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DDMcKenna
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Location: Florida, USA, just north of Daytona Beach

Juni's Birthday

Hello All, it's your novice Bonsai Tree lover and the first thing I've kept alive for more than a few weeks.

Having received Juni as a gift from my son last Father's Day, she came from what I believe was (1-800-Flowers) and so her real age is indeterminable. But to me, she is one year old now. And she's been growing like a weed.

I put this off for as long as possible because Juni just always looked so happy and healthy. But I've done everything else I can think of to do for her except her first real trimming. I know it had to be done. It was just very difficult for me to cut those little baby branches because they just seemed to be thriving. But I cold see that she was getting too big for her little base. I was shocked when I repotted her earlier this year and found the entire pot to be one big mass of roots. It was like there was little soil remaining even though I was able to wash most of it away. But recently, Juni had gotten a couple brown little tips here and there, and worse, a section of limb would turn brown like it was dead but she would be healthy and vibrant on either end of that brown section. And they were very small spots, many with not more than a dozen or so little brown fingers that were crispy and fell off when I touched them. The rest of her was soft and springy, just like she's always been.
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As you can see, I've allowed her to grow in one direction without trying to rotate her or influence her growth in any way except to make sure she got several hours of intense morning sun before the roof of her little house put her in the shade by noon and the afternoon and evening sun could only provide indirect sunlight. The Florida sun is quite tropic along with the Florida downpours that occurs so often this time of season. So she's not only reached out in one basic direction, she has decided that she wanted to swoop downward, reaching almost the floor of her little house before turning back up again. I'm not sure why she did this but I wanted her to do whatever she wanted.
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The next couple photos show the small brown segments that concerned me. She's never had these before and I'm not sure of the cause. But I've watched them carefully and they don't seem to have affected her or her rate of growing. They may even be the result of improper watering when her little screen was clogged and she sat in moist soil for several days at a time. It took me two weeks to determine what the problem was and correct it.
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So, I got her on the operating table, (an old Microwave oven turntable), and got out my little tools and went to work. First, I tried to remove any of the brown or damaged looking needles and little stems along with any tiny branches that were way down low and pointing down. I ended up with a pretty big pile of green clippings too.
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What really hurt me the most was cutting off one major branch. I knew it when she was very young that this particular branch would likely have to go. It was smaller or like a dwarf-size branch coming out of her trunk much closer to the soil line than all the other main branches. What hurt so bad is that this tiny little branch grew into a healthy limb of green foliage that looked like it really wanted a chance. But I felt like it was just too much for her tiny little base. She was growing way too fast.
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So after I cleaned up all the extra tiny limbs that pointed down or didn't look like they helped much, she lost maybe less than a quarter of her overall growth. I've searched many forums for styles and such for Bonsai trees and there seem to be half a dozen or so classic shapes like Cascading and such. But Juni just doesn't seem to want to concede to any one of them, instead, doing her own thing. Now I know very well that with a role of aluminum wire, I can make her do whatever I want. But in this case, it's not so much about what I want as it is what she wants. So I let her have her way. She has two big main branches that reach out over the edge of the pot and swoop down and out, just as if she's trying to crawl away. If that's what she wants to do, I'll help her.
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I know from that picture, it doesn't look like there is that much left of her. But that's just that angle. That's how she wants to grow. She still has quite a bit of bulk left to her because I didn't want to trim her completely the first time. I think what I did was a very minor haircut. There is still quite a bit of Juni left.

It appears I can't add more than eight attachments. So perhaps I can continue this in the following post...

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DDMcKenna
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Location: Florida, USA, just north of Daytona Beach

So, this is what Juni looks like now, from a couple different views...
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She still reaches all the way across her little house to the far side. I believe she wants to start climbing the walls.
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It seems like she just has a lot more room to fill out now. I'm still not sure what to do with those two main branches that seem to want to swoop out and down so far. I imagine I could turn her around, make her reach the other way for the sun. But then, nature doesn't come down here and turn trees around. I want her to believe the sun is always going to come up right where it always has.
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I think she thinks everything will be okay. I'll have to keep a close eye on her for a while and make sure but I always like to play with her anyway. She's a good friend and my baby so we get along quite well.

And, I didn't know what to do as I didn't research it. But that one substantial branch, I was wondering if it could start a new tree. I put the base of it in some water to see what might happen. Perhaps a smaller pot of soil. Of course, it has no root structure at all to support it but I imagine people start things from clippings all the time. Who knows, maybe Juni might have a baby sister.

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GardeningCook
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Really enjoyed your Juni sojourn. Does she always reside under that table?

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DDMcKenna
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Yes GC, I built that house especially for her. It protects her from the torrential downpours we have here near the east coast of central Florida. It can dump two inches of rain in twenty minutes. Without that study tile roof, she would get washed right out of her pot while I was at work. And the sides are designed to limit the sun to morning-only sun

imafan26
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Looking good. It looks like you can train her to a semi cascade. You want to see what you can do to do some top work and allow one long branch to cascade down. You can put your plant on a higher stand to the trailing branch can hang down more without touching the ground. An old bonsai trick is to use fishing weight or heavy bolts tied with fishing line to get the branch to grow down ward. You have to find the right size of weights or number to weights to get the angle you want.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE121j_L4oA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjHQnoYXTDA

I would look for a tall narrow pot with about a 4-5 inch opening. You can start with a shorter one but as the cascade gets longer you want to go to a really tall one that will stand about a foot high. After that you can use pedestals. They are really hard to find. round ones are easier to find but square ones are not that easy to find. You may not need it for a while but since they are hard to find, I would start looking early. You can use the shorter tall pots but, you will need to construct a pedestal for it and make it higher as it grows.

Below is a link to a bonsai pot, tools, and media supplier. There are others out there and if you join a local bonsai club, they may know of a supplier or they may order bulk supplies for their members which is usually at a better price.

Since juni is a year old, she may need to be repotted soon. Check the media and see how much it has broken down. The pot may not need to be changed yet if you want to do some root pruning.


https://www.hfimports.com/specialglazedpots.html

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GardeningCook
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Ooooh - thanks so much for that bonsai pot link! :D

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DDMcKenna
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Location: Florida, USA, just north of Daytona Beach

I repotted her in March. but THANK YOU, for that link. I have been looking for another pot.

tomc
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[quote]"I have been looking for another pot"[/q]

Now enjoy your shopping adventure. :)

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DDMcKenna
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Location: Florida, USA, just north of Daytona Beach

I took that one little limb I cut off of Juni and soaked the bottom one inch of it in water for a little while, and now, I've made up a miniature pot, (just a plastic bowl actually, with lots of holes drilled in the bottom), and filled it with Bonsai soil and fertilizer. I put that limb in it, about an inch deep. That leaves maybe five or six inches exposed.

I want to see if it will take root and grow. I'm not sure how you're supposed to start a tree from a clipping but it's still green and flexible. We'll see if Juni gets a little sister.

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GardeningCook
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While the bonsai soil "might" work since it provides excellent drainage, most cuttings are started in sand, perlite, or sterile potting mix. In addition, absolutely NO fertilizer until roots & new growth appears.

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DDMcKenna
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Location: Florida, USA, just north of Daytona Beach

THANK YOU GC, I'll clean that out and redo it immediately



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