# Growing Bonsai on Wood in Aquarium.



## Stickleback (27 Apr 2010)

Hi Team

Do any of you guys know any good Bonsai Forums? I have Mangrove, Banyan and Giant Redwood seedlings growing on a bit of wood sticking out of my tank. I guess I will have to Bonsai them, so was just wondering if any of you guys have any advice or know of a good forum? Here's some pics of them at the moment:






















Has anyone done anything like this? Anyone got any tips or tricks. I would especially like tips on how the keep the leaves of the mangrove small.

Thanks

R


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## Stu Worrall (27 Apr 2010)

This is a good bonsai forum with many uk people on there - http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/forum.htm

My bit of advice though for growing bonsai from seed is not to really bother     It takes an absolute age, probably 10+ years to get anything decent if you're growing in a pot.  If you plant it outside in a border then you can dramatically speed the growth up and get something with a 4 inch trunk in 4-5 years.  If you want some redwood youd be better off buying from a dedicated Bonsai nursery although it will cost rather a lot more.


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## Stu Worrall (27 Apr 2010)

i just re-read you post, did you mean remove them and bonsai them or grow them in-situ in the tank?


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## Stickleback (28 Apr 2010)

stuworrall said:
			
		

> This is a good bonsai forum with many uk people on there - http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/forum.htm
> 
> My bit of advice though for growing bonsai from seed is not to really bother     It takes an absolute age, probably 10+ years to get anything decent if you're growing in a pot.  If you plant it outside in a border then you can dramatically speed the growth up and get something with a 4 inch trunk in 4-5 years.  If you want some redwood youd be better off buying from a dedicated Bonsai nursery although it will cost rather a lot more.



Yeah I freely admit this is not the most urgent post on the forum  Thanks for the link Stu

Actually it's not so much that I like bonsai. it is just I like the little seedlings that I planted but didn't expect to germinate. Maybe I will just let them grow and see what happens. I am in not hurry and am not the rescaping sort.

However I would like to get the mangrove leaves smaller, but having read up on this they are aparently very sensitive to pruning. This person seems to have done it though:





The website i found it on is called http://www.fukubonsai.com  great name

Anyway I plan to pinch off the main bud after the next pair of leaves have developed. Let me know if anyone thinks that is a bad idea.

Cheers

R


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## dw1305 (29 Apr 2010)

Hi all,
I think the Mangrove (_Rhizophora mangle_?) should be all right, I might be tempted to let it grow a few more leaf pairs before I pruned the top out of it. I think regular pinching out will both make it branch and keep the leaves smaller, like in the picture, although it may object eventually. 

I know it might sound strange but I think the Redwood (_Sequoia_) may be easiest to deal with, purely because it will naturally have small leaves, and is very tolerant of pruning (unusual for a conifer). I'm not sure how it will deal with the year around heat though.

cheers Darrel


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## stevec (29 Apr 2010)

I would just let them grow and pinch out what you dont want later in bonsai you have to keep the roots trimmed as well as the leaves 
and you are right the leaves eventually get used to being smaller
heres a good website http://www.bonsai4me.com/index.htm


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## dw1305 (30 Apr 2010)

Hi all,
I'm not sure what effect the root pruning will have much effect with the Mangrove plant growing "hydroponically", my suspicion would be that how strongly it grows it will probably depend on the nutrient status of the tank water. 
My suspicion would be that the _Sequoia_ roots won't grow successfully in the permanently immersed zone. I did wonder whether Bald/Swamp Cypress (_Taxodium distichum_ ) might be a possibility for this sort of growth, but discounted it because it is deciduous. 

cheers Darrel


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## Stickleback (30 Apr 2010)

Yeah, you are probably right about the Sequoia, the growth has stalled recently.

The mangrove should be O.K. cos lots of people have successfully kept mangroves in their tanks. Just need to keep it in check with pruning. The only problem is that the roots can eventually push through the silicone. But I won't have to worry about that for half a decade at the current rate of growth.

Anyway the cool news is that I just found these roots spreading down the back of the wood:





They are the Banyan roots. That part is normally in shadow so I didn't notice it till now. I would love it so much if the Banyans took. They should be O.K. without seasons shouldn't they?

R


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## dw1305 (30 Apr 2010)

Hi all,
I've seen Banyan in Sri Lanka, so I don't think they need seasons, any other "strangler fig"  _Ficus_ sp could be good. How about _Ficus benjamina_? I used to have a great one of these with aerial roots spreading down into a water tank in the glass house. It is an easy cutting to root as well.





I believe there is a cultivar of F. benjamina called "little Lucy" with very small leaves much used by Bonsai enthusiasts.
http://www.bonsaihunk.us/ficusforum/FicusTechniques/FigTechnique26.html

cheers Darrel


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## Stickleback (30 Apr 2010)

Hi Darrel

Yeah I really wanted to plant strangler fig seeds, but can't find them for sale. They have some on ebay but on closer inspection they are banyan seeds (Ficus benghalensis). Quite fancy letting the mangroves grow out, then planting some strangler fig seeds on them. Would be a life long project though.

R


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## Stickleback (30 Apr 2010)

Actually that's interesting about your Benjimina in your greenhouse having ariel roots. I remember taking an interest in  Banyan Bonsai years ago and it was considered tricky to promote ariel roots. One of the techniques was to place the bonsai pot above a larger tray of water to increase the humidity. Well being above an aquarium could be just the ticket.

R


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## nayr88 (4 Oct 2011)

Good little read this and one day it's going to look amazing and be famous haha

S8vm....surely a spammer?


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