AusBonsai

This is the progression of the sole surviving tree from the dig I posted about here viewtopic.php?f=131&t=9543&hilit=+radiata It is the 3rd tree I collected, and the 2nd Radiata.

I took it to a Mauro Stemberger workshop last week where it had all needles except last years pulled and was wired for the first time. To be continued..........

One of the trees worked with Mauro! We had a huge range of trees; but the message came through loudly (as it does from Loindsay Bebb, Lee Wilson, et al) ... we need to bring trees to workshops that have had our attention. Luke had collected and grown his pine gr some time ... it hit all the tIcks.

What we do not need is for fresh 'landscaping material' to be bought the weekend before a program and then brought along to become an 'instant bonsai'.

Material for workshops should already have our energy in the tree, some pre-styling, we should have some design 'sketches' of the thoughts that we have for the design of the tree.

As Australians we need to learn to wire properly and not stand by our old time motto 'near enough is good enough'. Check Boon's Wiring DVD ... we need effective wiring; minimum amount of we're that achieves the style changes/branch movements that we want. near enough is not good enough if we are to achieve international standard and be recognized seriously for our bonsai.

We have an opportunity to raise the bar of Australian bonsai on the world arena. With BCI/AABC on The Goldcoast in August 2013 ... our time is now!

(What we do not need is for fresh 'landscaping material' to be bought the weekend before a program and then brought along to become an 'instant bonsai'.)

Arrr not true at all if you know what you are looking for

(As Australians we need to learn to wire properly and not stand by our old time motto 'near enough is good enough'. Check Boon's Wiring DVD ... we need effective wiring; minimum amount of we're that achieves the style changes/branch movements that we want. near enough is not good enough if we are to achieve international standard and be recognized seriously for our bonsai.)

Seen this on this site many times bout wiring yeah it could be better but its a individual thing as long as theres no wire marks really i dont see a issue (showing a tree is diffrent tho)

[quote="andrew ward"]One of the trees worked with Mauro! We had a huge range of trees; but the message came through loudly (as it does from Loindsay Bebb, Lee Wilson, et al) ... we need to bring trees to workshops that have had our attention.

What we do not need is for fresh 'landscaping material' to be bought the weekend before a program and then brought along to become an 'instant bonsai'.

Material for workshops should already have our energy in the tree, some pre-styling, we should have some design 'sketches' of the thoughts that we have for the design of the tree.
I'm not trying to be rude here, just wondering. As stated above is the quote taken from your website about the tree offered to Mauro at your demonstration night with him. Are you saying this was not suitable for his workshop.
I was a bit surprised when I saw this was the demo tree for him. Doesn't look like any previous work was done, simply bought for the workshop. As I said, not trying to be rude, just trying to understand your comment above.

Josh.

Nice job Luke
I think that long hanging branch will make the tree quite unique.

Andrew raises a great point, people spend good money to participate in a 3 hour workshop and then spend the first two hours cleaning and thinking about design before the real work begins.
I hear the argument, "why waste the time cleaning out the old needles when the branch will be cut off?"
The answer is, we need to see the structure before we decide to cut.
We should think about the tree design before the instructor tells us, because that is how we learn.

The tree Josh shows looks like it has been grown for bonsai, is a classic case of a tree not properly prepared.
A demonstration is a bit different to a workshop because it is good to impress the audience with the transformation.
Mauro's would clean out the old needles in 20 minutes, a workshop participant would be likely to take an hour or two.
(Personally I would like to see the tree cleaned out before a demonstration as well)

Thanks Andrew and Gerard.

The long branch on the left will be shortened at a later stage.

Hey guys and girls,

This tree has been growing on quite nicely having been rewired somewhat as the wire was biting in.

I am wanting to repot this tree as at the moment it is still in its original soil from when it was collected back in late 2011. I am however very worried I could lose a potentially great bonsai in the process.

I have another Radiata similar in size from a dig in 2012 which I actually bare rooted and repotted the day I dug it. It is thriving well in diatomite/zeolite/pine nuggets.

I was wondering if some of the more experienced members could chime in with advice on the best way to proceed.

When exactly is the best time to do so for best results?
Should I repot into another foam box for a year or two?
Should I put into a training pot or a nice bonsai pot? (I am envisioning a nice unglazed drum pot)
Should I bare root it or should I only remove some of the original soil? If so to what degree?
How much of the root mass (if any) should I remove when repotting?


I will post a photo over the weekend of how it is looking now

Thanks

Those early pics have given me some ideas for mine. Thanks?

As promised..........

Suggestions/advice welcomed

Looking healthy and happy. Doing a great job. Looks likes it's ready for some more work.

dansai wrote:Looking healthy and happy. Doing a great job. Looks likes it's ready for some more work.

Thanks - there in lies the problem. I want to repot it and get it into a good substrate however I don't know the optimum time for this, and how much root pruning I can get away with.

Can I bare root it or should I leave some of the original soil? If I leave some of the original soil and replace the rest with a diatomite/zeolite mix will that cause drainage problems as the original soil will remain wetter for longer potentially causing root rot?

Can anyone chime in with advice?

I am going to wait a few weeks to do mine, but when I collected them, they were bare rooted and recovered well

When I repotted last year I have to cut off the stump extension and as they are in Diatomite, it all fell off and bare roots itself again.
I took off probably 1/2 of the roots at that time and no ill effects

Ken

This was an Airlayer i took off in January 2012.
See the little amount of roots on it? It is doing very well at the moments