Hello All,
It has been a long time since I have posted, in that time I have bought a house, moved to a new city and opened a sandwich shop so I have an excuse.
I wanted to ask a few questions to those who may be able to help.
I will upload pics asap.
1) I have a Beech tree that I rescued from isolation and death in Godalming, it now looks like a beech tree in a small pot, does anyone have any experience with making a bonsai tree out of such a plant?
2) I also have a Pine that I bought from a garden centre 2 years ago that has been thriving in pure 'green dragon' bonsai mix (clay etc.) It too looks nothing like a dwarfed treee.
3) My Elm I posted about before has gone funny, I will elaborate later
I'm really after info on the pine and the beech,
attatched are some rough snaps
p.s. apologies for pic quality and posting funny address, it's been a while!
cheers
Tom
https://img174.imageshack.us/content.php?page=done&l=img174/9047/img2474vq7.jpg
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tommywing,
Hey Tom, glad to see your back. Congratulations on your new business.
I am only seeing one picture of the Beech and none of the Pine. Unfortunately there is no quick and easy way to grow a bonsai up, instead very often large trees are cut down. This gives you the advantage of an instant trunk and from that point you begin to develop branches. Often advice is given to put a young tree such as yours in the garden and simply let it grow for a number of years. I know that is not really what you want to hear but it is true.
We get a fair amount of beginners here with very young Junipers that have been styled and placed in a bonsai pot prematurely. I have been advising them to simply enjoy the tree for what it is and to use it to learn with. Your beech sapling in a pot is going to look like a sapling in a pot for a long time though. It is my understanding that Beech are used as hedging material in the UK. If you can locate an older, thicker trunk you will be much further ahead.
With the Pine there are other considerations. Pines often lose their lower branches and once they do it is difficult to replace them. Unlike deciduous material Pines cannot be be chopped down and new branches expected to break. This means that Pines are often grown from the start with bonsai in mind. The process still takes many years, often decades.
Perhaps this will help a little:
https://www.evergreengardenworks.com/trunks.htm
Norm
Hey Tom, glad to see your back. Congratulations on your new business.
I am only seeing one picture of the Beech and none of the Pine. Unfortunately there is no quick and easy way to grow a bonsai up, instead very often large trees are cut down. This gives you the advantage of an instant trunk and from that point you begin to develop branches. Often advice is given to put a young tree such as yours in the garden and simply let it grow for a number of years. I know that is not really what you want to hear but it is true.
We get a fair amount of beginners here with very young Junipers that have been styled and placed in a bonsai pot prematurely. I have been advising them to simply enjoy the tree for what it is and to use it to learn with. Your beech sapling in a pot is going to look like a sapling in a pot for a long time though. It is my understanding that Beech are used as hedging material in the UK. If you can locate an older, thicker trunk you will be much further ahead.
With the Pine there are other considerations. Pines often lose their lower branches and once they do it is difficult to replace them. Unlike deciduous material Pines cannot be be chopped down and new branches expected to break. This means that Pines are often grown from the start with bonsai in mind. The process still takes many years, often decades.
Perhaps this will help a little:
https://www.evergreengardenworks.com/trunks.htm
Norm