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KenToArt — Mame Juniper bonsai tree by Ken To
Published: 2014-03-02 17:53:00 +0000 UTC; Views: 6468; Favourites: 50; Downloads: 11
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Description
I bought this as a basic Mallsai in 2008 and I've re-shaped it many times. I'm finally settling on this design.Related content
Comments: 12
Really neat looking! How'd you get started with bonsais anyhow?
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Hi,
I bought a basic tree at a Wal-mart...the kind with an old man sitting on a rock figurine. My 3 year old son noticed the one of the man's arms were missing so I had to go around to hunt for another figurine. The search took me to various nurseries and etc., and I was hooked from there.
Thanks,
Ken
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Thanks for the reply!
I see that makes a lot of sense on how they hooked you. I may have to try one someday.
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It reminds me of trees I saw in a very windy area in Australia. All the trees were bent over but kept growing. This is awesome.
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It's gorgeous! I wish I could keep a bonsai alive long enough to shape it. I did have a jade plant I was working on, but it was accidentally left in the office of a job I was fired from (it was in my manager's office as she had a window) and I didn't have it in me to go and beg for it back. I'll have to start again with another jade, I guess.
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Keeping bonsai indoors is very difficult. Even seasoned bonsai practitioners have trouble keeping anything alive indoors for a long time.
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Good to know I'm not just a bonsai serial killer, then. I was having a lot more luck with my jade than with anything else I've ever touched, though they are much more forgiving than most other plants, being succulents. I was trying to build up the base to be good and gnarled with branches off of the main one, rather than a round or square shape that seems to be the 'thing' for jades. I've murdered every juniper I've ever touched, and I had a GORGEOUS flowering something-or-other that died because my manager locked it in her office for a week when she went on vacation. Poor thing died of drought. As someone who lives in apartments, and in a pretty cold place (Michigan has been sub-zero most of the winter,) do you have any suggestions? I don't have a porch, though I'd love to get an apartment that does. I'm not sure how well potted plants take to winter on a porch, though; generally I bring mine in so the pots don't break and the root systems don't freeze. If I did have a porch, I'd do more deep-container planting, but bonsai is generally very shallow... I just have no idea how I'd ever do it with any luck.
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Hi,
Jades are excellent for bonsai and they are one of the few plants that can tolerate being indoors all the time. The problem is, they need a lot of light. As long as there's enough light, they'll be happy. Also, you can easily make hundreds of jades out of one plant just by clipping small branches and sticking them in soil. This way, you'll have plenty to practice with.
I'm in California so I have no experience with extremely cold weather and plants. If you don't have a porch, then you do have to stick with indoor gardening. Just get some of those flourescent lights they sell for plants. I just buy the bulbs from a hardware store and stick them into a cheap lamp.
Good luck!
Thanks,
Ken
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Oh, I love that part about jades. I've given so many people jades over the years off of the same plant! I had one from the fourth grade until college, and another for several years before I managed to leave it in Ohio. They are fabulous plants. I love them.
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