Fall is here

Highs this week are in the low 80′s signifying the end of the really hot temps that we’ve seen all summer here.  Some of my trees are slowly coming back to life with some fall growth like the boxwoods, junipers, and even some late growth on my crape myrtles.  Not all of my bonsai made it through the summer though, with this azalea struggling for the past 3 months and finally giving up the fight in the past month or so.  I have repotted trees in almost every month of the year, but got entirely too brave with this repot.  I repotted during the flowering period, put it in too shallow of a pot, and there was just too much of the root system above the soil line.  I started out with sphagnum moss covering the top part of the root system, but it kept that part too wet.   The other part stayed way too dry due to the soil being about 80% turface.  I guess you could call this a progression picture, but it’s certainly not progression in the right direction.It’s an understatement to say I still have much to learn about the art of bonsai.

Shin-Boku – Japanese Garden Trees

This site is really amazing and something I was reading about at Stone Lantern’s Blog called Bonsai Bark.  Shin-Boku Nurseries create specimen garden trees and the images are incredible.  If a person wasn’t standing beside the tree, I would think it was a bonsai, and I guess technically, it is.

Shin-Boku Nursery

Help me ID this tree!

If you have ever needed to ID a bonsai that: wasn’t correctly labeled, didn’t have a label at all, or that you collected, then help might be a click away. If your an experienced bonsai artist, you may be able to help others ID their plants. MyPlantID.com

My Plant ID began in January 2008 as a plant identification service. People from all over the world sent us photographs of their plants and we identified them for free. The demand was overwhelming. When we realized that we couldn’t keep up with the amount of daily submissions, we knew something had to change. At the same time, there was a large number of plant enthusiasts who contacted us, eager to help identify. The result is www.myplantid.com. With you help and curiosity, we hope to build myplantid into the premier plant identification website and forum.
Features:

* Identify plants online.
* Search by leaf features (arrangement, shape, margin, vein) and location.
* Submit plant image and let users identify it.
* Organize and keep track of all your garden plants online .
* Contribute by identifying plats of others.
* Registration required, free.

Jim Smith Bonsai

Orlando Bonsai had a post on it’s blog today about Jim Smith’s Bonsai nursery. This nursery has been providing wholesale bonsai material since 1979. If your wife is looking for a beach location and your wanting to do a little scouting on the side, check out Vero Beach, Florida so you can swing by Jim Smith’s.

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My Bonsai RSS Bundle

I have created a Google Reader RSS bundle for those that like to read Bonsai blogs. If you click the link below, then subscribe to this bundle (you’ll need a Google or GMail account), then you will automatically subscribe to the 33 bonsai blogs that I have been able to find in Google Reader. Just go to http://www.google.com/reader to read the updates every day. Here’s the link: Google Reader Bonsai Bundle

If you use another reader, here is the OPML file to import: Bonsai Blogs OPML File

By the way, I have been having problems with my RSS feed. It showed errors if you looked at it in Google Reader or Feedburner. If you received a lot of updates in your RSS reader today, this is why.