AusBonsai

This is going gangbusters and a surprise has been revealedMust be thirsty work , the severed roots on the side and top well above the scoria bed have decided more roots are needed .Maybe i can pot this into individual pots like a house on stilts . I think I need to get this out and see whats happening , maybe carve the guts out of the underside to lighten the load so it can be moved .

Cheers Alpineart

That is awesome. I'd be inclined to let them keep growing until they hit (pay) dirt and then look at dividing it up so you get a few trees out of it. It is a monster, I am subscribed and settling into this thread with interest! I reckon an engine hoist is the go to get this one mobile. Given some of your other projects I think you would find some use for one. Pretty cheap online or on gumtree these days.

Mate how do you do it!

I think lightening the load sounds like a damn good idea.



Mo

Hi GreenThumb , mate if this is left any longer i will have to dig it out of the scoria bed . Cant split it up that would be criminal , wont get another chance at a base like this , getting too old for that caper .

I have contemplated a hoist , just need to justify it to the wife , she might tell me to get the new stihl out and cut it down to size . I will work out some sort of aid , looked at a mobile gantry on guntree the other day , need a power driven machine me thinks .

Hi Mo' I do it with confidence Mate , I think that scoria has special appeal to plants . I have used it for quite a few years and the root production has surpassed anything i have ever used . It works on most species as a blended bonsai mix and pure as in these beds and pots for collected material . Its a pity i didn't leave all those big Junipers in here .

I think it time to test out the replacement die grinder and definately lighten it up a bit .

Cheers Fella's . Alpine

It's hard to kill when life still remains. Interesting subject Alpine. Look at all the ones in Israel still living when bombs don't destroy them. I know what I am talking about I had a Jewish friend who had an olive grove somewhere in Israel, she lived in Jerusleum and she entertained Mike Rann once who was investing or thinking of investing in olive groves in Aust. SA I suspect.

alpineart wrote:Hi GreenThumb , mate if this is left any longer i will have to dig it out of the scoria bed . Cant split it up that would be criminal , wont get another chance at a base like this , getting too old for that caper .

I have contemplated a hoist , just need to justify it to the wife , she might tell me to get the new stihl out and cut it down to size . I will work out some sort of aid , looked at a mobile gantry on guntree the other day , need a power driven machine me thinks .

Hi Mo' I do it with confidence Mate , I think that scoria has special appeal to plants . I have used it for quite a few years and the root production has surpassed anything i have ever used . It works on most species as a blended bonsai mix and pure as in these beds and pots for collected material . Its a pity i didn't leave all those big Junipers in here .

I think it time to test out the replacement die grinder and definately lighten it up a bit .

Cheers Fella's . Alpine

You just drop em in pure scoria?? I always thought you mixed something else with it for some reason. Hows the water retention of scoria??

Cheers,
Mo

Hi Mo' The scoria beds are 3/4 scoria 50/50 soft red and black marble , most of my collected material went into sieved soft red . My bonsai mix was soft red and pine bark .

Cheers Alpine

You are great, have you thought of incorporating it into a living landscape? I like Penjing, not everyone does.

Hi Bush bunny , it will become a penjing utilizing the mountain as the main setting , no other tree's will be added just a lake , waterfall/stream a house a bridge , and maybe a couple of Aussies fishing . My son suggested a couple of motorbikes and a tent .

Cheers . Alpine

MoGanic wrote:You just drop em in pure scoria??

They love it Mo:








Sorry for the derail Ian lol

Hi Anrew F, Mate you obviously found a supply up your way . There is a quarry in Central Victoria however their scoria corrodes metal in their plant very quickly , the beveridge quarry doesn't have corrosion issues with their screening plant .

The mineral content must be the key to the root growth down here , if only i had 1/2 a tonne laying around when i collected those junipers . .

Cheers . Alpine

Yeah only problem is its all 10mm stuff at the moment. Need to make a trip down Syd to get something of a smaller grade.

Hi Andrew F , Mate run it through an 6-8mm sieve and you uually remove the 50 % of the +bigger rock being 10mm . I have found that with 10mm and bigger the roots seem to adhere/clasp to it , 8mm minus and it doesn't occur to the same extent , simply shake the trunk and 99 % falls off without root breakage .

Cheers Alpine

Wow, thanks guys! Might go down that path with next years repots.

Cheers,
Mo

MoGanic wrote:Wow, thanks guys! Might go down that path with next years repots.

Cheers,
Mo

Hi Mo' , mate your in Vic so it would be worth your time to go to the Beveridge quarry and get a load be it bags or bulk . Load your own bags is the same price "weight only" . You dont have to buy it by the tonne , I just have a few more pots than most . Be sure to ask for 8mm screening it is specialist material used by the telco's for pit and junction laying

Cheers . Alpine