Two rosemaries
Posted: June 17th, 2020, 5:32 pm
I read this article by Matthew Ward saying that rosemary "can become a bonsai in a single year with a minimum of effort"
Sold!
I got two from the nursery at the same time as my Callistemon, a standard one and a prostrate variety. They're in 2.5L pots.
First the standard: It's about 1.5cm at the base. Thinking I could make something with a final size of about 20cm if I start potting it down in a year but I'm not sure how quickly they thicken up.
Potentially decent future nebari?
Doesn't seem rootbound just yet, but I don't know, I'm only comparing it to the next one...
The prostrate variety: This one has all kinds of curves. Couldn't get great photos of the trunk because there's just so much going on.
It's thinner than the other one at the base, but it has a two trunks and a branch that are pretty much at ground level. Can't really get in to see the roots.
Looks root bound to me.
I've started with removing a couple of obvious unwanted branches where there are several in one place, or that are crossing, etc.
Still hesitating about what to do with each of them.
Maybe I'll try to make a small bonsai from the upright one, and cut the other one back to one or two trunks and grow it in a bigger pot for a couple of years.
A couple of questions for now:
Should I root prune now at the end of spring or wait til the start of next spring?
I'm thinking the prostrate one looks like it needs it pretty badly, but i could just slip-pot it up for now. Would it be bad to root prune this late in the season? Could I get away with it if I cut of an equivalent number of branches?
I feel like the upright one doesn't need it so much and can wait a bit more.
How hard a pruning can they take in general (when not root pruning at the same time)? How much can I take off at a time and how often?
Sold!
I got two from the nursery at the same time as my Callistemon, a standard one and a prostrate variety. They're in 2.5L pots.
First the standard: It's about 1.5cm at the base. Thinking I could make something with a final size of about 20cm if I start potting it down in a year but I'm not sure how quickly they thicken up.
Potentially decent future nebari?
Doesn't seem rootbound just yet, but I don't know, I'm only comparing it to the next one...
The prostrate variety: This one has all kinds of curves. Couldn't get great photos of the trunk because there's just so much going on.
It's thinner than the other one at the base, but it has a two trunks and a branch that are pretty much at ground level. Can't really get in to see the roots.
Looks root bound to me.
I've started with removing a couple of obvious unwanted branches where there are several in one place, or that are crossing, etc.
Still hesitating about what to do with each of them.
Maybe I'll try to make a small bonsai from the upright one, and cut the other one back to one or two trunks and grow it in a bigger pot for a couple of years.
A couple of questions for now:
Should I root prune now at the end of spring or wait til the start of next spring?
I'm thinking the prostrate one looks like it needs it pretty badly, but i could just slip-pot it up for now. Would it be bad to root prune this late in the season? Could I get away with it if I cut of an equivalent number of branches?
I feel like the upright one doesn't need it so much and can wait a bit more.
How hard a pruning can they take in general (when not root pruning at the same time)? How much can I take off at a time and how often?