Bonsai

[SirPalomides]

Does anyone here do bonsai AKA penjing trees?

 

I have a couple of willow trees I got from cuttings in the wild a few years ago- nothing worth showing yet, as I'm still getting the trunks and roots to grow out more. Also found a holly seedling last summer and potted it just for the heck of it, it seems to be surviving so far.

[Cookie Monster]

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Edited May 4, 2021 by Ocean Form

[SirPalomides]

Oh, how lovely. Yours?

[Cookie Monster]

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Edited May 4, 2021 by Ocean Form

[Nungali]

 

 I have two at the moment , one is a strange  little tree that has  three large roots coming out the base of the trunk, above ground .  It sits in some local forest moss I found , a large type that looks like mini pine trees .

 

The other one is a strangler fig that I got as a seedling .   Its best to plant them alongside another tree or old bit of wood .They from great patterns and  'strangulations' over the years

 

I have a large old one doing its thing by the back door

 

 

 

 

and when the host tree in the middle  dies and rots away ;

 

 

They are easy to bonsai as they sprout in the fork of a trunk or branch, when a tree drops you can cut that bit out, trim the roots off the little strangler seedling and put it in a ceramic dish with water ... even up on a rock,

 

 

the roots will cover it and the branches spread around the remaining host piece .

 

 

Edited January 9, 2020 by Nungali

[Dame Du Lac]

wow, i was talking to someone about strangler figs the other day, but i wasn't interested enough to look up pictures, they look amazing! are they parasitic or do they just use the host tree for support?

[SirPalomides]

They look amazing and also kind of scary. 

[Nungali]

BOO  ! 

 

scary ?    

 

Strangler fig begins its life as a parasite as its seed lodges in the cracks and crevices of the bark of a host. . The seed germinates and sends out air roots. These air roots take in nutrients and water from the air and host tree. Eventually the air roots grow to reach the ground and develop their own underground root system, independent of the host tree.

 

They love growing in my environment  - part of 'Gondwanaland' ;

 

 

one of its companions here is the Giant Stinging Tree -  now THAT is kinda scary !

 

https://theconversation.com/the-worst-kind-of-pain-you-can-imagine-what-its-like-to-be-stung-by-a-stinging-tree-103220

 

 

[ilumairen]

On 1/8/2020 at 12:29 PM, SirPalomides said:

Does anyone here do bonsai AKA penjing trees?

 

There is a small ficus ginseng which lives in a pot on the front porch. She started her residency here indoors, but seemed to be suffering after awhile and was losing leaves at one point, so I moved her to the porch where mists of rain provide moisture, small amounts of sunlight dance through the leaves of a neighboring bougainvillea, and she experiences the cycles of nature in the subtropical climate in which I live. 

 

She is now doing well, and has a nice crown of leaves. 

 

BTW "She" is referred to as a she due to the voluptuousness of her form, and the curve of her "hip," and is sometimes sung to as earth type mother by me. Yes, I'm a bit odd.

 

Thanks for starting this topic. 

[silent thunder]

Love, love, love Bonsai!

 

Up in Pasadena, bout an hour north of us... The Huntington Library has a Japanese Garden that is world class.  Their Bonsai section has tripled over the years and is one of my favorite haunts, particularly on cloudy days this time of year in the cool non summer months.

 

A few of my girlfriends...

 

[Nungali]

3 hours ago, ilumairen said:

 

There is a small ficus ginseng which lives in a pot on the front porch. She started her residency here indoors, but seemed to be suffering after awhile and was losing leaves at one point, so I moved her to the porch where mists of rain provide moisture, small amounts of sunlight dance through the leaves of a neighboring bougainvillea, and she experiences the cycles of nature in the subtropical climate in which I live. 

 

She is now doing well, and has a nice crown of leaves. 

 

BTW "She" is referred to as a she due to the voluptuousness of her form, and the curve of her "hip," and is sometimes sung to as earth type mother by me. Yes, I'm a bit odd.

 

Thanks for starting this topic. 

 

Maybe 'odd' for your society . Traditional Aboriginal people give trees gender related to their perceived form .

 

Male

 

 

Female

 

 

 

some are more obvious ;