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Bonsai / Penjing / Hòn non bộ

My pussy willow, not an easy or low maintenance tree to keep small.
I have had this one for a long time. I keep it in this lilly basket in a half filled bucket of water, I have to trim the roots every few weeks and repot every year.
It has been more of a challenge than
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a beautiful tree but I have grown to like it anyway.
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Juniper project tree:

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Jin and Shari renewed with lime sulphur. Had to repot this tree just over a month ago as the soil had become compacted and stopped draining efficiently. Wrong time of year but needs must.

As a consequence have been trading the mature leaves for new, more pest prone growth:

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Luckily no harm, no foul though. Unwired and just letting it run for the rest of the year now:

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Should benefit from the free draining soil and root aeration once again. Let it flourish, plenty of time to refine this old guy in the years to come. Will work on developing the pads next season.

The Maples end of April:

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Since then the growth has been rampant. It’s allowed for a good season of growth both above and below the soil. Very unrefined, but good for the health of the trees:

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They’ve already been pruned back heavy a couple of times to provide equity with access to light. They just keep pumping out new growth though. If possible would rather let new growth feed the tree into autumn now.

Bit of patience and can refine the growth properly at the end of January. They will also be taken out of these training pots and pot slipped into their forever ever pots in the new year.

Last one is my son’s Japanese Larch which was just starter material a few months back. Very accommodating with wiring and in three months wires off and nice shape:

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Good radial rooting:

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Fantastic tree to bonsai growing extremely well:

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Ready for a prune and looking like he’ll get a lot out of this season, made up for him.
 
Usually bonsai outlets if they have it, never need much @foxfish .

It’s just calcium hydroxide and sulphur so just make some up using the kalkwasser for the reef tank and sulphur if needed. Know you’re meant to use a surfactant to help get everything into solution but it still works without, you just get a lot of crust:

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( ** For anyone reading this, if you are unprepared for dealing with strong bases, just buy it pre-made and be careful. Fume cupboard, PPE, eye and face protection is a must. Must not be inhaled during the boiling process nor as a product. Use only outside in a well ventilated space. ** )
 
I used to just buy it but it is no longer available from any of our local outlets and we have issues receiving such things in the post as well.
Any fluids or especially chemicals can only be sent by courier to Guernsey, it is a right pain, we cant even order perfume from Amazon!
 
Well that sucks. Have you tried Kaizen Bonsai, Herons Bonsai, Banksia Bonsia or Greenwood Bonsai? They may be able to deliver to Guernsey by courier @foxfish
 
A catch up anybody who missed it on Gardeners World , a Bonsai chap based in London area l think, some lovely trees and sharing his methods.
 
Well done @PARAGUAY completely forgot he was going on Gardeners World 🙏🏽

It’s Peter Chan of Herons Bonsai, must catch it on iPlayer at some point. Really nice guy.
 
Another Juniper for our son to practice on. Lovely starter material and was simply a rounded bush at the start, so perfect for practice.

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We managed to nearly wipe out the entire wire supply in the toolkit, but job is a good’un. Just over thirteen metres of wire used and six hours to execute.

Much like creating planted tanks with two or more people, it’s really special to create something together. Got eight years until his eighteenth birthday, would be nice to get this tree ready as a gift to mark the occasion.
 
I've had a few bonsai around the garden and pond for years. A little cheap Azaelia is the most impressive in terms of flowering interest.
I've always had an interest but have to admit to not be particularly good at it, most of the trees that I've attempted to style myself, just look a bit tortured really.
 
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