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marika23
Full Member
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Jan 22, 2014 10:56 am
Location: Aruba

bonsai too sparse

Hello,

I am posting a new thread on my bonsai, I earlier had one on the ficus and one on the hibiscus, and everyone who helped me is very much appreciated as they are both doing much better now!

However, I am including photos of several of my bonsai here as I have more questions on each of them. Hopefully it's fine that I started a new topic on this.

Here is a link to the photos:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/c9sa7mfdq6y3 ... wSmyj63?m=

Several of these trees look sparse, especially the 2 Chinese Elms. I probably have no clue how to cut them correctly, I've found one write-up on this but very hard to understand.

Chinese Elms: Too sparse and I don't know how to cut them so they grow more dense.
Hibiscus: It finally had 1 flower, but nothing since. The leaves have grown a bit larger and stronger than they were before, I'd like it to flower all the time, or at least more than 1 flower every 2 years...
Escambron: Probably is fine but looks a bit sparse to me
Ficus: Not sure if its fine, it looks alright but seems it should have more foliage in some places.
Ligustrum: It looks rather like a bush and I'd like to be able to make it look more "bonsai-like". Also it's supposed to be a flowering Ligustrum but has never flowered.

I work on a boat in the Caribbean and so these trees, though sheltered, are somewhat exposed to the wind and sun and salty air. I have now had them for 1.5 years. I thought possibly some of the salt gets into the soil and that prevents it from flowering, is that possible?

I use Miracle Grow fertilizer (started this about 1-2 weeks ago) and for the Hibiscus I use a Hibiscus / palm fertilizer and I've also used Miracle Grow.

It's mostly sunny here, around 82-85F pretty consistently. It does get windy at times, I try to shelter them as much as possible but they do get wind sometimes. They are located in partial shade / partial sun. The ficus, ligustrum and hibiscus get more sun.

Your assistance is greatly appreciated!!!
:)

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Suofei
Newly Registered
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri May 23, 2014 4:26 pm
Location: London

For the sparse Chinese elms you can trim the ends of the branch to encourage "back-budding". This is when buds further down the branch start to grow again and can quickly give your bonsai a denser foliage.

I hope this snippet of information helps :)

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applestar
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Posts: 30504
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Very general idea that I have about your hibiscus is that hibiscus tend to bloom on terminal shoots -- end of a branch or growth shoot. Seeing as you are growing as bonsai, could you be cutting the potential buds off? Perhaps you need to change the pruning schedule.

:idea: ...maybe you'd have better luck with bougainvillea...



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