AusBonsai

bonsaiworld wrote:OWNED & TRAINED: Carole

HEIGHT: 35cm

WIDTH: 50cm

AGE: Estimated 27 years

IN TRAINING: 12 years

LIVES IN: Queensland

This little guy started life in the early 80s when it is believed he fell from a parent tree and landed in a nursery pot at a palm nursery in Northern New South Wales. It was collected and placed in a very small bonsai pot where it was left, and seldom repotted until I bought it in the late 90s. The owner was a palm nursery specialist and admitted he didn’t know much about bonsai. Unfortunately he cut most of the horizontal growth off the tree and retained the vertical branches.

After I purchased it I planted it in a large container and let it grow for a few years, firstly to thicken the trunk, secondly to rejuvenate the root system and lastly to encourage horizontal growth. The tree is very hardy in our climate and can cope with weeks of rain and weeks of drought. I place it under light shade cloth in the hot summer months and remove the shade cloth during the cooler months. Exposure to full sun helps maintain small leaves and short internodes, but regular trimming is also as important.

It is usually defoliated twice a year in November and January however last season I decided to give it a rest so the leaves are a little older and larger than would be normal for this tree at this time of year.

During late summer and early autumn the caterpillars damage the new foliage and I use Pest Oil for most problems for my figs. (I try not to use much pesticide as we live in a green area behind the Gold Coast and have lots of frogs and their survival is as important as the bonsai!! I fertilize with Dynamic Lifter, Miracle grow and Sulphate of Potash at various times through the year.

The pot is quite shallow for the size of the trunk so the tree is usually rootpruned every 18 months. I stretch my trees out between rootpruning for as long as their health will let them as I believe that too frequent rootpruning hinders good development of the surface roots.

We all know that it is hard to do justice to a bonsai in a photo, and as I am the worlds worst photographer this tree like most others really does have more impact in real life.