Here's what a month of neglect will do

Most newcomers to bonsai love their first trees to death by watering, pinching, watering, pruning, watering, wiring, watering, fertilizing, watering, fiddling, faddling, and otherwise messing with their trees until the tree just says "I can't take it any longer" and gets root rot and dies.

That's part of the learning process, and no big deal -- except to the newcomer who has invested a lot of TLC into the tree and goes into deep mourning over the "suffering" he or she has caused the beloved pet or member of the family. The skeletal remains usually stay on the windowsill for weeks because it "might not be dead" or it is unthinkable for it to go into the compost pile.

Ah, but there's another side to the story. I've been unable to spend as much time with my trees this spring as I might have wanted to spend, and that can have results, too. And I have a picture to prove it.

This is my one and only Chinese elm. It leafed out nicely in the spring. I managed to trim and prune a bit after the first flush of growth, but then couldn't get back to it. Today I took a look at six weeks of growth:





Thank goodness I only have one of these! I'm getting out the hedge clippers.

Been there. With my pre-bonsai azalea i decided to grow it in a training pot and give it a little neglect and just water it and fertilize when it needs it and it's thriving and growing beautiful young leaves right before my eyes.

I fit that newcomer description...except the root rot part.

Good looking tree...the growth looks like mine when I neglect it for a week. Just ribbing you back (but I am not kidding about the one week part)

Nah, This is good for the tree! Benign neglect I believe they call it.

Let that first extension grow out strong, then comes the hard prune, this way your assured the leaf buds have formed in the axils. Plus the tree is allowed to establish its vigor.

I only pruned my chinese Elm back Memorial day weekend because Iris was coming for a visit and it was just an embarrassing sight...big mop of a thing.

-Jay

JimLewis wrote:Most newcomers to bonsai love their first trees to death by watering, pinching, watering, pruning, watering, wiring, watering, fertilizing, watering, fiddling, faddling, and otherwise messing with their trees ...........

Although somewhat past the beginner stage - guilty as charged. So much so, that I have done nothing at all to the vast majority of my trees so far this year quite deliberately.

Obviously keeping an eye out for tight wire, bugs and watering/fertilising them but am just letting them grow otherwise.

I think both they and I need a rest sometimes.

Thks

TimR

JIM,, That is a nice looking trunk ! I would like to see the tree when you are finished with the hedge trimmers please.. take care john