MPRidge
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Also, I have to ask, because I am looking for a Bonsai for me... I saw a Bonsai a while back that had a beautiful polished looking trunk, the tree itself had small leaves green I believe, and it was "molded" and sculpted to look like a traditional bonsai. multiple tiers, with the bushes separated by gaps.

It was 50 years old, they wanted $3,000 for it, so needless to say I wasn't going to try my first attempts with something that old or expensive.

With the limited description I gave do you know what it is, and would it be a good bonsai for me? With the prerequisite described before hand?

josh1812@live.com
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Location: Florida

To tell you the truth bonsai per your specifications are very very expensive at your level I would suggest buying what are known as pre-bonsai to develop your skills before trying on more expensive material here are a few links that have good prices.

miamitropicalbonsai.com/
https://www.bonsaiboy.com/

MPRidge
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josh1812@live.com wrote:To tell you the truth bonsai per your specifications are very very expensive at your level I would suggest buying what are known as pre-bonsai to develop your skills before trying on more expensive material here are a few links that have good prices.

miamitropicalbonsai.com/
https://www.bonsaiboy.com/
For a later date though, I would like to know what I was looking at. Thanks for the link.

linlaoboo
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I thought he wanted to keep in indoors during winter and not leave it outdoors to freeze .. . I keep my ficus indoors by a south facing window between November to April.
Gnome wrote:MPRidge,

Again, Ficus is a good choice but will not tolerate freezing. Between the summer and the cooler months in the greenhouse it could stay under natural light most of the year only being moved inside for the coldest months.

Marsman
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Location: Coventry, CT

MPRidge wrote:I'm in Mass, and I'm looking for something that can stay outside in the warm seasons and inside during the winter. Partial sun would be a plus due to the living quarters.

Any suggestions?
Massachusetts has a nice bonsai shop called [url=https://www.nebonsai.com/mm5/merchant.mvc]New England Bonsai[/url] in [url=https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rlz=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=new+england+bonsai&fb=1&gl=us&hq=new+england+bonsai&cid=0,0,13941133323118495912&ei=h-c1TJvwBIifnQf8-qU0&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCEQnwIwAA]Bellingham[/url]. Great place to browse around and ask questions.

Where in Mass are you located. I live close to the border, just outside of Hartford, CT.

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Gnome
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MPRidge,
For the Chinese Elm, you said as long as you give it a rest period, what do you mean about that?
Outside spring, summer and fall allowing the tree to experience the shortening of days that occurs after the summer solstice. Outside through the early frosts and even a few hard freezes, then into my unheated garage with other trees. So far, this is how I would handle any deciduous material. Here's the difference, around the first of the year bring it inside where it will experience an early spring. When spring really comes around, it's back outside. So you see that the tree only spends around three months inside.

This is something I have read about and last year tried for the first time. Everything worked out OK and the little Elm is fine. I'm not sure I'll repeat it this year though. Doing this adds another layer of complexity for a limited return. Three months of less than spectacular growth just does not seem worth it. If I had an excellent southern exposure or HID lighting it might be different but as things stand now I only use fluorescents indoors. Just not sure it's worth going to the extra trouble when the tree would be just as happy to stay dormant the extra time.

Norm

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Gnome
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Location: Western PA USDA Zone 6A

MPRidge,
Also, I have to ask, because I am looking for a Bonsai for me... I saw a Bonsai a while back that had a beautiful polished looking trunk, the tree itself had small leaves green I believe, and it was "molded" and sculpted to look like a traditional bonsai. multiple tiers, with the bushes separated by gaps.

It was 50 years old, they wanted $3,000 for it, so needless to say I wasn't going to try my first attempts with something that old or expensive.

With the limited description I gave do you know what it is, and would it be a good bonsai for me? With the prerequisite described before hand?
Sounds like a mature Juniper with deadwood.

[img]https://www.artofbonsai.org/galleries/images/stemberger/stemberger_itoigawa_juniper.jpg[/img]

Norm

MPRidge
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Marsman wrote:
MPRidge wrote:I'm in Mass, and I'm looking for something that can stay outside in the warm seasons and inside during the winter. Partial sun would be a plus due to the living quarters.

Any suggestions?
Massachusetts has a nice bonsai shop called [url=https://www.nebonsai.com/mm5/merchant.mvc]New England Bonsai[/url] in [url=https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rlz=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=new+england+bonsai&fb=1&gl=us&hq=new+england+bonsai&cid=0,0,13941133323118495912&ei=h-c1TJvwBIifnQf8-qU0&sa=X&oi=local_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CCEQnwIwAA]Bellingham[/url]. Great place to browse around and ask questions.

Where in Mass are you located. I live close to the border, just outside of Hartford, CT.
I'm on the other side, I'm closer to NH... I live 15 min away from it.

MPRidge
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Gnome wrote:MPRidge,
Also, I have to ask, because I am looking for a Bonsai for me... I saw a Bonsai a while back that had a beautiful polished looking trunk, the tree itself had small leaves green I believe, and it was "molded" and sculpted to look like a traditional bonsai. multiple tiers, with the bushes separated by gaps.

It was 50 years old, they wanted $3,000 for it, so needless to say I wasn't going to try my first attempts with something that old or expensive.

With the limited description I gave do you know what it is, and would it be a good bonsai for me? With the prerequisite described before hand?
Sounds like a mature Juniper with deadwood.

[img]https://www.artofbonsai.org/galleries/images/stemberger/stemberger_itoigawa_juniper.jpg[/img]

Norm
Deadwood? Is that a state of the wood, or is it the type of tree?

Marsman
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Location: Coventry, CT

MPRidge wrote:Deadwood? Is that a state of the wood, or is it the type of tree?
The deadwood, white colored on this juniper, is dead. You can see the live brown/cinnamon colored veins.

MPRidge
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Marsman wrote:
MPRidge wrote:Deadwood? Is that a state of the wood, or is it the type of tree?
The deadwood, white colored on this juniper, is dead. You can see the live brown/cinnamon colored veins.
So the tree isn't meant to be in that way, or does it happen over time?

Marsman
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Location: Coventry, CT

MPRidge wrote:So the tree isn't meant to be in that way, or does it happen over time?
It's naturally occurring. But, you can also artistically create deadwood with a carving knife, if you feel it would add to the design. It can give an appearance of age to a younger tree.
[url=https://bonsaibeautiful.com/glossary.html]Shari[/url] - One of the "dead wood" techniques, Shari refers to a place on the tree where bark and cambium have been stripped or peeled away, giving the tree the appearance of age or exposure to harsh conditions or severe weathering - such as a lightning damaged look. Mostly seen on conifers. In contrast to Jins, Shari is a dead part on the trunk. Shari are preserved by coating them with a mixture of lime sulfur which will also turn them white, creating an appearance of age. (See also Jin, Sabamiki).

linlaoboo
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it's purposely done that way. I remember reading something about jin and shari or something like that. It's just an aesthetic quality in bonsai that people look for or try to achieve.

MPRidge
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Marsman wrote:
MPRidge wrote:So the tree isn't meant to be in that way, or does it happen over time?
It's naturally occurring. But, you can also artistically create deadwood with a carving knife, if you feel it would add to the design. It can give an appearance of age to a younger tree.
[url=https://bonsaibeautiful.com/glossary.html]Shari[/url] - One of the "dead wood" techniques, Shari refers to a place on the tree where bark and cambium have been stripped or peeled away, giving the tree the appearance of age or exposure to harsh conditions or severe weathering - such as a lightning damaged look. Mostly seen on conifers. In contrast to Jins, Shari is a dead part on the trunk. Shari are preserved by coating them with a mixture of lime sulfur which will also turn them white, creating an appearance of age. (See also Jin, Sabamiki).
Is that part of the tree dead though? Or is it just the name for it?

Marsman
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Location: Coventry, CT

MPRidge wrote:Is that part of the tree dead though? Or is it just the name for it?
It's dead. No growth will come from it. The live outer layer is gone.

[img]https://i956.photobucket.com/albums/ae50/marsman61/Bonsai/tree_bark.jpg[/img]



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