COLLECTED RADIATA

[anttal63]

thanks dave for the thumbs up mate. yeah i'm chuffed to say the least. i feel good about the survival chances too. once its growing strong i will put it on a super feeding regime. thats at least a year away i would think. i am confident that with a combination of all the seasonal work to it plus the superfeeding i will get it to respond in time.

[anttal63]

heres some photos of the dig. notice cutting the tap root, the jaws of life in action. a must have tool for the serious collector. lieing down on your stomach sawing the tap root is just not on. thats my mate joe digging with me. with out him this tree would not have been possible. he is fearless and definately my hero.

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[miyagiman]

you guys are fearless, that looks like it was an awesome day & i bet you had a lot of fun. dave.

[ozzy]

I can't imagine that it would survive, I hope I am wrong.

[anttal63]

I can't imagine that it would survive, I hope I am wrong.

dont mozz me ozz!!! i hope ya wrong too!

[teejay]

Nice pics Ant. I hope it survives, although it looks as though it copped a bit of a flogging!

[anttal63]

in this enviroment she has copped a flogging and my hope is that she realises i'm gonna treat her right.

[ozzy]

in this enviroment she has copped a flogging and my hope is that she realises i'm gonna treat her right.

Isn't it funny how you can dig up plants living in the most appalling of conditions, bring them home, tuck them in to a nice tub of quality soil, put them in a warm sunny spot with afternoon shade, give them a feed, a nice hair cut and lots of water only to see them promptly keel over and cark it.
I was watching a show a while ago about some poor unfortunate starving inhabitants of a concentration camp that were liberated and given food which they gorged upon and not being used to such a rich diet promptly became very ill, I guess this is similiar situation, killing with kindness.

[Edward Scissorhand]

in this enviroment she has copped a flogging and my hope is that she realises i'm gonna treat her right.

Ant, I really enjoy reading all the bonsai stuff you do, keep posting. Also, that radiata is a real beauty with old bark like that. Fingers cross that it survives with your good care.

[anttal63]

ED thanks mate glad you enjoy my rant.

OZ that is on my mind not to over do it. haircuts and styling not for at least 2-3 yrs if not more. and just maybe the super feed will have to wait longer as well.

[Tachigi]

Antonio...your one industrious devil!

Looks wonderful! What blows me away though is that in your collection images, which are marvelous, the needles look so much shorter. So "if" they have grown out as long as they show in your trunk reduction picture , this is a happy tree! You did the exactly right thing by collecting the pine duff loaded with Mycorrhiza, good thinking. You mentioned you were using a 1/3 lava rock, 1/3 orchid mix, 1/3 fine shredded pine bark mulch mix. I'm not sure this will be a good long term mix. By the look of were you collected it and knowing that pines like a fairly dry free draining soil, down the road some adjustment might be in order...but then again I'm half a world away and your micro environment may dictate differently to obtain smaller needles.

The game plan you conveyed to me in your Pm sounds like a good one...basic and to the point. Good to hear that your going to leave your hands off for a few years. Will be really interested to see what "POPS" from that trunk and where. You have done very well my friend...your progression as an enthusiast/artist/ and collector is really on the fast track....congrats!

BTW: the final picture of you and Joe lifting that bad boy out of the ground is priceless! You both look like foxes coming out of the hen house.

Cheers, Tom

[anttal63]

tom thankyou so much for such a quick response. its funny you mention needle size, cause they are lengthening right b4 my very eyes. i had to rub them hard in case i was imagining things. yes we find in this neck of the woods that established potted radiatas like it moist. none the less the future mix will be somewhat dryer. again thanks my friend i am so more confident for your response.

[bodhidharma]

Hey Ant, looks like you do it all. A bit of danger to add to the excitement of the dig. Wondering how you are going to share the tree with your fellow digger?

[anttal63]

Hey Ant, looks like you do it all. A bit of danger to add to the excitement of the dig. Wondering how you are going to share the tree with your fellow digger?

easy he doesnt do bonsai!

[kcpoole]

Hey Ant, looks like you do it all. A bit of danger to add to the excitement of the dig. Wondering how you are going to share the tree with your fellow digger?

easy he doesnt do bonsai!

Hope you bought him lots of beers then