Ficus 003 - Preventing reverse taper

Ficus 003 - Preventing reverse taper

Identifying problematic structure. Those two branches are
opposite one another. If I leave it like this, the thickening below
the two branches will create a bulge, creating a reverse taper.

Reverse taper is difficult to correct once it has started. To
prevent it, I need to remove one of the two branches.
By following the alternating clockwise motion of the lower
branches up to the apex, its obvious that the right branch
should be remove and the left branch kept.

A top view of the branches disposition.

The removed branch. Since its a ficus, I could attempt a
cutting propagation out of it :)

The tip of the branch - New root should grow out of it.

To further increase the chances for it to root, I cut it end in a
cross pattern and gently spread it open.

Placed in the ground - I'll check it back in 6 months.

Ficus 003 - Training experiment

Ficus 003 - Drastic change in the approach

This Port Jackson Fig [ Ficus Rubiginosa ] was growing on a wall for several years without much improvement in its growth.

I collected it in 2010 when I was just starting on bonsai and made the mistake of not working on the roots and taper. Instead I stuck that "stick" into a pot and left it there to thicken... I've just wasted 2 whole years on it... well not wasted, more like loss two years worth growth.
Plants dont thicken up that quick in a bonsai pot.

Last month I started a little experiment in growing trees in the ground
I have already 4 trees training in the ground and 2 other trees previously in the ground recently dug up.

One issue with training in the ground is that the lateral roots grow very long.
I end up pruning them in the end, because in a bonsai, you want a compact root made of the fine feeder roots.
You can keep some lateral roots as they will become your nebari, but you don't need a 30cm long lateral root.
You should also get rid of any tap roots at this stage in the training process too.

Here's the gist of my experiment.
I'm using a basket in the ground [ cheap 0.5€ ones ]
The roots will be able to grow freely and pass through the holes in the basket.
Every six months or so, I'll dig up around the basket and cut off any lateral growing out of it.
In 1 year I'll have a look at the root structure and adjust any roots if need be.
In 2 years I'll see how much it has progressed compared to the first two you in the smaller bonsai pot.

The tree back in 2010 - Your classical beginner's
stick in a pot

In 2012 - In the pot, the growth goes in the branches but there
is little growth in the thickness of the trunk.

Trying out my experiment - Dig a hole, added several big flat stones
at the bottom of the hole. The added the basket. 

Prepared my soil mix - 3 part perlite, 3 part gardening soil and
1 part manure.

Mix them all together

The tree's root system. Its a mess and I did try at first to sort
it out, but gave up in the end. Several roots actually fused with
one another, typical ficus growth. Separating them would have
damaged the roots.

The basket's bottom was filled with the
soil mix, roughtly 1/3. Then the tree placed
at the center of the basket and then covered
with the rest of the soil mix.

A shot before placing into the ground. Since 2010 to 2012,
this tree has thicken by 0.5cm approx. I wanted to have a
measure to see how much it will grow in the next two years.

Slash pine bonsai : 4 Year Progression

Bonsai Mauritius - Slash pine bonsai : 4 Year Progression

This is a 4 years progression of my pine "bonsai".
It's a Slash Pine [ Pinus Elliottii ], acquired as a sapling back in 2009.

Most pictures of bonsai that stuck in my mind are bonsai of evergreen trees - Pines or Junipers.
After four years "playing" with this pine I am just starting to grasp the basic's basics of pines.
If I had to place a tree in terms of difficulty, pines would be at the top of the list.
It is definitely non a tree variety for a beginner and its needs a methodical approach to get something remotely resembling a bonsai.

Furthermore different varieties of bonsai have different number of needles, and depending on the number of needles your bonsai have [ 2 needles, 3 needles, 5 needles, etc ] you have different approaches to reducing those needles to acceptable length.

Slash pine is not a pine variety traditionally used in creating bonsai.

The most common pine varieties used for creating bonsai are Black pine, White pine, Mugo pine.
I have not been able to find those varieties in nurseries in Mauritius and so I've tried to reproduce Black Pine [ 2 needles ] needle reducing techniques on my Slash Pine [ 2-3 needles ]

One of the main difficulty with the Slash Pine is that it has very long needles.
I did managed to get some reduction to at least 50% [ picture at the end of the article ].
Typical slash pine needle length = 20cms
My current slash pine needle length = 10cm


So here it is :

Oct 2009 - Slash Pine Sapling.

July 2010

Oct 2010 - The tree is growing several candles.

April 2011

Oct 2011 - The picture is too small to see clearly,
but there are several candles on this one. Candles is
the equivalent of new shoots that you see in deciduous
trees.

June 2012

June 2012

June 2012 - Close up of the ramifications

June 2012 - Needle reduction
Top needle is from another Slash Pine [ untrained ]
Bottom needle is from this Slash Pine

Some pine bonsai reference:
Bonsai4me - Info on Pinus Species

Ficus 002 - F. Retusa : Improving nebari

Bonsai : Ficus retusa

The bonsai has a nice flow of the trunk, but not much work has been done on the roots.

In 2011

In 2011

As it is above, it was basically a stick coming out of the pot.
There was no root system to expose, so the tree was placed into a slightly bigger "training" pot.
Earlier this week, I decided to have a look at the root development.

In its training pot

Unpotted - The roots are still tangled

Untangled roots - Lots of long roots

Untangled roots - Lots of long roots

Feeder roots - The white/yellowish roots are the feeder roots.
Those are the roots that actually absorb nutrients and water
for the tree.

Since there  are several feeder roots growing out of the base
of the trunk, I've taken the risk of greatly reducing the root
mass. There are still lots of feeder roots at the tips of the roots.

A close-up of the feeder roots near the base of the trunk.

Placing the tree back into the training pot - Spread the
roots as much as possible.

Placing the tree back into the training pot - Spread the
roots as much as possible.

After repotting - Will let the tree rest for 3~4 weeks,
then start you can start fertilizing 

Ligustrum Bonsai 006 : From Mallsai to potential bonsai

Ligustrum
Common Name : Privet

Privet Bonsai - Before redesign

Privet Bonsai - Removing the top, redirecting
growth at the lower section

Future design virtualisation

Privet Bonsai - Removing the top, redirecting
growth at the lower section

Attempting to Jinn the section

Attempting to Jinn the section

Part of the bark removed

Part of the bark removed

Before removing the rest of the bark

After removing the rest of the bark

Now let it grow for one to two seasons,
before working on the ramifications.

Casuarina 001 Training : Developing Nebari

Casuarina equisetifolia Potensai 001

[ SheOak / Filao ]

Developing Nebari

Root Ball

Root Ball - Untangled

Close-up - After some cleaning up

Unwanted root - This root is growing in the
opposite direction. As the tree grows, this root
will thicken and will not look natural / in harmony
with the other roots that are more or less growing out
radially.

After removal of unwanted root

Untangling the roots and placing them in a radial spread angle

Untangling the roots and placing them in a radial spread angle