questions about Bolusanthus speciosus the african wisteria

[MOGGINATOR]

hi guys i have started growing my own bonsai plants from seeds and have started to grow purple african wisterias the seedlings are approx 20 cms high now and its getting extremely hard to water them as they are so weak when i water them they fall over i have been thinking about putting little stakes in the pots to help them stay upright till they grow more does anyone have any suggestions on other ways i could sort the issue?

also this is what an african wisteria looks like fully grown into bonsai

1bdb1033c98070613908e1c1b35bdc7b.jpg

[Elmar]

Being new myself I'd have a go at doing a wire cage around them. Like wiring them but purposefully loose and not touching the sapling.

This'd give you the opportunity to shape it right now to avoid them growing spindly and talk... That's what in thinking...
Staking them would support them but to my mind it would encourage them to grow tall... Like I said, I'm new but that is hat I'm thinking...


Cheers
Elmar

[fredman]

Spectacular when they are in bloom in the bush. Very hardy and drought tolerant to.....

http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantab/bolusanthspec.htm

[MoGanic]

At this age you dont need to worry about shaping, just a stake will be fine. You can wire the trunk into shape later when its thickened up a little, although if you want to create taper then the shaping would mostly be chopped off anyway.

The only problem with stakes that small is the soil probably wont hold them in place and you'll find yourself redoing them often. If you can water without actually watering the leaves then they wont fall over - its the weight of the water on the foliage thats weighing it down.

The stakes might work, try it out see how you go. Use some twist ties to hold the plant in place.

Cheers,
Mo


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[MOGGINATOR]

thanks mo for the suggestions ill give it a try yea everytime i water them they fall over lol ill give it a go with mini bamboo stakes and twist ties and see how i go ill take some photos once they are done and they are a spectacular plant to work with super fast growing and can handle almost any condition i have them in a green house being in melb the constant weather change is terrible so trying to regulate it a bit but one they grow big and strong i will be selling them (and keeping a few for myself lol)

[MOGGINATOR]

looking at something like this Gardman 60cms Natural Bamboo Garden Stake - 20 Pack just cut them into thirds so they are 10 cms high with a plastic twist tie till they get strong they are from bunnings 20 pack for a whole $2.35 lol so ill have 60 for when my other seedlings come through

garden stakes.png

[Pearcy001]

Appologies if this is a silly answer as i am still new to the bonsai scene but is it a viable option to submerge the pot into water allowing only the roots to come in contact with the water? Possibly mark the inside of a tub or bucket so you know where to fill up to each time it requires watering without the soil washing away? Like I said I'm no expert so forgive me if I'm wasting the space on this thread haha.
Cheers, Pearcy.

[kcpoole]

Only if they are small shohin or mame.
the trees still need to dry out a little as staying wet will most time rot the roots.

Better still to put them on a tray of gravel or course sand.

Ken

[dansai]

Hey Mo,

When you say green house do you mean plastic covered or shade cloth? If shade cloth, what shade percentage? Usual clothes are 50%, 70% or 90%. I ask because it might be that your seedlings aren't getting enough sun and are elongating to reach more light. They do this by elongating the cells formed while growing and therefore the stem becomes weaker. The same cell in a brighter position will be shorter. This has the advantage of making a stronger and potentially thicker stem and also keeping internodes (space between nodes) closer together. If you weren't already aware, nodes are where the leaves appear on a stem and it is at the base of the leaves that a small bud will be that can become a future branch. Keeping these close together is important for the future of your bonsai.

By all means stake you seedlings, it will definitely help them. And being a vine it will have long and fast growth anyway! But i would advise introducing them to more sun gradually, and being in the elements a bit more, again gradually, will make for a stronger tree. Things like wind, sun and rain put stress on the tree that it responds to by making itself stronger and more compact, a desirable quality in Bonsai. Too much stress isn't good either, so protecting it from extremes is important, especially as your tree is in a pot. Yet exposure to the elements is essential to the health of nearly all tress grown as bonsai.

Regards
Dan

[MoGanic]

Hey Mo,

When you say green house do you mean plastic covered or shade cloth? If shade cloth, what shade percentage? Usual clothes are 50%, 70% or 90%. I ask because it might be that your seedlings aren't getting enough sun and are elongating to reach more light. They do this by elongating the cells formed while growing and therefore the stem becomes weaker. The same cell in a brighter position will be shorter. This has the advantage of making a stronger and potentially thicker stem and also keeping internodes (space between nodes) closer together. If you weren't already aware, nodes are where the leaves appear on a stem and it is at the base of the leaves that a small bud will be that can become a future branch. Keeping these close together is important for the future of your bonsai.

By all means stake you seedlings, it will definitely help them. And being a vine it will have long and fast growth anyway! But i would advise introducing them to more sun gradually, and being in the elements a bit more, again gradually, will make for a stronger tree. Things like wind, sun and rain put stress on the tree that it responds to by making itself stronger and more compact, a desirable quality in Bonsai. Too much stress isn't good either, so protecting it from extremes is important, especially as your tree is in a pot. Yet exposure to the elements is essential to the health of nearly all tress grown as bonsai.

Regards
Dan

Hey Dan,

Just wanted to clarify, this "african wisteria" I believe is a tree with flowers like a wisteria, though I haven't owned one. Are you saying it is actually a vine and not a tree?

Mo (the other Mo)


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[dansai]

My Bad, just looked it up. Yes a tree not a vine. Although the same family. And perhaps my comments are even more relevant?

[fredman]

Yeah its a tree. Spectacular when in flower. They grow very fast to. Give it a lot of sun and not to much water. Make sure your soil drains freely. I imported some seeds and are also growing them on now. I staked mine so they don't fall over when watering or this vicious winds we getting lately don't blow them over....

Please refer to the link I posted upthread.

[elljuu]

I have a wisteria. I'm a little concerned about it. It got damaged in a bad hail storm a few weeks ago and did give me new leaves but not many and i took the old ones off as they were not helping it. It now look really bad like it's sick. It gets 6 hrs sun maybe more a day. I give it a good water every day too. Could it be that it's starting to hibernate? As its slowly getting colder.
I've only had it since January this year.

[MoGanic]

I have a wisteria. I'm a little concerned about it. It got damaged in a bad hail storm a few weeks ago and did give me new leaves but not many and i took the old ones off as they were not helping it. It now look really bad like it's sick. It gets 6 hrs sun maybe more a day. I give it a good water every day too. Could it be that it's starting to hibernate? As its slowly getting colder.
I've only had it since January this year.

Might be worth starting your own thread and putting up some pics mate, very difficult to tell what's wrong as peoples descriptions can differ greatly.

Cheers,
Mo