Bonsaiathon at the Huntington Library

Do you like bonsai shows? What if it was at an arboretum? I went to a bonsaiathon at the Huntington Library and let me tell you, It was awesome. We saw trees, pots, rocks. They had demonstrations and booths. It was truly a bonsai lovers paradise.



My favorite bonsai was this California coast live oak Quercus Agrifolia. It had tender new growth. Its trunk was amazing. It was gnarled thick with scars just like a coastal live oak should look like.



This vendor had a great many incredible pots for sale. He had many shapes, sizes, color, and prices. I was very tempted to purchase some wares.



These pots were going to be auctioned off.



This cascading California juniper Juniperus californica was another favorite. It had two of my favorite things. It was a cascading bonsai and it was a California juniper.



They had so many types and style of bonsai.

I wanted to go to the demonstrations. They were done by Cesareo Perez, Frank Goya, Fred Miyahara, Kathy Benson, Albert Rivera & Tom Vuong. The problem was that the demonstrations time conflicted with the sale times. Let me tell you, They had trees from $1.00 to $50.00. These $1.00 trees were not dainty little cuttings. They had 2 foot shimpaku juniper. Semi shaped cotoneaster and wild olive trees. There was a very long line to get in the sales are. The tension was definitely palpable. I was in the second group to go in. I picked up 4 shimpaku and 2 olive trees. Total $6.00. I thought about buying more, but 6 trees was more than enough.

These are my first shimpaku ever. I am very excited to work on it. I gave one to my daughter. She wants to make a windswept juniper.





The trees I bought:



I went with my family. We all enjoyed it very much. Cheers.

Grafting a ficus microcarpa, or whittling away at a tree

I wanted to try my hand at grafting a branch unto a tree. I thought that I could try grafting a ficus microcarpa. Ficus microcarpa are resilient plants. Even if I did something wrong the damage might be minimal. Boy, was I wrong.  

Here is the trunk that I was going to graft onto.



Her is the branch. It is actually a piece from further up the same tree.



Confession time: To graft you should have some knowledge, the right tools, and a little experience will not hurt. I had none of those. Here was the result.



I took a nice size chunk of tree off. That is going to leave a very big scar. I felt sick. Why o why do I do the things I do? Ok, this was a fail. The tree will recover. So I decided to do it again.

It looked a lot better, but because I don't know what I am doing I do not know if it will take.

I think for grafting I will need someone to teach me. Cheers.

One More Time, Root Over Rock with a Twist. a chinese elm

Early in December, I noticed a small Chinese elm growing in my front yard. I thought I’ll let it grow and harvest it next year. With all the rain we have had the ground was soft. The root hairs and all just came up. I  was very pleased. Elated even.

What to do with this gift? I already have Chinese growing in pots from various seeds that I collected. This one decided to be part of my family. Ok, maybe it's not all that. However, I do need a plan for this little tree.

I have a few root over rock tropicals. Making those is like growing moss on a wet rock. It is pretty easy. Why not try something slightly more challenging and make a root over rock deciduous tree?

So here goes this story. I had this rock with a very nice shape. I went to look for my stand by rubber bands. I could not find any. I did have some parafilm I bought for grafting, though. I read that parafilm eventually deteriorates and that it breathes. I thought back to my elementary days in an inner city study hall where they taught me something that seemed contradictory in my ignorant youth. “To be successful you must be a risk taker.”

I placed the roots the way I thought would make for good composition in the future. Then I wrapped the roots as little as possible just enough to hold the roots in place.

This is what the whole thing looked like after:

I decided to pot the rock underneath the soil line. I am using some compost. It is still breaking down. The soil line will slowly drop on its own and expose the the top part of the rock. After I’ll help it a little more.

These are extra pics because I think the tree is very beautiful.

We will see how everything fares out. Cheers.

The Root Ball, you need a ball to play the game

So, last year I wanted to grow my own Japanese Black pine. I scoured the internet to find information. I found a good article on https://bonsaitonight.com/. That website is a great resource for all things black pine and other things. The article https://bonsaitonight.com/2011/07/01/how-to-create-seedling-cuttings-japanese-black-pine/ mentioned that he had used some methods that were found in Bonsai Today issue numbers 12 and 20 (Click on the link to find Bonsai Today 1-20 ).  I found out that Kusida Matsuo the author of the article Back Pine From Seed put pine trees in a colander. When the tree grew bigger he would leave the tree in the same colander and plant the tree, colander and all in a bigger colander. Finally when the tree was big enough Mr. Matsuo would remove the tree from the bigger colander and prune the roots. He would not disturb the root ball formed in the original colander.

I am not writing about the japanese black pine per se. I am writing about the idea of

keeping the root ball intact. Here is the idea behind that. If you think about most trees and shrubs from just about any part of the world you imagine the roots in some type of soil. I'm going to generalize here. The trees may bend and sway with the wind.  Snow may bend and breaks branches. However, for the most part the roots remain untouched. Those who hunt trees in the wild take special care of how they remove the tree from the soil. It is very meticulous work to remove a tree and for it to survive. Big roots are not the problem. The problem is those fine roots that absorb water and nutrients. They hunters try to not disturb these smaller roots as much as is possible.  

We all know that the roots are important. Some trees are not sensitive at all to having the roots moved or cut. I have cut a four inch thick branch off of a ficus and it has rooted just fine, accidentally broken the new roots and the tree doesn't skip a beat. No harm no foul. I have also killed a few pines a couple years back because I root pruned to much, at the wrong time, etc. Yet the intention of this article is not about killing trees. It is about growth rates.

This cutting has no roots yet grew new foliage

Here is the big picture, pruning roots on any tree will slow a tree's growth. A tree feeds itself water and minerals, the building blocks of the trees tissues through the roots. If a tree has more roots it has the capability of taking in more nutrients. Does it necessarily do that? I am not sure. If a tree had a big root system and it is reduced we can agree that the trees capabilities to absorb water and nutrients will diminish. The tree will start to grow roots to get back to equilibrium. This might hinder branch and leaf production.

Unfortunately in bonsai we can not avoid cutting tree’s roots. Cutting roots is part of the process to fit trees in a small pot. When a tree is old and refined cutting roots will rejuvenate the root system.

So, we have to cut roots, and we want to shorten the tree’s recovery time. We can do this by maintaining a tree's root ball. Just like Mr. Matsuo if we leave the roots close to the tree as untouched as possible then the recovery time will be quicker. The size of the root ball will have to coincide with the size of the tree.  Another factor is the pot you use to keep your tree.

Good luck and cheers.

My brothers chinese elm keeper

Well, My brother invited me to hi house to see his new baby. While in the back yard I noticed that he had a small chinese elm growing in a planter on the side by a wall. His whole backyard is paved except along the wall. I asked him if he wanted it. It looked peculiar in its place. He told me that it was a weed and that he had hacked it many times.

I did the gracious thing and offered my services to remove the tree (my wife asks me why can’t I be normal?). He was in favor of removing it. I came back a month later and started digging the tree out.

The tree was easy to remove it was in soft soil. It had a curved tap root and two other roots that held the tree in place. The problem was that there was hardly any fine roots by the base of the trunk. All the bigger roots ran under the cement or under the wall. There was nothing to do. I sawed off the tree big roots and the tree came out no problem.

I got it home and noticed that the tree had a very bad reverse taper. Also, my brother had hacked at the tree at the same place over the last year. This forced the new growth to try and become the new leader. So the tree has five or six branches all side by side growing straight up creating a little wall.

When I got the tree home I chopped off the bottom 3 inches because the taper was grotesque. I am hoping that it will grow fine roots from there. I left everything else the same. I didn't even trim the branches down. I know that if the tree lost branches they would lose them at different heights so I was willing to gamble.

It has been raining quite a bit so I have noticed only the tip of the tallest branch has wilted. Not bad at all.

wilted leaves

right side of pic leaves ok, left side leaves dead

Wish me luck. Cheers.

Air layer using synthetic medium, or Cloning trees in a brave new world.

So, My brother was playing with these gel balls. He showed me these tiny colorful beads. He dropped them in water and a about an hour later they had soaked up water and had expanded to a relatively large size. We grabbed handfuls and started flinging it at one another. We had a very good time.

I got to thinking that this might be something I can use with my plants. When I did my research I found that it is already used in horticulture. Apparently it has more uses than a gitchy water source for bridal center pieces.  

The name of this polymer is Polyacrylamide. I am going to use this for air layers. Last year I made some air layers, but I forgot to water them and they failed. With these little babies in place even if I forget to check the air layers it will not result in catastrophe.

The following is a time lapse of about one hour. I did not add any more polymer balls after the initial portion. I did have to add lots of water though.

Colored balls and clear ones

Total number of balls used n the experiment

After thirty seconds there was a size change

Ten minutes in water

Final outcome

So I prepped this apple tree for the air layer (How to Air Layer). I added the polymer balls and pulled the bag fairly tight.  I checked it the next day. It had condensation but no pooling of water. Prognosis, satisfactory. Ill cross my fingers on this experiment. Cheers.  

see the condensation?

Japanese Green Maple

Oh, I found this website: https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/water-jelly-crystals-superabsorbent-polymers/

It has some fun facts:

• One pound of Water Jelly Crystals will absorb up to 35 gallons of rainwater or snowmelt, and 20-25 gallons of tap water, depending on the salt content of the water.
• Water Jelly Crystals can be applied wet or dry. Dry granules are usually easier to use, but soak them thoroughly to fully fill them with water (hydrate). When hydrated, the granules look like chunks of clear gelatin about 1/2 inch in diameter.
• Dry Application: For large quantities of potting soil or backfill around trees and shrubs. – 1.5-2 pounds/ cubic yard of potting soil or backfill – 1 ounce/ cubic foot of soil
• For small quantities of potting soil – 1/2 teaspoon per quart of soil. Note: Since dry granules swell to many times their original size when water is added, 15-20% swelling room must be left in each planting hole or flower pot to compensate.
• Wet Application: Best for small applications such as repotting house plants and planting shrubs, small trees, and bedding plants. 1/2 teaspoon of dry granules absorbs approximately 1 cup of water. – 1 ounce of dry granules absorbs approximately 1 1/2 cups of water. – 1 pound of dry granules absorbs approximately 30 gallons of water. Mix the granules in water and allow the mixture to stand for 60-90 minutes (Hot water works faster). Once you have the polymer all soaked up, the application rate is roughly one part hydrated polymer to four parts soil.
• House/Office Plants – 6″ pot (2/3 gallon) 1 teaspoon dry or 2 cups hydrated – 8″ pot (1 1/2 gallons) 2 Tablespoons dry or 6 cups hydrated – 5 gallon pot 7 teaspoons dry or 1 gallon hydrated Note: Mix Water Jelly Crystals in the lower half of the pot, because the water tends to flow quickly through porous potting soil, before the granules near the top have time to rehydrate fully.
• Repotting: Using the above rates mix granules or hydrated gel (the hydrated gel works the best) thoroughly in the lower half of the pot. If using dry granules, fill the soil only to within 1 inch of the pot rim to prevent swelling out of the pot.
• Existing Plants: Depending on the container size, use a pencil or wooden spoon handle to poke 4-6 holes around the plant, going to the bottom, Divide the correct amount of dry granules evenly among the holes, pushing them to the bottom. Water the plant slowly to hydrate the granules. Wait at least 2-3 weeks before changing watering intervals, to give feeder roots a chance to grow down into the granules.
• Vegetable and Flower Gardens: Use 4-5 pounds/ 100 square feet for low-water adapted flowers, and up to 10 pounds/100 square feet for water loving vegetable and flowers. Hint: The addition of weed-barrier fabric will further reduce the need for water or weeding. Application suggestions… By hand, or using a spreader, distribute the granules evenly over the leveled bed, and then turn the soil back under. Bedding plants may be given a quick start by mixing a handful of hydrated gel in the back fill of each plant, taking care not to leave clumps of gel. Water the bed thoroughly after planting.
• Trees and Shrubs: Dig a hole 5 times the diameter, but no deeper than the root ball or container. The table shows the amount of dry granules needed to mix in the backfill of round holes 2.5 to 5 times the diameter of the container. Container Size 2.5 times 5 times – 1 gallon 1/3 cup 1/2 cup – 5 gallon 5/8 cup 3 1/2 cups – 15 gallon 1 2/3 cup 7 3/4 cups. If you don’t want to dig such a big hole just calculate the amount of backfill and figure one once per cubic foot. The bigger the hole the more polymer you can use and the more water storage you’ll gain.
• New or Seeded Turf: Watering intervals can be extended approximately one day for each 7 1/2 pounds of Water Jelly Crystals per 1000 square feet given evaporation rates of .25 inch per day. For example, 15 pounds of granules normally stores 1/2 inch of extra water (two additional days between waterings) and 30 pounds stores 1 inch of water (four additional days between watering). Warning: To avoid making a soft lawn, never use more than 5 pounds of Water Jelly Crystals per tilled inch per 1000 square feet. Thus, 20 pounds must be tilled in 4 inches; 30 pounds 6 inches. Increase the application rate roughly 10% over sloped areas. Save one pound to spread over the top of each 1000 square feet before laying sod (but not if you are seeding, as it just breaks down in the wet phase if not covered by soil.) Water thoroughly and slowly. Application: By hand, or using a spreader, distribute the granules evenly before roto-tilling to the appropriate depth.

Update March 10:

The gel balls turned to mush. I am going to call this experiment a failure.

Dead bonsai, new life

As a general rule you  should never give a bonsai as a gift. You do not unless you know for a fact that the person who will take care of the tree is capable of caring for it.

My mother...lol do you know where this is going? My mother’s boss turned 60 this year. She wanted to give her boss a bonsai for her birthday. My mother swore that she would take care of it as her boss is notorious for killing plants. I said OK and gave her a good looking Chinese elm to present.  

Four months later my mom brought me this:

The amazing thing is that a new growth has popped out from the base of the tree. We’ll see where this goes.