AusBonsai

hi guys,

new to this forum, also new to bonsai,
here is my first attempt at doing a bonsai, i must say its lots of fun, and this forum has loads of good information.
the one in the pot is a juniper and the other one is a azalia i think
couldnt find the right wire in mandurah or a bonsai pot, so just made do with what i had at home. not sure if its going to affect my outcome, any one no of a good bonsai shop south of perth ? might need to rewire soon.
also should i do a once off seasole to help with the stress, i hacked quite a bit of the roots off to fit it in the pot.
going for a unformal upright look, but not 2 worried if nail the look or not, as long as it looks the way i want and enjoy doing it, and also looks like a minature tree ofcourse =p.

the litle knoby bits that are left after i cut the branches off are the ok to be left or do i cut them back further with a knife ?

if any one has some good tips or tricks fire away im all ears.

cheers neil

Gday FISHYINK.. welcome!
Your right bonsia is a ton of fun..
I would definately give it a good soaking of seasol to help it over the shock of root pruning and transplanting.
Have fun.

Hi Neil and welcome - you will find the forums a great source of info. Good luck with your first attempts - in 10 years time you will probably look back and have a chuckle. We are always learning.


Tony

Hi Neil. Welcome to Ausbonsai.

Well, you've come to the right place for advice and information. There is a wealth of knowledge among the members here, so jump in feet first and soak it all up!

With regards to your Juniper: Yes, cut the knobs back otherwise you will end up with unsightly lumps on the trunk. Apart from that, it's easier for the tree to repair a flat cut than to climb over a lumpy bit. A knife wouldn't be my choice of tool to use though. You'd be well advised to get yourself a pair of branch cutters (first) and then for doing the job you want to do with those lumps a 'knob cutter' does the job perfectly.

You can Seasol your trees as often as you like, it won't hurt them at all. I know (by reading some of the posts here) that some members give their trees a dose of Seasol one week then fertilizer the next.

There's nothing wrong with using whatever you have access to, and the wire you are using is just fine. One point though. Crossing wires isn't a good idea. It makes the wire where it is crossed cut into the branch/trunk as they thicken. On your right branch, your wiring looks good, but the one on the trunk has the spirals too far apart. If you try and keep the wire at approximately a 45 degree angle as you wind it, you'll find the coils are closer together. That then gives you the strongest setting for bending trunks and branches. Don't take that wire off now though. Because it is already bent into shape, if you remove the wire from the trunk, it can damage the cell tissue that is already under stress from being shaped. Leave it on there until the trunk has set in place and then if you need to rewire try it as I've suggested above.

Below are a couple of photos of a branch and knob cutter. Initially, the branch cutter is just about the most versatile tool you can have. It can be used for cutting branches, levelling lumps and even removing leaves. As you progress, other tools will take over such as knob cutters, leaf cutting scissors and shears for cutting roots back.

Hope this has gone some way towards answering some of your questions.

Double post.

cheers heeps for the advice guys, how long would i leave the wire on for?,

hey man

nice work, im new too, and addicted

these guys help me so much, just post pics and ask questions, there criticism and advice is awesome.

Hi Neil, welcome to the site, as far as i know there are no Bonsai Shops south of the river,maybe someone knows of a place that carries pots and things.. you can get thin wire from electrical wire(just strip the plastic off). good luck with your trees

As others have already said WELCOME!!


Absolutely adore that piece of deadwood. I have always wanted to try and achieve that image via tanuki graft. You may not realize it yet but that is very reminiscent, to the controversial work that made Kimura so famous.
My only thoughts though are Junipers natural suite deadwood features, Azaleas do not. Don't do it now, but it would serve you well in the future to switch pots.

If you put the Juni in the deadwood, I would let it grow upright for a year or so, then tip it all on its side. It will create the image of a once powerful plant ripped out of the ground and lying there, re-shooting from the damaged top.

I'll try and grab a shot of one from Kimura's garden, I know Lindsay has a great video of Kimura showing his garden, many juni tunuki's to be inspired from. Kimura basically created the image of a yamadori juniper which has been flipped upside down exposing such deadwood root features, just like your piece.


Once again they are fine as is, just my opinion though. Goodluck!

yes, i see what you mean, i might buy another juniper and put it in that wood and pot the azelia. craig have you found any pot places that sell bonsai pots ? south of the river. went to 2 local pot shops that specilize in pots but dont do bonsai pots.

Hi Fishyink, and welcome you'll find plenty of helpful people around here with plenty of different experiance levels.

Cya round,
Isty.