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Bonsai waterfall fountain

Posted: September 17th, 2017, 9:38 pm
by beanwagon
I started building a rock waterfall/fountain that will have two root over rock tree's grown on it.

I have yet to decide which species to grow but i was thinking chinese elm, ficus, swamp cypress or casuarina.

Thoughts?

Has anybody else done similar before?

I started by making the shape out of chicken wire. Then filling it with newspaper. I then coat the structure with cement, add textures etc.

I have added an internal removable water reservoir (pvc pipe), which will have an internal pump circulating the water.

Here is my progress
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Re: Bonsai waterfall fountain

Posted: September 17th, 2017, 9:44 pm
by beanwagon
I purchased the limestone colour of this concrete stain to experiment with
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"Introducing Concrete Stain and Sealer aerosol. These penetrating water based stains and sealers apply like an ordinary aerosol paint but offer the semi-transparent look of a stain. There are 4 stain colors to choose from and 1 sealer. They are ideal for small projects such as statuary, pavers and more and can be used on interior and exterior concrete, block and masonry surfaces to produce high end decorative finishes"

Re: Bonsai waterfall fountain

Posted: September 17th, 2017, 9:46 pm
by beanwagon
Did i mention how heavy this thing is/will be? :crikey: :lost:

Re: Bonsai waterfall fountain

Posted: September 17th, 2017, 9:50 pm
by beanwagon
Testing the bottom section of the waterfall. I will have a seperate water hose going to the top of the waterfall

https://youtu.be/IBlh6XOsQ2o



A rough idea of my final goal
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Re: Bonsai waterfall fountain

Posted: September 18th, 2017, 7:44 am
by alpineart
Hi beanwagon , mate that should come up a treat with a nice Bonsai in there . I love making pots , trays and rocks myself , definitely uniquely different .

I used acrylic renders which are a bit lighter and stronger for these projects . Well done be good to see it landscaped .

Cheers . Alpineart

Re: Bonsai waterfall fountain

Posted: September 18th, 2017, 9:20 am
by beanwagon
alpineart wrote:Hi beanwagon , mate that should come up a treat with a nice Bonsai in there . I love making pots , trays and rocks myself , definitely uniquely different .

I used acrylic renders which are a bit lighter and stronger for these projects . Well done be good to see it landscaped .

Cheers . Alpineart
Cheers alpineart, this is my first time doing this so it is all trial and error. I havent heard if acrylic renders, im going to have to look into them.

Re: Bonsai waterfall fountain

Posted: September 18th, 2017, 10:48 am
by alpineart
Hi beanwagon , its available from most hardwares in pre mixed or bagged powder form . The bagged powder form is better but wear a mask as it is very dusty .

Cheers . Alpine

Re: Bonsai waterfall fountain

Posted: September 18th, 2017, 1:09 pm
by beanwagon
Awesome cheers. Next project i will experiment with it.

Re: Bonsai waterfall fountain

Posted: September 18th, 2017, 1:22 pm
by Pearcy001
Great job so far mate. What are you planning to plant on it? Something like a ficus would probably explode with the added humidity from the water.

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Re: Bonsai waterfall fountain

Posted: September 18th, 2017, 2:26 pm
by beanwagon
Pearcy001 wrote:Great job so far mate. What are you planning to plant on it? Something like a ficus would probably explode with the added humidity from the water.

Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk
Cheers mate. Im leaning towards ficus microcarpa or chinese elm.

I have made quite a few microcarpa cuttings, just waiting for them to root. I will probably fuse them together to give me a good head start.

Im open to idea's and suggestions.

Re: Bonsai waterfall fountain

Posted: September 18th, 2017, 3:12 pm
by Ryceman3
I reckon something like this has "ficus" written all over it. :yes:

Re: Bonsai waterfall fountain

Posted: September 18th, 2017, 5:32 pm
by beanwagon
I also plan to make a water tray for it out of concrete. This will add to the aesthetic of the design and also add humidity for the formation of aerial roots.

Re: Bonsai waterfall fountain

Posted: September 18th, 2017, 7:14 pm
by Raging Bull
Looking good Beano, I really like the texture you gave the whole "rock". Ficus would be ideal, I can already see the roots grabbing the rock and climbing all over it. :cool:

Re: Bonsai waterfall fountain

Posted: September 18th, 2017, 8:16 pm
by robb63
That's a big job you have taken on Beanwagon, well done :tu:
Looks like that Husky assistant is sleeping on the job again.
My Staffy is much the same, no help at all.
The water tray your planning sound like a good fit for a swamp cypress and
the fig on top is the way I would go. If you fuse a few smaller figs like port jacksons
they will love it and give you years of fun before they outgrow their home
Good on you for taking on a fairly major operation
I'm still in the planning stage with water features, but it's on my long
'to do list", somewhere :palm:
cheers

Re: Bonsai waterfall fountain

Posted: September 19th, 2017, 7:57 am
by beanwagon
Raging Bull wrote:Looking good Beano, I really like the texture you gave the whole "rock". Ficus would be ideal, I can already see the roots grabbing the rock and climbing all over it. :cool:
Cheers mate. Thats the plan