New in town

Hey folks!

Thanks for letting me join your forum. I decided to create an account here because of the wealth of knowledge and overall kindness and freedom of information offered by your members! You folks really love your Bonsai!

My name is David, I am a professional estate gardener and I have been a horticulturalist for over 10 years.

The thing that I love most about plants is their demonstration of 'will to survive.' I would like to say that I do not necessarily call my plants "bonsai" nor do I try to follow any guidelines or rules.

While I respect the formality and ultra-intent of this artform, it is not always my intention to do things 'properly.'

I only hope to join a community of plant lovers, offer my knowledge, learn, and share what I call my 'awkwardly shaped, stressed out, pot-bound, tortured, stronger-than-Spartan' plants. Feel free to comment, compliment, critique, and make suggestions.

This Ginseng Ficus was a gift for me from a friend, I've had it for almost a year now.



This Acer Palmatum was a weed on one of the properties I take care of. I estimate that for 6 years the gardener attempted to pull this guy out but only stripped the leaves. Brought it home earlier this week and trained it up over and in between some rocks. About 1/2 cup of heavy soil covered with sand and rocks. Also 2 smaller succlents for companions.



Lastly, I harvested 4 Juniperus Virginiana yesterday while on a walk. I believe this one closely will resemble the "Bunjingi" style.




Cheers!

Collecting trees,wiring them and repotting them all at one time in the fall isn't such a good idea.
Also they need to be outside. Except for the tripod ficus. Keep those on the TV I think.

you offer straight criticism only? I've been growing plants for over 20 years lol, pretty sure I can handle culture for a juniper and an acer.

"collecting, repotting, and wiring all at once yatta yatta"
.... To each his own, right?

Like I said: I don't intend on following any rules, my intention is to push plants to their limits and see if they survive.

I have 34 species in my living room alone.

davey - i think mike was offering advice rather than criticism

and the yatta yatta yatta was advice worth heeding,,, even for an experienced gardener.
tiny trees in tiny pots react muuuuuch differently than house plants in deep pots or trees in the ground.

but you are right about "to each his own"
i am sure you will see the results of how far a tree can be pushed sooner than later

i too had been a "plant grower" my whole life before diving head first into bonsai...
but this was a lesson i learned early on:

(my entry in the "trees in training" catagory of our club show.

lol I appreciate that post beer city snake. Sorry for the yatta yatta, but of course they are outside. I brought them in to take pics because its raining and the background is plain. Not new---- just new in town. My goal with most things in life is to do them differently. And I have no problem with advice or criticism, however our friend neglected any cordialities or compliments that would generally and politely preceed such offering of advice of criticism; making said advice easier to receive.

perhaps a non beat-up photo of one of my wild plants will be easier to bear.   Eventually this will be done in the windswept form. but for the winter it will just live.

EDIT: I lied.

mike tends to be long-winded, so sometimes his true meaning is lost in all the verbosity.

Davey Jones wrote:

Like I said: I don't intend on following any rules, my intention is to push plants to their limits and see if they survive.

I have 34 species in my living room alone.

such arrogance....I would hate to be a plant growing in your living room!!

Sounds a lot like Davy Jones' Locker!!

STOP THE MADNESS - BECAUSE:

Davey Jones wrote:you offer straight criticism only?  I've been growing plants for over 20 years lol, pretty sure I can handle culture for a juniper and an acer.

"collecting, repotting, and wiring all at once yatta yatta"
.... To each his own, right?

Like I said: I don't intend on following any rules, my intention is to push plants to their limits and see if they survive.

I have 34 species in my living room alone.

Hi there,nice trees. Keep up the good work. Yatta,yatta,yatta.
Surely that isn't what you came here for? There are people here with some horticulture under their belts too. Working with bonsai specifically. A very specialized form of horticulture.
Cutting roots,hard cut backs and severe bending all at one time isn't recommended. Even in the right season. Which is spring. You live in Mass. It gets cold in winter there. Soon. These trees need time to heal before it freezes.
As for the ficus. All I know about them is to keep them inside.

jgeanangel wrote:

such arrogance....I would hate to be a plant growing in your living room!!

Sounds a lot like Davy Jones' Locker!!

you say that, but you don't know how truly loved and healthy my plants are! Humans willingly run marathons and Spartan races and all sorts of self-testing benchmarking type events. Plants can't get up themselves so I bring the activity to them! Like if you have a dog with no legs, so you carry him around the block everyday so he doesn't get bored an depressed. My plants are certainly not bored! :p

its just interesting that in the act of yamadori the intent is to find plants which have been ridiculed by years of natural damage with reckless abandonment, and somehow managed to survive. But to do so intentionally in one's pots would seem archaic and sadistic.

I think not...... hmmmm

Davey, you are more than welcome here and you most certainly aren't the first and in all likelihood won't be the last to come on and say you have no intention of doing things "properly". That is your right and if it's what floats your boat, then so be it.

However, our right is to make our own minds up about the twigs you have posted which you yourself admit you don't call bonsai. Essentially what I am saying is when you quite willingly put your head above the parapet, you have to expect to get it sniped at.

Especially when it's our parapet.


Fiona
(Wearing own hat and not the moderatorial one.)