AusBonsai

Yep, I've struggled with the concept of pruning hard at times. I had this really old corky bark elm that I took to a recent BSV club night, the verdict from a few experts was off with it's head, well arms at least..!! These were probably 40 year old branches on a 50 year old tree, so awesomely ramified, just in the wrong damn spots. So after the branch cutters came out, I freaked out thinking, "what have I done".. but now the old tree that was always going to be just ok, simply because of poor branch positioning, has potential to be an awesome tree in the not too distant future. Most of my tree's in development have had the same treatment, and are better for it for sure.

Mel, that mix is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyy to course if you are looking for ramification.

bugger

Thanks for the heads-up Mike, I'll see what I can do to fix the problem.

ep, I've struggled with the concept of pruning hard at times.

I am starting to get it Rob. (I hope) The more workshops I get to, the more info is able to get into my head....

shibui wrote:We used to hear people talking about 'sharp' sand - angular with sharp edges because the sharp corners would split the roots and result in a better ramified root structure. roots don't split when they run into sharp surfaces. They split/ramify when conditions are suitable. Sharp sand and probably akadama are just 2 of the ingredients that help to provide the conditions needed but there are plenty of others that seem to do the same, just not marketed as well as akadama.
Personally, I don't see the point in bringing mineral soils halfway round the world to add to my potting mix. Feel free to let me know how much better than current mixes your expensive akadama mix is.

Funnily enough I have some akadama for sale Hahah.
I hopping to satisfy the need in the market by bringing it in and those that use it can post their results. I have always said to test out any soil component and see the results before committing to changing anything

Squizz is eager to get hold of some more for repotting this year as he mentioned in a discussion a while ago that his pines particularly have much nice roots since he started using akadama.

Interested to see how this develops as I have a few quince in the early stages of their lives.

Ken

Hey Mel,
Just came across this thread. Any update - how has the little tree fared this year?


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yeah thanks Mark, the tree is doing well after a repot in Winter. I was expecting the roots to be very disappointing after a year in such a coarse mix, but they were amazingly fine and had filled the container. At the moment it's looking a bit wild and woolly because I'm letting it grow madly for Summer. Thanks for the reminder, because I'd wired it around 8 weeks ago, and they needed to come off.

These pics in no particular order

Goals.... From the garden of Luis Vallejo