Southern Bonsai Blog » pre-bonsai http://www.southernbonsai.com Blog about lessons learned growing bonsai in the South Fri, 09 Apr 2010 02:14:48 +0000 en hourly 1 Indian Hawthorn http://www.southernbonsai.com/2009/07/indian-hawthorn/ http://www.southernbonsai.com/2009/07/indian-hawthorn/#comments Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:33:07 +0000 aaron http://www.southernbonsai.com/?p=115
  • Repotted Azalea Bonsai
  • Rhododendron ‘Shanghai Rosie’
  • The Deep South Bonsai List
    • ]]>     As a groomsmen’s gift for my best man, I had bought this tree in hopes of giving it to him to grow eventually into a bonsai. Fortunately, I found a great bald cypress at a good price instead. The bald cypress will be much easier to take care of for a beginner bonsai artist because it’s so tough. This indian hawthorn will have to just stay in my collection while I explore the possibilities of where it should go and it lets me know where it wants to go. Some have very large leaves and multiple trunks, but this one has a nice single trunk and smaller leaves than many of the other varieties. Should stand up to the summer heat and be easy to take care of. It’ll either be a great bonsai specimen one day, or an excellent addition to my garden :)

    Indian Hawthorn

    Indian Hawthorn

    Related posts:

    1. Repotted Azalea Bonsai
    2. Rhododendron ‘Shanghai Rosie’
    3. The Deep South Bonsai List

    ]]>     http://www.southernbonsai.com/2009/07/indian-hawthorn/feed/ 1     Ficus Microcarpa coming along http://www.southernbonsai.com/2008/07/ficus-microcarpa-coming-along/ http://www.southernbonsai.com/2008/07/ficus-microcarpa-coming-along/#comments Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:20:47 +0000 aaron http://www.southernbonsai.com/?p=18
  • Ficus Bonsai Progression
  • Wintergreen Boxwood Bonsai
  • Fall is here
    • ]]>     I have a couple of ficus microcarpa trees that were a part of the first pre-bonsai trees that I bought. This one in particular is my favorite. Ficus trees are really easy to take care of, grow profusely, and can survive many beginner mistakes.  They are tropical, so you have to keep them indoors in the winter.  Under a good florescent light, they will continue to grow nicely.  Here’s a progression of one tree over the past few months.

    The above picture is right after it was freshly repotted in late February.  I potted it in orchid mix, which at the time was the best soil I could find that would be fast draining and help the roots to flourish.

    After a lot of growth, I started having problems with fungus gnats in the soil.  So, I repotted in a mixture of 50/50 turface and pine bark mulch.  I also did an extensive branch prune due to many branches coming out of the same spot on the trunk, causing bulbous pertrusions.

    Unfortunately, between nature and I, this tree has seen a break.  Birds snapped some of the branches, then proceeded to defoliate the rest of the tree.  It has really proven to be a good thing in this specific case.  The branches that are sprouting are in much better places and will provide better balance for the informal upright style that I was shooting for.  I continue to hope this will be one the best bonsai trees in my collection one day.  It’s one of the first trees that people notice when looking at the different varieties on my deck.

    Related posts:

    1. Ficus Bonsai Progression
    2. Wintergreen Boxwood Bonsai
    3. Fall is here

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