Another Flowering Apricot

Post photo's of your bonsai under-construction for discussion and inspiration.
User avatar
FlyBri
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 1042
Joined: November 12th, 2008, 1:11 pm
Favorite Species: Eucalyptus camaldulensis
Bonsai Age: 14
Bonsai Club: AusBonsai.com
Location: Hurstbridge VIC
Been thanked: 4 times
Contact:

Another Flowering Apricot

Post by FlyBri »

Gday folks!

Some of you may recall that I purchased a Flowering Apricot from Bonsai Society of Victoria's Sale Day earlier this year. Well, it has flowered (pale pink, as I half expected) and now it is time to repot.

Firstly, the photos from back in May 2010:

ImageImage

On Sunday last, I pulled the thing from its pot, and was very pleased to see the condition of the roots:
BSV_F_Apricot_Aug_10_01.jpg
BSV_F_Apricot_Aug_10_02.jpg
BSV_F_Apricot_Aug_10_03.jpg
After I hacked off the bottom quarter of the roots using a sharp hatchet, I spent a good amount of time (close to an hour) digging through the roots with my Stick Of Poking. Here's how it looked earlier this morning (note that I have not cut any major roots yet):
BSV_F_Apricot_Aug_10_04.jpg
BSV_F_Apricot_Aug_10_05.jpg
I'm just now getting stuck into the thicker roots around the base, and hope to get some more pics up later today.

Thanks!

Fly.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
GavinG
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 2214
Joined: April 26th, 2010, 11:47 pm
Favorite Species: Maple
Bonsai Age: 0
Bonsai Club: CBS
Location: Canberra
Has thanked: 467 times
Been thanked: 228 times

Re: Another Flowering Apricot

Post by GavinG »

Nice taper and movement in the trunk. Should be a bomb in full bloom. Will the roots permit a strong right lean to it - nearly a semi-cascade? Or maybe a left lean, with all the branching and flowers heading off westward? Just my thoughts, more than usually bent.

Gavin
User avatar
Tintop
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 67
Joined: April 20th, 2010, 4:11 pm
Bonsai Age: 9
Location: Warragul

Re: Another Flowering Apricot

Post by Tintop »

WOW thats gona be sweet as in a pot with full flower :mrgreen:

grats
Pat
User avatar
Ray M
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 1403
Joined: November 5th, 2009, 3:36 pm
Favorite Species: Figs, Junipers, Maples, Elms, Pines, Banksias
Bonsai Age: 31
Bonsai Club: The School of Bonsai
Location: Winston Hills NSW
Been thanked: 15 times

Re: Another Flowering Apricot

Post by Ray M »

Hi Fly,
I would remove the knob as shown with the arrow. This would give a nice taper.

Regards Ray
Flowere.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
miyagiman
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 278
Joined: May 5th, 2009, 8:21 pm
Favorite Species: prunus
Bonsai Age: 25
Bonsai Club: bendigo bonsai club inc.
Location: bendigo

Re: Another Flowering Apricot

Post by miyagiman »

That's a nice tree Fly, I considered buying that one myself for over an hour, but I passed it up for 2 plum trees on the same table. Look forward to seeing it again when you have worked it some more. cheers, miyagiman.
User avatar
FlyBri
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 1042
Joined: November 12th, 2008, 1:11 pm
Favorite Species: Eucalyptus camaldulensis
Bonsai Age: 14
Bonsai Club: AusBonsai.com
Location: Hurstbridge VIC
Been thanked: 4 times
Contact:

Re: Another Flowering Apricot

Post by FlyBri »

Gday folks!

The further I dig into the roots of this little tree, the more I feel like it was a steal at only $150. :mrgreen: There are a couple of areas that are devoid of large roots, but I can live with that for now. (I have begun a round of "toothpick therapy" using about a dozen pegs that I fashioned from bamboo skewers.)
BSV_F_Apricot_Aug_10_06.jpg
BSV_F_Apricot_Aug_10_07.jpg
BSV_F_Apricot_Aug_10_08.jpg
BSV_F_Apricot_Aug_10_09.jpg
BSV_F_Apricot_Aug_10_10.jpg
BSV_F_Apricot_Aug_10_11.jpg
GavinG wrote:Nice taper and movement in the trunk. Should be a bomb in full bloom. Will the roots permit a strong right lean to it - nearly a semi-cascade? Or maybe a left lean, with all the branching and flowers heading off westward? Just my thoughts, more than usually bent.
Gday Gavin!

The way the thick roots sit at the moment doesn't allow much of a tilt in any direction - as you can see by the latest photos. That's OK by me, as I quite like the orientation of the trunk as it is. Once I have worked out a "final" styling for the tree, I may need to tilt the trunk one way or the other, but I think that is some way off yet.
Tintop wrote:WOW thats gona be sweet as in a pot with full flower :mrgreen:
Thanks Pat! It will be some time before I get the thing into a proper pot, but I'll be sure that you guys are the first to see it when I do.
mackray wrote:I would remove the knob as shown with the arrow. This would give a nice taper.
Gday Ray!

I will be carving out that knob at some point, but I will wait until I know what direction I want the tree to take.
miyagiman wrote:That's a nice tree Fly, I considered buying that one myself for over an hour, but I passed it up for 2 plum trees on the same table. Look forward to seeing it again when you have worked it some more.
Gday Miyagiman!

I'm glad you didn't buy this one - although if you had, I'm sure I would have picked up the one(s) you eventually chose... I'd love to see the Plums that trumped this Apricot!

* * *

By now, you will all have realized that I have not set my mind on a "final" direction for this tree. Initially, I had thoughts of simply pruning for shape and ramification, thus achieving a "finished" tree in a year or two, but all too often I see Bonsai in which the custodian has opted for ramification instead of a strong, cohesive branch/trunk structure. Looking at the tree now, the RH branch is far to straight and taperless, as well as being too heavy for the overall design. I need to work out some way around this problem before getting too stuck into growing a twiggy canopy.

Thanks all!

Fly.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by FlyBri on October 8th, 2010, 5:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
FlyBri
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 1042
Joined: November 12th, 2008, 1:11 pm
Favorite Species: Eucalyptus camaldulensis
Bonsai Age: 14
Bonsai Club: AusBonsai.com
Location: Hurstbridge VIC
Been thanked: 4 times
Contact:

Re: Another Flowering Apricot

Post by FlyBri »

FlyBri wrote:(I have begun a round of "toothpick therapy" using about a dozen pegs that I fashioned from bamboo skewers.)
BSV_F_Apricot_Aug_10_12.jpg
BSV_F_Apricot_Aug_10_13.jpg
That's all for now.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
User avatar
jarryd
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 426
Joined: December 7th, 2008, 8:00 pm
Favorite Species: Tasmanian Natives
Bonsai Age: 15
Bonsai Club: Bonsai Society of Southern Tasmania
Location: Collinsvale Tasmania
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 2 times
Contact:

Re: Another Flowering Apricot

Post by jarryd »

looking great fly an absolute bargain ;) . this will be a very nice tree one day

keep up the good work, jarryd
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/montanebonsai/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Blog http://www.montanebonsai.wordpress.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
User avatar
Luke308
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 1008
Joined: May 15th, 2011, 6:29 pm
Favorite Species: maple & pines
Bonsai Age: 13
Bonsai Club: S.A Bonsai Society
Location: Adelaide
Has thanked: 25 times
Been thanked: 25 times

Re: Another Flowering Apricot

Post by Luke308 »

:bump: Can we please have an update on your toothpick/skewer method? and see the tree's progress?
Thanks,
Luke
WHERE THE SAP FLOWS, THE WOOD GROWS
philf555
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 71
Joined: November 15th, 2011, 9:37 am
Favorite Species: Elm, Fig
Bonsai Age: 10
Bonsai Club: The School of Bonsai
Location: Sydney

Re: Another Flowering Apricot

Post by philf555 »

Hi, Excuse my ignorance but what is the "toothpick method"??? :reading:
The more I learn, the less i feel I know
User avatar
Sahara
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 102
Joined: February 28th, 2011, 3:16 pm
Favorite Species: maple
Bonsai Age: 7
Location: melbourne, vic

Re: Another Flowering Apricot

Post by Sahara »

philf555 wrote:Hi, Excuse my ignorance but what is the "toothpick method"??? :reading:
iwas just wondering the same thing.. im a complete novice but im goign to guess
maybe to propagate extra roots from here to help cut back onthe rootball size?
A life is a life, no matter how small or tall, whether its human or the sea or a tiny little bee to our adoring bonsai trees. that how life is you see :)
User avatar
kcpoole
Perpetual Learner
Perpetual Learner
Posts: 12272
Joined: November 12th, 2008, 4:02 pm
Favorite Species: Maple
Bonsai Age: 15
Bonsai Club: the School Of Bonsai
Location: Western Sydney, NSW, Australia
Has thanked: 17 times
Been thanked: 84 times
Contact:

Re: Another Flowering Apricot

Post by kcpoole »

philf555 wrote:Hi, Excuse my ignorance but what is the "toothpick method"??? :reading:
It is a method of getting the tree to grow more / better roots instead of grafting them on
The wiki page on Nebari has a few links to the relevant threads, https://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index.php?title=Nebari

Ken
Last edited by kcpoole on November 22nd, 2011, 12:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Check out our Wiki for awesome bonsai information www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki
What is Bonsai? http://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index.php?title=Bonsai
What should I do now? http://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index.php?title=Newbie
How do I grow a Bonsai? http://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index. ... _a_Bonsai?
Visit a Bonsai nursery to see some real nice trees http://www.ausbonsai.com.au/wiki/index. ... _Nurseries
philf555
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 71
Joined: November 15th, 2011, 9:37 am
Favorite Species: Elm, Fig
Bonsai Age: 10
Bonsai Club: The School of Bonsai
Location: Sydney

Re: Another Flowering Apricot

Post by philf555 »

Thank you Ken appreciated
The more I learn, the less i feel I know
my nellie
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 8
Joined: April 14th, 2011, 9:16 pm
Bonsai Age: 3
Bonsai Club: MyBonsai.gr - BonsaiClub.gr
Location: GREECE

Re: Another Flowering Apricot

Post by my nellie »

FlyBri wrote: That's all for now.
Luke308 wrote: Can we please have an update on your toothpick/skewer method? and see the tree's progress?
Thanks,
Luke
I agree. I would also like to see an update.
This the first time I have read about this thoothpick method and I can say I would like to give it a try on some pre-bonsais of mine.

Thank you!
Kind Regards,

Alexandra
User avatar
paddles
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 669
Joined: December 11th, 2008, 12:52 pm
Favorite Species: a live tree
Bonsai Age: 10
Bonsai Club: Bendigo
Location: echuca Victoria

Re: Another Flowering Apricot

Post by paddles »

yes, I would also like to see an update... did you get any photos of it in flower?
Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines
Post Reply

Return to “Bonsai Progression Series”