Trying not to kill this thing!
Posted: May 12th, 2019, 8:30 pm
Hi All,
So first of all, a little context, I have been telling my mother (an avid gardener) and my father (an avid bonsai gardener) for about 15 years that "one day I will do Bonsai" because I think it is cool. The problem is, Dad who would probably be able to teach me everything lives 1000 kms west of me, and mum, who as you will see, knows bugger all about Bonsai, but at least knows plants, lives 600 kms north. But due to my interest I have been given books, and have been given a tool kit, so I guess I have what I need to do Bonsai... except the know-how. The hold back is that I don't want to destroy some poor tree because I am a twit and get it wrong.
Mum recently was told due to health she can no longer work with dirt, so she gave away a lot of her plants, and she arrived on my doorstep with the tree pictured. It is, as far as I can gather, a 17 year old pot bellied fig. It was 8 years old when mum bought it, and she has had it for 9 years.
The issue is I have absolutely no idea what to do with it. I water it once or twice a week with a spray of the hose, and I keep it under the eves of the house so it gets morning sun, but hopefully is protected from the more harsh weather. Mum also worries that the frost will kill it (winter is coming).
I haven't yet been able to find the time to get to a class, or to get to the local bonsai club with this thing, and I was doing some googling and found this forum. So I have two questions:
Can anyone give me some advice for looking after this tree (so as not to kill it) as a first question, and secondly, where would you start trying to fix it? It may be that I shouldn't try anything until I get to a class or a club, but I am interested in thoughts. My first thought is a bigger pot, but then I have all the issues of the right soil and drainage and so forth. I am happy to try it out on my own, but killing a 17 year old tree because I am a twit would feel pretty horrible.
Thoughts? Help?
So first of all, a little context, I have been telling my mother (an avid gardener) and my father (an avid bonsai gardener) for about 15 years that "one day I will do Bonsai" because I think it is cool. The problem is, Dad who would probably be able to teach me everything lives 1000 kms west of me, and mum, who as you will see, knows bugger all about Bonsai, but at least knows plants, lives 600 kms north. But due to my interest I have been given books, and have been given a tool kit, so I guess I have what I need to do Bonsai... except the know-how. The hold back is that I don't want to destroy some poor tree because I am a twit and get it wrong.
Mum recently was told due to health she can no longer work with dirt, so she gave away a lot of her plants, and she arrived on my doorstep with the tree pictured. It is, as far as I can gather, a 17 year old pot bellied fig. It was 8 years old when mum bought it, and she has had it for 9 years.
The issue is I have absolutely no idea what to do with it. I water it once or twice a week with a spray of the hose, and I keep it under the eves of the house so it gets morning sun, but hopefully is protected from the more harsh weather. Mum also worries that the frost will kill it (winter is coming).
I haven't yet been able to find the time to get to a class, or to get to the local bonsai club with this thing, and I was doing some googling and found this forum. So I have two questions:
Can anyone give me some advice for looking after this tree (so as not to kill it) as a first question, and secondly, where would you start trying to fix it? It may be that I shouldn't try anything until I get to a class or a club, but I am interested in thoughts. My first thought is a bigger pot, but then I have all the issues of the right soil and drainage and so forth. I am happy to try it out on my own, but killing a 17 year old tree because I am a twit would feel pretty horrible.
Thoughts? Help?