A new trainer

[alpineart]

This is 1 of 30 i have to remove , so i thought i had best get into them . Picking on the bigger ones first may help keep them rolling off the assembly line .

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All of these were planted as 3 year old plants back in 1995 so they have hit the magic 20 yo stage .Most were destined to remain in the garden after an annual trim with hedge trimmer to keep the compact , i have opened up the globe shapes to expose the trunks . Not all have grown to desired bonsai material but i think with a bit of work they just may make the grade .This is as far as i managed to get tonight , i wasn't expecting a huge root mass to contend with , even removed it was still 750mm x600mm and 100mm thick , the blessing s of having shale and clay terraces .

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I have trimmed it down too fit into a large oval tray measuring 650 x 450 x 100mm in which to pot this one , i was hoping to get it into a 500 x 350 x 50mm tray but that's not going to happen . The rear main trunk is actually 2 fused together and measures 65mm thick , on average the are around 30mm . The base on this multi trunk is 250mm x 150mm . The group as is measures 1000mm wide 800mm deep and 650mm high , i will possibly split this down into 2 twin trunks if i don't kill it in the mean time .I have removed a nice ground layer from the base to make a little bonsai . Tomorrow it will be potted and onto the bench for recovery .

Cheers Alpineart

[alpineart]

Well an early riser, out in the cool and into potting this bugger up .

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One down many to go

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, it needs a good tidy up but that can wait as long as they are out and in pots tubs or what ever .I'm quite certain its a sun tolerant Karume Azalea .Good enough for a larger Bonsai , all these cost $1.50 each , 17 years ago when i purchased 75 different varieties and colours to fill a terrace excavated at the property i purchased .

Cheers Alpineart

[The Hacker]

Nice work Alpine that's going to look very nice when it flowe'rs lot's of tip pinching bring's lot's of flower's

Regard's The Hacker

[treeman]

That looks like it will make a superb tree with some delcate training! NICE!

[alpineart]

Hi Mr Hacker , plenty of time needed to bring this up too a nice trainer , i hacked ,oop's, Butchered them with the hedge trimmers about 6 weeks ago now it can grow on with some tip pruning over the next year or so .Some wiring will be used in time , need to get a few more out first . Will make for a good rainy day project over Winter.

Hi Treeman , it will at that .I think a group as is or 2 twin trunk would be 2 alternatives .Better movement sideways .

Cheers Guys Alpine

[alpineart]

Well its been raining so i thought i would take a day off from digging and style this group . I haven't shaped the left trunk as i need to add a bit of movement into the lower section before shaping it

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. As for now its coming along very nicely

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.I did remove 2 trunks and a couple of crossover branches

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, 1 of which has been potted up .Its a work in progress and progress is being made .

Cheers Alpineart

[Bretts]

It looks much better in a bonsai pot. Nice work> I like some others have lots of trouble keeping these alive

[alpineart]

Hi Bretts , this one i thought would have taken a lot more time , Just seemed to fall into the right frame today . I have always had issues growing these in Bonsai Pots , I can ground grow and deep pot grow them without failures .These will test me out .I have used my scoria blend bonsai mix , blended with the decomposed mulches they were grown in and used on the terraces since they were excavated 17 years ago , hence the dreaded curl grub .

There is no top soil here only decomposed pine bark and euca mulch . I have moved all these under the pergola and will constantly monitor the dampness of the soil .The big pots and trays are to retain as much as possible of the huge root mass .I have savaged the roots in the past and killed 99 % of them within 6- 12 months , lessons learned i certainly don't want to repeat on these .

Cheers Alpine

[kcpoole]

That is going to be real nice alpine for you and hope it does good

Ken

[alpineart]

Hi kc ,its going to be a very impressive group . I think now i can only kill it with kindness . All were fertilized with Azalea/Citris food 6-8 weeks ago so they should have a flying chance .I must do a ph test before the next fert' treatment although the Azalea's are growing well in the ground so the soil must be close to 5.5 and a pest spray is needed up here mainly on the Karumes , Satsuki don't seem to get the silver leaves , the red spider mite or the white fly .

Cheers Alpine.