Bonsai Trees

My Dad has a couple of bonsai that were his Dads. He’s 70. So they’re old. His theory is that the trees need to be able to survive nothing more. Very little nutrition. But good drainage

Potted up at lunch.

We'll see how it goes. I've had the tree in a pot for a year or so. I think I pulled it out when weeding and then pack some random earth into it and left it with the aim of getting a bonsai pot at some point

It's going to be a very occasional hobby. My dad had them when I was younger and I used to like helping prune them. Most died over the years from drought.

1 Attachment

Anyone had any success with air layering?

Wondering about doing it with this oak I've been growing in the ground until it's thick enough to pot.

2 Attachments

First crack at air layering.

1. Working out how deep to cut is way harder and less intuitive than expected.
   
2. Keeping the edge of the cut neat is way harder and less intuitive than expected.
   
3. Getting the hormone powder on while crouching down and getting poked by branches was as hard and unintuitive as expected.
   
4. Packing and wrapping is a bit of a 3 handed operation, but no where near as tricky as something like a canti brake set.
   
5. Did not expect my carbon utility knife to discolour the wood to this degree. I cleaned it with alcohol before hand which may have impacted it. Next one will be a fresh Stanley blade I think.
   
   

Next up is the hibiscus.

3 Attachments

What's air layering and what is it for? I had a bonsai but it looked sad so now its just a small tree in my garden.

It's a way to take cuttings / cheat your way to a thicker trunk. You force the tree to grow roots above where you cut the bark and then cut it off and pot it.

So the idea is that I'll be able to start off with an oak bonsai with a trunk that's already an inch thick.

Worth saying that this is a pretty shit time of year to be doing it - it's meant to be spring if autumn. But as the weather is fucked I'm hoping it won't matter.

Worst case the top half dies. No great loss.