Alpineart's Blog

This has been in training for a forest since last season . They were advanced starters set up for a group planting or forest and selectively  trimmed occasionally during the growing season .Today i decided to slip it onto a granite slab .I first prepared a muck mixture to build a retaining wall inset from the edge of the slab to allow for the profile of the slab to also be viewed .The muck contained reg clay and the original soil mix blended together for a plasticine consistency and adhered to the slab . I then spread a small amount of soil over the slab prior to placing the group in position , using a root rake to tease the roots out i trim underneath to basically flat bottom the setting and remove the over large roots .With the roots spread out over the muck wall i then  trim of the excess  to suit the placement  of the tree’s . With the tree’s in position , i simple sprinkle the bonsai mix over the roots and with a chop stick or artist brush poke the soil in and around the bases until they are  secure . The soil mix was also pushed gentle into the muck wall to conceal the clay an to give a uniform blended finish .. Moss was then placed in and round the setting along with a rock  covered in  moss .With all the hard work done a water spray bottle and an artists brush  are  used to wash and clean the edge of the granite slab , finishing the project off . Now its off  to the bench to settle down and grow on regardless .Cheers Alpineart

These were a quick collection as i was under the pump to gather as many as physically possible due to the expected arrival of the excavators to clean up the drainage system surrounding the Water supply . The operators and workers gave an indication they were clearing all the pines from the area .I was blessed as these were a mere 3 klms from my place so no special treatment was required just dig and load .In  3 hour period  3trips were made to collect about 20 trees , the majority were chop tops which aids in fiber/feeder root growth close to the trunks .Whilst you cant compare these to collected tree’s in other countries considering the pines we have here have only been here since the early 20th century ,these trees were around 5-10 years old , self sown from a test plot and whilst young to most , they are  typical of the age of collected tree’s in Australia . All  were bare rooted as they were growing in heavy red clay , this left close to the roots and potted will rot the feeder roots very quickly .Red scoria and aged pine bark is blended with Mycorrhizea and potted as per normal pot plants. With the potting done they will be placed in a sheltered position for the next 12 months Now its back for a forest of collected Pinus Nigra -Nigra Cheers Alpineart

This was a garden tree here at my place , chosen for the excellent graft 15 years ago .I didn’t plan to use it as a Bonsai until a borer attack 2 years ago . Most of my Maples were effected and have been removed as i was unable to control the borers . It was removed and potted up hoping to salvage the trunk .With a good show of leaves last season i would have assumed it had  put out a good root spread . I did attach a few maple whips as thread graft for new roots , unfortunately the failed to fuse to the old root base and the trunk didn’t produce many roots at all . Not one to give up i decided to inarch 24 T rident Maple whips around the base of the trunk just above the old base . Using an Angle grinder with a tungsten saw blade attached i cut 2 dozen 2mm slits around the base at even intervals and inserted the 3mm Trident whips into position .As the seedlings were inserted the fine bark on the whips was disturbed , this i hope will aid the fusing together of whip and trunk .With all the whips attached i simply wound several layers of grafting tape around and over the area where fusing is required then potted the tree up into its original pot .This will grow on for another season and then i may have suitable new root mass to work with .Nothing ventured nothing gained .Cheers Alpineart