Schefflera Arboricola Bonsai Trainer

Post photo's of your bonsai under-construction for discussion and inspiration.
User avatar
alpineart
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 4737
Joined: July 14th, 2009, 9:04 pm
Favorite Species: Pinus Maples
Bonsai Age: 26
Bonsai Club: Ausbonsai
Location: Myrtleford VIC
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 154 times
Contact:

Schefflera Arboricola Bonsai Trainer

Post by alpineart »

This was another bargain from Jackie , and another good specimen , at over 1metre high
100_8646.jpg
and a base of 120mm plus
100_8648.jpg
i hacked it back top and bottom then dropped it into a polystyrene training box
100_8650.jpg
this took about 30minutes, all responsibility but no care was taken doing this one . Just for the record this umbrella tree and the privet were $10 each . Cheers Alpineart
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by Bougy Fan on October 3rd, 2014, 7:28 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Species correction
mb1029
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 39
Joined: July 10th, 2011, 12:26 am
Favorite Species: Any and All
Bonsai Age: 0
Location: Noble Park

Re: Schefflera Actinophllla Bonsai Trainer

Post by mb1029 »

dont cut it, it looks great like that

and are you serious that only cost $10...!

that's an incredible price, congrats
User avatar
alpineart
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 4737
Joined: July 14th, 2009, 9:04 pm
Favorite Species: Pinus Maples
Bonsai Age: 26
Bonsai Club: Ausbonsai
Location: Myrtleford VIC
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 154 times
Contact:

Re: Schefflera Actinophllla Bonsai Trainer

Post by alpineart »

Hi mb1029 ,all the tree's i buy from Jackie cost no more than $10 on average they are $5 each .Rescued tree's are usually neglected and make excellent bonsai material . Jackie even repots the smaller plants , i purchased the JBP 4 for $40 off her they were 3metres high . She is in her late 70's and still works as a house painter and her hobbies include collecting Plants and restoring E H and EJ Holdens , the other passion i used to have .

It has a good shape hope it survives and back buds , i don't know anything about these but i have seen some awsome specimens so i thought i would give it a shot .Cheers Alpine
User avatar
alpineart
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 4737
Joined: July 14th, 2009, 9:04 pm
Favorite Species: Pinus Maples
Bonsai Age: 26
Bonsai Club: Ausbonsai
Location: Myrtleford VIC
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 154 times
Contact:

Re: Schefflera Actinophllla Bonsai Trainer

Post by alpineart »

This was done today ,
SANY0190.JPG
after a marathon day on an Azalea i needed a break.
SANY0191.JPG
Its had a re-pot and trim both top and the bottom was flat cut to fit the pot .
SANY0192.JPG
The pot i paid 50 cents for , not too my liking but the Wife likes it .
SANY0194.JPG
Now this is one tree i can hand over to Karen for her to keep it alive .Hopefully the tree will slow down being slipped into a Bonsai pot . Plenty of growth and new shoots and buds happening so it can only improve .

Cheers Alpineart
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
User avatar
Andrew F
Crafty Tanuki
Crafty Tanuki
Posts: 1898
Joined: December 19th, 2010, 6:06 pm
Favorite Species: Pest species.
Bonsai Age: 5
Bonsai Club: N/A
Location: Raiding a hedgerow.
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Schefflera Actinophllla Bonsai Trainer

Post by Andrew F »

Wow thats one helluva base. I've got one of those pots too [$5] so it puts it into comparison for me.

Look forward to seeing how it turns out for you.
User avatar
alpineart
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 4737
Joined: July 14th, 2009, 9:04 pm
Favorite Species: Pinus Maples
Bonsai Age: 26
Bonsai Club: Ausbonsai
Location: Myrtleford VIC
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 154 times
Contact:

Re: Schefflera Actinophllla Bonsai Trainer

Post by alpineart »

Hi VS , the base measures 180mm x 120mm . I was hoping to reduce the base back to 150mm x 120mm to improve the flair and taper , guess now its the wifes choice , she has moved it inside for an indoor plant .

Cheers Alpine
User avatar
Andrew F
Crafty Tanuki
Crafty Tanuki
Posts: 1898
Joined: December 19th, 2010, 6:06 pm
Favorite Species: Pest species.
Bonsai Age: 5
Bonsai Club: N/A
Location: Raiding a hedgerow.
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Schefflera Actinophllla Bonsai Trainer

Post by Andrew F »

Great plant and super forgiving. I look forward to seeing how she goes with it, i found this while researching Umbrella bonsai.

http://www.fukubonsai.com/4a6.html


Hope it helps :yes: :yes: :yes:
chrisatrocky
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 416
Joined: May 16th, 2010, 10:14 pm
Favorite Species: all
Bonsai Age: 4
Bonsai Club: CRBSInc., R'ton Bonsai Group, Cap Coast Bonsai Group
Location: glendale, rockhampton

Re: Schefflera Actinophllla Bonsai Trainer

Post by chrisatrocky »

Alpine your tree is actually Schefflera arboricola, the dwarf umbrella, schefflera actinophylla is also known as the Qld umbrella tree and can have leaves up to 120cm long
scheffleraf04.jpg
Schefflera-arboricola.gif
The dwarf umbrella is the most suitable for bonsai

chris
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
I am a giant amongst my trees.
User avatar
alpineart
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 4737
Joined: July 14th, 2009, 9:04 pm
Favorite Species: Pinus Maples
Bonsai Age: 26
Bonsai Club: Ausbonsai
Location: Myrtleford VIC
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 154 times
Contact:

Re: Schefflera Actinophllla Bonsai Trainer

Post by alpineart »

Hi VS , Mate i chop and hack most things , but i i hack this any more the wire will hack me .Gently , gently , easy does it , and she won't know until its filled out like a good bonsai ;)

Hi Cristatrocky , good to see someones on their toes . I will see if the Mods can change the title . i hope the small pot will reduce the leaf size by restriction . I had one many many years ago as a house plant , its foliage was 1/3 the size of this , probably neglect .

Cheers Alpine
FatMingsBonsai
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 368
Joined: July 9th, 2011, 4:24 am
Favorite Species: All species
Bonsai Age: 18
Bonsai Club: The internet / Ausbonsai
Location: Victoria, Australia.

Re: Schefflera Actinophllla Bonsai Trainer

Post by FatMingsBonsai »

Nice tree and pot mate..enjoy ;)
If it looks good,..GROW IT !!!!!

BIG Bonsai are Beautiful !
User avatar
alpineart
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 4737
Joined: July 14th, 2009, 9:04 pm
Favorite Species: Pinus Maples
Bonsai Age: 26
Bonsai Club: Ausbonsai
Location: Myrtleford VIC
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 154 times
Contact:

Re: Schefflera Actinophllla Bonsai Trainer

Post by alpineart »

Hi FMB, mate for $10.50 the wife has a nice indoor plant . Her choice of pot , not mine . I will keep at the trimming while she is out of site , never know one day she may hand it back .

Cheers Alpine
GavinG
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 2263
Joined: April 26th, 2010, 11:47 pm
Favorite Species: Maple
Bonsai Age: 0
Bonsai Club: CBS
Location: Canberra
Has thanked: 545 times
Been thanked: 267 times

Re: Schefflera Actinophllla Bonsai Trainer

Post by GavinG »

None of my business of course, but, from the second bottom photo (above "the pot I paid 50c for") would you consider cutting off the right and back trunk/branches, and leaning the whole thing further over to the left? Might have two advantages - tighter bonsai shape, and maybe the wife won't like it, and you'll get it back sooner!

It's a good trunk from a species that's not all that easy, to me.

Gavin
User avatar
cre8ivbonsai
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 1154
Joined: February 5th, 2010, 5:31 pm
Favorite Species: :-)
Bonsai Age: 9
Bonsai Club: Waverley
Location: Sth East burbs, Melbourne (VIC)
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 2 times

Re: Schefflera Actinophllla Bonsai Trainer

Post by cre8ivbonsai »

Nice work alpine thanks for sharing :tu: the pot actually works alright, brings out a 'tropical' feel :whistle:
do you find these are tolerant of being worked on all year round? I've got one that was a pot plant for 6 years (got to about 7ft) before realising it could be a candidate for 'bonsaing', so over the last 3 years I've reduced pot size and height (now about 40cm). I still need to sort out the main trunk (as it has about 4 atm) and reduce pot size and root mass. I neglected to do such work over summer :palm: but your post has inspired me to push ahead :wave: but with winter weather already upon us (Victoria) should I wait until spring?

Thanks, Ryan
Cheers, Ryan
Today I know more than I did yesterday, but less than I will tomorrow
User avatar
alpineart
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 4737
Joined: July 14th, 2009, 9:04 pm
Favorite Species: Pinus Maples
Bonsai Age: 26
Bonsai Club: Ausbonsai
Location: Myrtleford VIC
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 154 times
Contact:

Re: Schefflera Actinophllla Bonsai Trainer

Post by alpineart »

GavinG wrote:None of my business of course, but, from the second bottom photo (above "the pot I paid 50c for") would you consider cutting off the right and back trunk/branches, and leaning the whole thing further over to the left? Might have two advantages - tighter bonsai shape, and maybe the wife won't like it, and you'll get it back sooner!

It's a good trunk from a species that's not all that easy, to me.

Gavin
Hi GavinG , I have considered both left and right trunks , i was working on it when Karen came home and she made a suggestion i reduce all the 3 tops and make for a broom . Done bun can't be undone , so i will consider the back budding which is good but some dry up , then suggest another serious chop .The wife has a few bonsai and i let her make the decisions on when and where to cut and chop her tree's. I like the left trunk but it has a lot of damaged stubs which are full of dry rot . I was going to clean them out and paint with Steri-prune . If it is tilted to the left the base would need a trim back of about 50mm to remove the outer section .I have a new puppy , might get him to chew on it , that would make for a restyle . I don't know much about these so its trial and error . The flat cut might be its undoing only time will tell

Cheers Alpine
Last edited by alpineart on April 29th, 2012, 6:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
alpineart
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 4737
Joined: July 14th, 2009, 9:04 pm
Favorite Species: Pinus Maples
Bonsai Age: 26
Bonsai Club: Ausbonsai
Location: Myrtleford VIC
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 154 times
Contact:

Re: Schefflera Actinophllla Bonsai Trainer

Post by alpineart »

Hi Cre8ivbonsai , mate i have only worked this twice , i know absolutely nothing about this species , just clapped the eyes on it and always wanted to try it on as Bonsai . I can recall these growing all year round as indoor plants in Melbourne when i lived there many years ago . It is growing new leaves so it still moving . Its supposed to be Autumn but i don't have any Autumn colour , i have a flowering plum with a flower and no leaves , my Maples beds are still in full growth mode .

Cheers Alpine
Post Reply

Return to “Bonsai Progression Series”