarpa

Ficus Microcarpa top view

     This is one of my most developed trees. As you can see it is not very refined. This ficus was growing as an epiphyte in the crotch of a multi trunked Italian pine. I can not guess its age, but it has scar marks from when the grounds keepers hacked it back. I cut the base of the trunk to remove it from the pine. I placed it half way in bark used for orchid soil and watered it when the top was dry. It has many roots now and I am expecting lots of growth this year.