Inside Bonsai Development

Can You See Him?

This little guy nearly gave my wife a heartache as she was watering my plantbox. This truly is a creepy little insect. If I look long enough I see him every time I water. I especially like the veins in his back which completely mirror the leaves.

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What is the Deal?

I was recently talking to someone about internet bonsai stores and the bonsaimonks came up in conversation. A bunch of monks living in a secluded enclave, devoting themselves to enlightenment through bonsai, what is there not to like? It sounds like a great idea, unfortunately it is not well executed.

I made an order from them (they have a snazzy website and the prices were admittedly pretty good.) I ordered a set of three glazed pots and volume one of John Naka's classic 'Bonsai Techniques'. That is where things started going downhill.

I received the wrong pots and volume two. I called the monks and talked to a couple of the brothers, both of whom said they would immediately refund me the difference on the price of the pots (the ones shipped were a few dollars cheaper). However they did not want to pay for me to return the stuff for the correct merchandise. There reasoning was that the shipping would cost more than the value of the pots. To make a long story short, I never got refunded the difference and I was stuck with merchandise I did not order. I have never come across such an unprofessional retailer. If you are going to run a charity organization, that is fine, but do not advertize it as a legitimate business.
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Bonsai Photography

I ran across this site the other day. A very good, concise, collection of instructions for capturing bonsai in their best light.

For those too lazy to read the page: use the right backdrop, get enough natural light, use a tripod and get the camera looking dead-on at the tree.

Check out the last page, it is a good example of the kind of quality pictures you can take with even the cheapest camera if you put a little time and effort into the shoot.
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When Bad Things Happen to Good Trees

First aid for the dwarf schefflera is a good thing to know if you are going to raise indoor bonsai. It is not easy to put years of thought into a tree, just to let it die the first time you do something stupid. It is only a matter of time before you do something stupid. In my case it actually seems to happen quite regularly, so I have become somewhat adept at rescuing my little trees.

Case in point, my first tree, only recently survived a near death experience last week. This tree is about five or six years old. Until recently, it really was quite beautiful. The problem was that over the years, mineral deposits had built up on the lava rock. I was determined to remove these unsightly white marks. I looked into the problem and found that vinegar is probably the best solution for removing the stains. Unfortunately, I did not find any information about what constitutes a reasonable dose of vinegar for a small plant. Sufficed to say, I got the stains off, but within 12 hours, the leaves started falling off. Within a week, every leaf but two were gone!

As you saw from the picture, truly this tree is a sad sight.


What could be done?

If you ever find yourself with a truly sick dwarf schefflera this is what you do. You clean the tree as best you can. I rinsed the tree and rock for thirty minutes.

Then you water the tree.

Now, this is the really important part. Enclose the tree inside a plastic bag. In my case I used a very large ziplock bag. It looks very odd, but actually makes sense. These plants are from the tropics, they are at home in a rain forest. By putting the tree inside a plastic bag you will be dramatically raising the humidity. Within a day it should start fogging up. This means you have a good seal, and your plan is working. Usually within a day or two I start to see results, little buds will start showing up. This is the result after a week of being shrink-wrapped. Not too shabby.
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Is This Cool or What?





I just ran across this site.... crashed cars for bonsai trees! The best part is that they sell all different

flavors of miniature crashed cars. Personally, I am partial to the gullwing benz. For those who do not have anything better to spend a hundred bucks on, why not?

I really prefer BMW over mercedes, but the 328 really is not crashed nearly as well...
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Caring for a Dwarf in Chicago





Care instructions for this plant are very simple. Get good light, water regularly and fertilize very sparingly. That is really all there is to it!

There are basically two different seasons for plants in Chicago. Summer and the nine other months of the year which is overcast. The plants need very different care depending upon the season.

I find I need to water twice a week during the summer, once a week during the rest of the year. In my case some of my trees are rooted in pieces of volcanic rock. The rocks make watering a snap. Just submerge the rock in a container of water and let it sit for thirty minutes. When you pull out the rock you will notice it is substantially heavier. Judging the weight of the rock by touch is probably the best way to tell if it is time to water. For my trees not in lava, I water them liberally. It is almost impossible to overwater these trees. I have never killed a dwarf schefflera by overwatering it, so err on the side of too much water.

During the sunny months make sure your plant sees some light. Ideally the plant should sit outside. On extremely sunny days shade the plant, but otherwise let it get some direct light. You'll know your plant is getting too much sun when it develops a sunburn on the leaves. Generally speaking, this is a pretty rare occurance in this area. If the plant can not be outside, set it next to the window which gets the most light. A west facing window would be ideal.

To fertilize or not, tis the question. Do not fertilize the tree. Fertilizing is one of the easiest ways to kill these trees. Fertilizing an unhappy tree will kill it. Over fertilizing a tree will kill it. Your tree can only make use of fertilizer while it is actively growing, so do not apply any fertilizer October through May. During the summer you can try adding a single drop of liquid fertilizer to your biweekly watering. I use miracle gro house plant liquid fertilizer, it works pretty well. Fertilizing will definitely help the rate at which your trees grow. Just be careful, better to be safe than sorry.




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THE 28TH ANNUAL MID-AMERICA BONSAI EXHIBIT



If you are going to be anywhere near Chicago in mid August you should considering checking this out.

The Midwest Bonsai Society are the co-maintainers of the beautiful bonsai collection at the Chicago Botanical Garden. This is their big show of the year and it has something to offer for any bonsai enthusiast. In addition to being able to check out some absolutely gorgeous trees there will be lectures by some big names and they have a bunch of interesting workshops aimed at beginner, intermediate and advanced students.

Registration Info


Workshops

The workshops sound like a blast. Me hopes they still have space left for late registrants such as myself.

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I Love This Tree!


I paid 39 dollars for this tree a little over three years ago and it has given me a huge amount of joy.

This tree is beautiful. I can stare at it for five minutes, rotate it 45 degrees and happily continue to gaze upon it.

Aggressive roots overflow the lava rock on all sides. Look at the four meaty arms diverging from the central stem, it really is amazing. From a brawny core emerges long slender fibers of dark healthy green, an olive helmet of life. Even with minimal or no styling this tree is a sight to behold.

If you are starting to explore bonsai, I have no reservations about recommending the dwarf schefflera. Also known as 'hawaiian umbrella' plants, these trees are beautiful, fast growing and really easy to take care.

This species grows very quickly during the prime growing season (June - September in Northern Illinois). Cuttings from the plant shown above grew into a 24" plant in 18 months.

Virtually all bonsai stores sell a version of this tree. I have even seen them at the local home depot. Prices range from ten to fifty dollars. If you have a very limited budget, hit the hardware store. Otherwise save yourself several years of formative training and get a four year old tree from a reputable bonsai nursery.

In my next post I will cover basic care for the dwarf schefflera.
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Start With a Single Tree


In the beginning....there was a seed. A bonsai seed is not much to look at. The ones I have worked with resembled black pepper. Twice I have gone through the motions of trying to grow a tree from a seed. Never again. Both times I came to a miserable end. On my first attempt the germinating seeds were mistaken for a dirty rag mistakenly left in the refrigerator and were thrown away by my wife. Attempt number two involved me waiting for 3 weeks for my germinated seeds to break through the crust of potting soil. On week number four I transplanted the beasts to the garbage.

I have had the best experience with young plants from the bonsai nursery. There are a couple of reasons this is the preferred way to start out. Most importantly you will probably have little idea of to properly care for your tree. This tree is likely to be under duress having been packed up and shipped across the country (and Ocean in the case of Hawaiian born plants). If the plant was in questionable health at the beginning of the journey you will have your work cut out for you. Buying the plant directly from the bonsai nursery means you will be retrieving a plant in optimal health! You will get instructions educating you about your specific plant, so the chances of killing this tree are minimal.

The second reason to consider the bonsai nursery is that when you order an 8" tree for twenty bucks you are receiving a 3-4 year old plant. This plant has been pruned back and trained. It is very gratifying to start out with something that is already interesting. Check your mail, open the box, water your tree and enjoy.

Now then...if you know somebody with an attractive tree you have another option. Take a cutting from a healthy tree, transplant to some potting soil and stand back! I took some cuttings from a mid-summer pruning session and put them in a pot with some soil. 18 months later this is the result. If you really like the idea of developing a bonsai completely on your own, this may be the way to go.


In the next post I will discuss the best kinds of trees to consider starting with.



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