Rock Penjing - The Serissa Cliffs

Kyle Goldcoast1 · Post by **Kyle Goldcoast1** » October 19th, 2018, 4:16 pm

Hi all,

So I bought a nice azalea and serissa combo bonsai from bunnings for $20 a few months ago and have been letting it grow mainly because I didn't have time to repot it or do anything.
But over the past couple of days I've had the time so I repotted the azalea and gave it a prune, while it was out of the pot I actually dropped the pot which had the rock glued to it and it came apart (no break, just came off).

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So I thought I could do something seperate with the rock.
I used the serissa from the first combination buy, as it had grown a lot since purchasing.

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The rock I'm not sure what kind it is or if it a synthetic rock, but it is pretty easy to grab a screwdriver and carve the rock how you want. I put a bit of a dug out in one side where I thought having a bonsai would look good.

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I used regular bonsai soil with some clay from a recent dig in the backyard as some support for the soil.

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The serissa looked a bit overgrown and as I was looking to prune it I noticed it looked like 2 trees had merged together with 2 sides both having roots. Super lucky to have this so I gave it a snip straight down the middle and got 2 serissa trees with root systems.

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I tested the clay on the rock to see how I could make a bit of a wall for the soil but allow so drainage. I tried it with the serissas to find a good angle and added some soil to hold them so I could go make a coffee.

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They looked a bit bare and the clay did not look appealing so I took some moss from my other bonsai and got to thinking. They look much better with moss covering the clay and soil, and will also help with keeping moist as I reckon with such a small amount of soil it could dry up easily outside.

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So after a little clean up by using the spray bottle on power mode (with super accuracy), it looks really good. I'm happy

I tried o get the moss looking like it would grow in crevices and nooks in the rock with the flow of water

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alpineart · Post by **alpineart** » October 19th, 2018, 4:54 pm

Hi Kyle , mate the rock looks like hebel block , its aerated concrete which I use for rocks and landscapes . Nice to see your progression .

Cheers . Alpineart

Raging Bull · Post by **Raging Bull** » October 19th, 2018, 8:00 pm

Looks very nice Kyle. Now you just need to find a nice slab or tray to mount it on.

cheers, Frank.

MJL · Post by **MJL** » October 19th, 2018, 9:06 pm

Well KyleGc1...I reckon it's a mile ahead of what you purchased; the original being a couple of small plants in a pot with a rock .... this version being you .... or at least a reflection of your creativity. So

bang! You're ahead already.

I hope it all survives and if it does, I reckon it'll look good as the moss starts to take and the serissa perhaps trained in semi-cascade style.

As Frank says, topped off in a flat try or slab. Lovely!

Cheers for posting.

melbrackstone · Post by **melbrackstone** » October 20th, 2018, 7:28 am

Looks good Kyle. This would look good in a tray or very shallow pot...

There's a group on fb that I am in, where one of the fellows lives in China. He seems to have endless supplies of trays for his penjing. Turns out he buys plates that are sold for the restaurant trade for supplying warm towels to customers...

Kyle Goldcoast1 · Post by **Kyle Goldcoast1** » October 22nd, 2018, 8:02 am

MJL wrote: I hope it all survives and if it does, I reckon it'll look good as the moss starts to take and the serissa perhaps trained in semi-cascade style.

Thanks for the praise everyone. I was wondering what you all advise in terms of feeding a rock style penning like this? I know the serissas won't grow a massive amount due to the small soil and placement, but I'm hoping for some growth to possible get a few flowers going.

I'm going to use a small bit of dynamic lifter in a a fews once it has settled a bit, any other recommendations for feeding and watering this style? I've been watering the top of the rock, rather than the trees or soil so the water runs off into it and not impacts on the soil and causes any erosion.

MJL · Post by **MJL** » January 13th, 2019, 7:31 am

Hey Kyle,

I was just interested in the progress of your creative work here - I know it’s only a few months after your post but did it survive? Also regarding your fertiliser question - I generally oscillate between Powerfeed and Seasol; swapping between the two every few weeks in the growing season. I am not an expert but seems to work on most of my plants including Serissa. I reckon regular liquid feed should be fine for your planting too. Cheers, Mark

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KIRKY · Post by **KIRKY** » January 13th, 2019, 8:36 am

Mark, FYI Seasol is not a fertiliser as such more a tonic for roots, cellular structure in plants. Good at repotting time but not feeding.
Cheers
Kirky

MJL · Post by **MJL** » January 13th, 2019, 5:04 pm

Thanks Kirky - I keep learning! I ‘sort of’ knew Seasol was not a fertiliser but didn’t know what that meant and clearly I misunderstood the tonic bit .... in my mind I was picturing Powerfeed/liquid fert for whole tree and a top up for those poor roots constructed to a pot with a regular dose of root tonic/Seasol. [SEE-NO-EVIL MONKEY] I guess I’ll remove Seasol except at repotting now. Thanks for people’s patience with my daftness! Learning, learning ....

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KIRKY · Post by **KIRKY** » January 13th, 2019, 8:47 pm

No daftness it’s all cool. Seasol won’t hurt anything just trying to save you some dosh

Cheers
Kirky

Kyle Goldcoast1 · Post by **Kyle Goldcoast1** » March 27th, 2019, 10:44 pm

MJL wrote:Hey Kyle,

I was just interested in the progress of your creative work here - I know it’s only a few months after your post but did it survive? Also regarding your fertiliser question - I generally oscillate between Powerfeed and Seasol; swapping between the two every few weeks in the growing season. I am not an expert but seems to work on most of my plants including Serissa. I reckon regular liquid feed should be fine for your planting too. Cheers, Mark

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Unfortunately it did not survive. We had a really hot couple of weeks and several days I was away and did not water. I found the soil did not stat moist for very long at all and the rock absorbed all the water I put on it. Will possibly try to use the rock on a bigger scale design I'm thinking of, like a slate landscape piece or slab planting.

Also side note, does anyone know how to make muck without buying a lot of products or stock?

shibui · Post by **shibui** » March 28th, 2019, 5:30 am

Muck, also called Keto.
Keto is traditionally made with clay and cow manure. The fibres in the manure help hold the clay together so less cracking and shrinkage if it dries out. Also helps water penetrate and adds some nutrient. Keto can be very hard to rehydrate if it does dry out. Adding sphagnum moss really makes a difference to rewettability.
Exact proportions will depend on the clay and your individual needs and preferences. Try starting with 1/2 aged cow manure (I have not tried alternative manure types but may be worth experimenting if there are few cows in your area) and 1/2 clay then try adding more clay or more manure to get a good, mouldable product.

Replacing some or all of the manure with chopped sphagnum moss will make a big difference in wettability.
Many modern muck recipes replace manure with peat but this mix still does not rewet easily.
If your muck shrinks a lot as it loses moisture try adding some sand to the mix. This will make it more abrasive on the hands when you mix and mould it but will reduce shrinkage and cracking.
Aged compost may also have useful properties for making keto

Clay for keto is traditionally sourced from rice paddies where many years of manuring and rice straw has broken down into sticky black mud. Might be difficult to find a suitable rice paddy close to the Gold Coast though.
You may be able to find suitable clay on building sites or along roadside cuttings. Knowing a little about soils will help to identify suitable locations to search. Suitable soils are sticky and hold together well when wet. Doesn't need to be as smooth as potter's clay so some grittiness is fine and will even help reduce shrinkage. Soil colour does not matter because you will end up covering it with moss or something else. Volcanic soils often decay into good sticky clays. The best clay I have found comes from cricket pitches (the cricket club will probably take a dim view of you mining their ground, even though it is for bonsai). Merri Creek Mud (from Melbourne) is prized material for cricket pitches. I got a good store when the local club was renovating the wickets at our local ground. A bucketful will probably last a lifetime of bonsai.
I think everybody knows where cow manure comes from. You can buy it by the bag or pick up in a nearby paddock. Leave the wet ones and use older, dried cowpats.

MJL · Post by **MJL** » March 28th, 2019, 6:15 am

shibui wrote: I think everybody knows where cow manure comes from.

My wife, numerous friends and probably much of this forum thinks it comes from my mouth a lot of the time. Harsh, but probably true.

Thanks for the update Kyle. Bummer about the serissa penjing - but nothing ventured, nothing gained and at least you gave it a crack and learned a few things along the way.

Bonsai teaches me patience.
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