AusBonsai

The biggest problem I have with this site is seeing all the lovely trees everyone else has and then wanting one of that species. I find I am accumulating far too many plants to be able to turn them all into good bonsai For example, I looked at a post of FlyBri's about a sumo pomegranate, and I began immediately wanting a pomegranate. I read about other people's satsuki azaleas, and want some even though I have 4 Indica aaleas. I can say all the plants I have are very healthy.

My other problem is whenever I prune one of my plants, I put the cuttings in a pot and almost all of them (probably around 90%) grow. I find it difficult to put perfectly good cuttings in the bin. While I can always give some away to local club members when they get big enough, many of them are cuttings from cuttings given to me by club members so they don't want them. I can also sell them like my mother does her desert rose seedlings to raise money for missions for her church, but the problem is where to keep all the small pots etc until big enough to pass on, and by then I can see some potential in them and don't want to.

Am I alone in this addiction, or is it just one of the symptoms of bonsai addiction that many of you suffer from also? Is there a cure, or should I just resign myself to it and build ever bigger benches to hold everything? My husband collects vintage slot cars, and in one of their magazines was an article on collection addictions (very tongue in cheek). In answer to the question "How much should I collect" the article stated "Twice the available space"

Don't tell me I am the only one!

Hi Glenda
As I really only recently Graduated From newbie Staus I can symapathise with this post

We can only have enough trees either finished, in development or Seedlings cuttings than we can comfortably keep alive and healthy.
If you go over that limit then you will start to think it all a "chore" and it becomes not fun anymore

I have found that limit now and have no only few starters or cuttings, and the trees I am developing.
The rest went in the ground or passed on.

the ones in the ground I am keeping an eye on, and might do something to them every 6 months or so but are quite self sufficient

Ken

hi mate

your definately not alone! its human nature and also the bug, when the bonsai bug bites, it bite hard! I have a heap of cuttings, probably close to a thousand, plus the seeds that are germinate which will be close to the thousand mark now aswell, if you have some spare area in your garden beds i suggest you put them in there, doesnt matter how close they are as you will be trying to move as many on as you can on. I did have pics but cant find them at the moment.

anyways, i know what you mean bout not being able to throw perfectly good cuttings away, I do it too, what I plan on doing with all these cuttings and seedlings i have are some i will keep for myself, others I will use as trading stock, that way you can get some different stock without spending a fortune.

jamie

I have the exact same problems...

I am currently downsizing my collection to concentrate on only several plants.

Thanks guys. Nice to know its not just me. I have to say I am preparing to take some cuttings and some more established plants to bonsai club tomorrow to give away. I have decided I am not really into benajminas. Not the ones I have anyway. I have two Ficus benjamina exoticas - the varigated ones - and don't like them at all, and all the low branches on them are dying off for no known reason. So they are going. Got rid of about 4 earlier this year too. There are a few gmelina arborea cuttings that are well and truely struck going also.

When I first started out I collected two of everything I bought just in case one died, and several of each type of cutting for the same reason. I think I need to weed them down to just the one of each, choosing the best and getting rid of the rest. I probably won't stop stricking heaps of cuttings, but being more selective in what I keep. That's the intention, now I will just need to see if I can match actions to the intentions

Glenda

hi glenda,

the F. benji. exotica especially the varigated one is a very hard fig to use in bonsai, variegations are a weaker tree in general as the way you get variegation is to take a branch of a tree that is sick, let it be lacking nutrients or insect problems etc. etc. it taken as a cutting, struck and developed for quite some time, this works in the fact that the damaged leaves of the parent tree had been genetically altered because of the leaves been damaged, etc.

also exotica in general is a reall annoying fig, I got one last year, great base, didt think to much of it, actually talked myself into beleiving it was a F. hilli. so i chopped it right down, got the roots sorted, into diatomite and waited, and waited, and waited. nothing happened. so i decided to try and graft microcarpa onto it, after 6-8 attempts and all failed drismally i put it off to the side not expecting much, checking every now and again as to see if it was dead yet, still green, every time i checked. anyways, approx 1 year on there still isnt a bud swelling, but is still green! so got myself the little microcarpa that I was using the doner plant for the heel grafts, and have put a thread graft in, the first two i must have damaged the buds as they shriveled up and died. i felt like this trunk was nover gonna have green on it again. but the last thread graft is alive and well even though one if my kids decided to defoliate a few leaves. but it has new ones coming through so not to worr, i will let you know how it goes

ITS NEVER ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It goes the same with all my hobies , Ive got more fishing lures than most tackle stores , project cars all over the place , motorbikes everywhere , plants and trees scattered all around my block , fishtanks full of fish aaaahhhhhhhh breath. All my hobies bite very hard!!!!!

I must be the exception to the rule re addictions; I’m reasonably disciplined with purchases and cuttings (though, it has taken a while to reach this stage).

I don’t know any others who grow bonsai, in fact I don’t now any other gardeners (we live in a rural area) so I’ve had to be very disciplined re cuttings with no one to trade with; if I don’t want plants for a purpose (eg to use as thread grafts), I bin the trimmings. My choice of plants is limited by my climate (winter frosts/snow) so that helps and then there are the ones that don’t survive experimenting with new techniques (usually duplicates grown for experimentation). I also have a purge every now and then to free up space; if it isn’t performing, if my tastes have changed or, as my standards have developed (some of the plants I started out with have become a bit embarrassing as time has gone on), – out it goes.

I limit myself to the shelving and propagation areas available and to trees I have grown/shaped/styled. I don’t buy bonsai; for me the joy is in trying to create something myself. I will buy nursery plants that appeal to me and seedlings for projects. I still have plenty of plants to see to but I think this system is more satisfying for me.

Jan.

Hi Glenda

I am glad to say I have now come to the realization that I have more than enough plants to look after and the need of adding is gone. After the Tony Bebb weekend I came home with some really nice cuttings of Junipers that I didn't have and they are all potted. But with pruning etc I found I had dozens of cuttings I was trying to strike for whatever reason and I felt burdened with it all...the sheer pleasure was disappearing and I was feeling snowed under. So I binned the ones from my pruning....everyone has the same plants and I figured there was no-one to give them to...we're all in the same boat. The relief after getting rid of them was a weight off my shoulders, so I guess I have recognised my limitations...and it's a good feeling...I don't feel as though I'm missing out on something if I haven't got it. I guess my priority at the moment is getting my bonsai garden organised and designed and I don't want clutter. But to answer your original question,YES...I had to have everything and it was consuming me. I dream of bonsai and I wake up thinking about it and it's maddening. So I've pulled the reins in and I find it's not a matter of discipline, I just don't want clutter and unneccessary work any more. We've only got so much room and bench space and you can't display your trees properly when you've got too many, it's just a big jumble.
So don't feel guilty if you don't strike cuttings, say to yourself...DO I REALLY WANT IT ... ????

GOD, THAT WAS LONG WINDED

cheers Loretta

New postby Glenda » Today, 10:11
The biggest problem I have with this site is seeing all the lovely trees everyone else has and then wanting one of that species. I find I am accumulating far too many plants to be able to turn them all into good bonsai

Yep, no question about it Glenda - you're definitely another 'Bonsai Tragic' I would hazard a guess there are a lot of us here on the forum exactly the same as you - well I know I am! I hate throwing away perfectly usable cuttings, but lately I've actually taken to doing it. It feels like going through 'withdrawal' symptoms, but sometimes you just have to do it

I have to say I really enjoy putting cuttings in a pot and seeing them grow. I don't feel burdened by them at all. What I do realise is that turning the cuttings into a bonsai will take time, not just waiting for them to grow (which to me is not a problem at all - I enjoy the journey), but the time it needs for wiring, the constant attention to pinching out buds etc. I think I may end up with only a half dozen styled trees, and let the rest flourish, chop them back, pot up the cuttings and then give/sell what strikes. I am beginning to think that may be my aim at least until I retire (if I can ever afford to).

Glenda

Me too.-If I'm pruning I now only try to strike the two or three largest cuttings ( the ones that would normally be too big to strike)-If they take ,then I'm a couple of years ahead ,if not then nothing lost.

Nope Glenda, you are not alone.

2yrs ago I culled my collection down to just 9 trees. Then built them up again until it got too much and gave a load away late autumn early winter. That increased again so I threw a heap in the ground so I didnt have as many pots to care for. Then the collecting season kicks in and I now have even more in pots than before I planted the last lot in the ground.

Now there are about 150 at varying stages of development in the ground and about 200+ cuttings in the ground. I have about 150 pots at varying stages with another 100 odd newly collected bits and about 100 cuttings in pots. Too many but how can I resist, went collecting natives at one of my favorite spots last monday, 30pots later.... half a dozen species I know I can collect and multiples of numerous species I have not tried before (multiples so I can test various methods to see what works)

I love plants and one of the appeals of bonsai for me has always been the ability to grow alot more species in a given area than would normally be able to be done. However, as my bonsai years have crept up I am slowly getting a better idea of what I do & dont want to be growing for myself as to opposed to admiring in anothers collection or books/net.

There is a long list of exotic tree species I would like to add over the coming years and the native list is limited to what will & wont tolerate being grown. It is never enough & there will always be room for one more tree...

Matt

Enough is NEVER ENOUGH!

There's always something to make your greed gleam....

Speaking of which, I just picked up some seedling Senkaki maples from Bonsai Environment in Vineyard for $12 each - how could a sane man leave them there?

Jan, I suspect that your tough rural environment makes the need for discipline clear at a lot of different levels, just to survive. Us suburban softies just keep piling them into the back yard, and turning on the tap... Best of luck.

Gavin