Bonsai trees...

[Tarsun2]

i have no idea how old it is. This is at my grandmothers house. Im in my mid 30's ow and its been there all my life. Ill have to ask my mother to see if she remembers when the tree was planted.

[Tarsun2]

the grass is zoysia and the mower i used to use was an old Sensation cast aluminum deck mower. It was a workout to say the least. And just getting frustrated towards the end and jamming the mower into the trunk of the tree. then the string trimmer going to town around the base...

[Carp]

Not mine, I just wanted to post the pic of the 3,000 year old olive tree on Crete. It still produces olives...

[DavidBoren]

Awesome...

[DavidBoren]

Took a day off for the dentist, and I am finally home during the day to see what sort of sunlight makes it in through the window!

Look at her grow...

[Tarsun2]

tell me again about the pennies

[DavidBoren]

The water was running over the edges of the pot when I watered it, so I created a phalanx of pennies to stop it.

And, there's something about copper that mitigates the growth of certain fungi in the soil.

I also have a wierd thing for copper, a preferrence? I don't know.

When I was researching phytoremediation, the Elderberry was on the list... and the Elderberry was also on the list of plants that can tolerate acidic soils... so as a wierd experiment, I tossed a bunch of copper and steel wool in the soil of the pot, water it with bong water, to kind of test its mettle. I mean, plants need both iron and copper to some degree, but I'm just wierd. The ratio has to be off the charts as far as metal in the soil... for the scale of the its environment (the pot) compared to a tree in the wild. And I have convinced myself that bong water is PROBABLY acidic due to the chlorine/flourine in tap water reacting with the organic content of the bong water, forming THM's and HAA's... no real evidence to support that, though.

I was mostly concerned with trees that have no other significant value... like birch, cedar, willow... $#!+ trees that nobody logs for lumber, but have value in their ability to absord and store heavy metals and toxins. Maybe someday I will win the lottery and buy a bunch of landfills to turn into forests. Told you, I'm wierd...

So this whole venture into the wonderful world of bonsai is actually just a strange science experiment, combined with a living art project.

[punkncat]

I kinda grew a mini bonzai pot plant. Lol

Bag seed i put inside a homemade water bottle vase. Bad sunlight and not enough space to grow led to this. Still growing sits behind my bed in the window sill. Only really gets direct sunlight in the morning.

When I was a teen I modified my blinds in the bedroom window and trained a plant to grow inside the full space of the window box. I thought I was freaking brilliant.
There was a big box holly and trees blocking the view from the road. I took on cutting the grass early and washing mom's car because the hose bib was right under my window. I am not 100% sure if she actually saw it from the outside, or if she smelled it when it came into bud...but I came home and it was picked bare.

[MrKittyCatMeowFace]

Mine smells amazing

[punkncat]

You better bulk that thing up some if you want more than a bowl.

[Painthappy]

I've got one I've working on... two years now...

[DavidBoren]

Great presentation... they say matching the pot to the tree is crucial, and you nailed it. I like the moss, or whatever the extra green at the base is, too.

[Tarsun2]

HA, it that the red green show...?
i haven't sen that show if a long time

[DavidBoren]

Here are some detail shots of the weaving/braiding/twisting I have going on with the new growth around the old growth. In no particular order, but all from tonight...

[Tarsun2]

so a little update on the jap' maple that i posted before.
It was at the house for as long as my mother could remember. She's in her 60's now and close to retirement.
so that maple has been growing in the middle of the lawn for almost a lifetime now and that as big as it got.

my buddy has a jap' maple next to his driveway that is almost as tall as his house; and that one was planted when he moved in. so only about 30 years... lol

[DavidBoren]

Oh neat. That is pretty awesome how old that thing is.

[DavidBoren]

Some pictures from last night. Nothing has really changed, other than she has grown some. Same diet/schedule/care regimen. I did plow a little trench around the base to catch the fertilizer... just to keep it from being washed down towards the edges. Fertilizer is organic 6-6-6 mix, because Hail Satan.

Speaking of Satan, did you know that it is said Judas Iscariot hanged himself from an Elder tree after betraying Jebus?

[DavidBoren]

I did just a little bit of shaping... retied some things/tied some new things, a wee bit of trimming, and repositioned her to encourage growth both where I want her to grow more and which direction she should grow in. I think the shape is coming along nicely...

[DavidBoren]

Had to add some more ribbon in order to support that longest cane/point it upwards. Not that I want her any taller... I just don't want to cut the new growth back just yet. The other new cane is getting to the point I will have to bend it upwards and tie it to the old growth, as it will soon be too long to support its own weight without drooping.

I have done a little bit of trimming to get rid of some of the bushier growth, though. There are some smaller branches that could use more sun, so the bigger branches casting shade had to go.

Once the bark starts to form on the new growth, I can start cutting her down to size. I am also waiting until the bark forms before I start tying the canes together tighter. Eventually, I will have them all bound as one, in hopes that they will fuse.

Picture:

[Nish]

Maybe?

Going back and forth between planting it here at the new house or trying a bonsai with it.