Thursday, March 25, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The Philadelphia Flower Show
Two of our members, Karen Harkaway and Flex Houvig are exhibiting their work at the the show. Karen is displaying her Ficus retusa and her chamaecyparis forest.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Summer
I'll be working on this Mugo pine this summer. Vance Wood has been kind enough to help me with this pine and others.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Has anyone seen this man?
Yes, this is my friend, Carl Rosner, and his beautiful Ficus retusa. We are standing in his "Treehouse".
Monday, February 22, 2010
Soil and Watering, continued....
What I have begun to realize is that today's fast draining bonsai soil is just that, FAST DRAINING! It seems that most of today's teaching over emphasizes how over-watering is dangerous to our trees' root systems. Yes, it can severely debilitate a trees roots depending on the specie. However, what most beginners do not understand is that if FAST DRAINING soil is used, it is almost impossible to over-water and it is much more likely under-watering will occur. Most beginners use this soil because that is what they are told to use.The problem lies in how FREQUENTLY we beginners water our trees. I have seen quite a few withered trees in BONE-DRY soil at recent BSSJ meetings. It seems that before we begin styling our trees, we need to become far more aware of the soil we use as related to the needs of our trees. Again, I almost lost a valued tree because I feared overwatering. If one studies current material about soils and watering it is often stated that trees potted in FAST DRAINING soil usually need to be watered at a frequency of 24 to 36 hours. Of course, this varies due to conditions. Now, I am more closely monitoring the moisture level of each one of my trees on an individual basis. The pic is F. microcarpa before it's decline.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Soil and Watering
After three years of "successfully" tending my trees, I thought I had the soil/watering thing pretty well under control. During the summers, all my trees did very well. Each fall I carefully watched the temperatures and when nighttime temperatures reached 55 degrees, I would bring the tropicals inside.
Although there was little in the way of leaf drop, there wasn't much growth. However, they still looked great.
This fall, after bringing them in, I noticed the Ficus Green Island didn't look very happy. It's leaves were looking a little yellowish. However, it was pumping out figs like crazy. By January, it had dropped half of it's foliage. By the middle of February, branch dieback became apparent.
At this point I decided it was time to look at the roots. When I lifted it out of the pot, the root ball came out intact. It did seem a little dry, but the roots looked fine and smelled healthy. I covered the rootball with a wet towel and prepped the pot.
Then I began carefully combing out the roots. This was when the problem became apparent. Ninety percent of the roots fell off with the soil. All I was left with were the larger roots directly at the base of the trunk. I finished repotting my sad little ficus in 50% grit 30%turface and 20% pine bark, all carefully sifted. I used this mix so I can water very frequently. I use only rainwater for all my trees and fertilize with Miracle-gro. No fertilizer for the patient until I see marked improvement. My diagnosis: I have been letting my tropicals get too dry. This took a toll on my Ficus Green Island. More on my experience with soils and watering to come.
Although there was little in the way of leaf drop, there wasn't much growth. However, they still looked great.
This fall, after bringing them in, I noticed the Ficus Green Island didn't look very happy. It's leaves were looking a little yellowish. However, it was pumping out figs like crazy. By January, it had dropped half of it's foliage. By the middle of February, branch dieback became apparent.
At this point I decided it was time to look at the roots. When I lifted it out of the pot, the root ball came out intact. It did seem a little dry, but the roots looked fine and smelled healthy. I covered the rootball with a wet towel and prepped the pot.
Then I began carefully combing out the roots. This was when the problem became apparent. Ninety percent of the roots fell off with the soil. All I was left with were the larger roots directly at the base of the trunk. I finished repotting my sad little ficus in 50% grit 30%turface and 20% pine bark, all carefully sifted. I used this mix so I can water very frequently. I use only rainwater for all my trees and fertilize with Miracle-gro. No fertilizer for the patient until I see marked improvement. My diagnosis: I have been letting my tropicals get too dry. This took a toll on my Ficus Green Island. More on my experience with soils and watering to come.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Bonsai Society of South Jersey
The newly formed Bonsai Society of South Jersey met last night. Since Tom DeSimone (our President and Founder) is in Florida, Dr. Karen Harkaway (our Vice President) opened the meeting at 7:00PM.
Flex Houvig presented an excellent lecture on developing branch structure and ramification. He brought with him a chinese elm. He uses this elm to experiment with branch development.
Many members brought trees that they considered "ugly". Flex very kindly critiqued each tree and tried to help the owner "see" the tree within.
Next meeting will be a workshop devoted to "spring repotting".
See you then!
Tom
Flex Houvig presented an excellent lecture on developing branch structure and ramification. He brought with him a chinese elm. He uses this elm to experiment with branch development.
Many members brought trees that they considered "ugly". Flex very kindly critiqued each tree and tried to help the owner "see" the tree within.
Next meeting will be a workshop devoted to "spring repotting".
See you then!
Tom
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
