Pemphis Acidula collected 5 months ago

Goodday everyone, I just want to show the Pemphis I'd collected last October. I'm so amazed how they've grown so healthy that in just five months, I was tempted to initially wire them. Comments and inputs are always welcome.
Regards,
Jols

Jolz,

Nice materials but your wiring (which seem identical on all trees) does not match the material. JMHO.

Poink88 wrote:Jolz,

Nice materials but your wiring (which seem identical on all trees) does not match the material. JMHO.

Thanks mate, I was just tempted, now I'm starting to gather all criticisms and apply all good suggestions from people here in IBC.
Regards,
Jolz

nice material pre. thank you for sharing. what medium did you use?

Poink88 wrote:Jolz,

Nice materials but your wiring (which seem identical on all trees) does not match the material. JMHO.

Absolutely agree with Poink. Very nice material, but for such material character, you are not suppose to train them with the "textbook-one-two-three" method; especially the single apical line.

Jong,
I just used 2/3 river sand and 1/3 garden soil to have a little more water retention. Until now I have not tried utilizing volcanic cinders due to it's fast draining character and the nature of my job won't allow me to water them more than 3 times a day.
Robert,
Thanks for the tips. I will follow your suggestions.
Regards,
Jolz

jolz wrote:Jong,
I just used 2/3 river sand and 1/3 garden soil to have a little more water retention. Until now I have not tried utilizing volcanic cinders due to it's fast draining character and the nature of my job won't allow me to water them more than 3 times a day.
Robert,
Thanks for the tips. I will follow your suggestions.
Regards,
Jolz

Jolz, I have seen your vulcanic sand in Philippine, it's the same as what we use in Indonesia; it's the best for drainage and water retention due to the pores. It might look dry, but there are water inside the particles, and the pores give sufficient oxygen as well. Two times a day is more than enough...

Jolz, I have seen your vulcanic sand in Philippine, it's the same as what we use in Indonesia; it's the best for drainage and water retention due to the pores. It might look dry, but there are water inside the particles, and the pores give sufficient oxygen as well. Two times a day is more than enough...[/quote]

Robert,
Thanks again for the response. I'll try to purchase a few sacks here on some garden materials supplier and have a few trees repot for observation.
Regards,
Jolz

hi jolz,

Do you have any idea where can i purchase volcanic rock? I'm in Angeles City..

Thanks!

Here in mindanao philippines we use river sand. hopefully i can buy volcanic cinder here. the volcanic cinder here is black.

Master Robert: Sir hope you can give advices to us about the caring and maintaining the pemphis. In taiwan and in your place they can easily grow and maintain pemphis. Here in the philippines some says that after five years pemphis is hard to maintain and some of the branches start to die back, and some says that the life of the pemphis is 10 to 20 years. Until now we studying on how to maintain pemphis, hope we can imitate the natural habitat even if it is in the pot because i want this tree to live for a lifetime or pass to new generation. hope you can give advises to us. i enjoy reading your book and i love it. thank you so much and god bless.

Regards,
jong

Hi Jong,

I know exactly what you mean. It's the basic "problem" for Pemphis for many people, even in Indonesia. It's not because of soil, but because of maintenance technique specifically in prunning. In my last visit, I pointed out this problem and discussed with Jun in details on how to handle this problem.

This problem normally happen once the Pemphis bonsai has reached its "finished stage" with refined ramification and not during the training period; that's why people think Pemphis cannot live very long. On this stage, you tend to prun your Pemphis like doing hair cut..



It looks like you have a nice densed foliage, but in fact it's not. This is how it is inside..the leaves are only on the very end tips..



If you don't handle it well in the maintenance prunning, then it will develop to this stage..and when this happen, normally people fail to recover and it starts dying back...



Before I go further to the way how to handle the problem, I should tell you on how to prevent this problem. This is not only to Pemphis, but apply to all deciduous bonsai..and unfortunately, this is the basic problem for most of the people who are doing deciduous bonsai...GOOD RAMIFICATION STRUCTURE !!!

I always emphasize this issue repeatedly on any occasion. Most of the poeple prunn their deciduous bonsai like doing hair cut and not working on the structure; they only prunn the foliage edges. Their deciduous bonsai tend to look like having densed foliage, but it's just camouflage to cover the weak ramification structure. Good ramification structure does not need densed foliage, densed foliage is not healthy for the bonsai because the lights will not get through inside. Other species may not die..but get looking younger and younger with wider and wider shape; but Pemphis will die young...

So, first is GOOD RAMIFICATION STRUCTURE. Second, once a while, you need to let your "finished" pemphis bonsai to rest...to grow wild instead of keeping it hard prunned; then repeating to work again on the ramification structure for revitalization.

Now, I come back to how to recover the critical condition.
Be warned that Pemphis is not recommended for total defoliation, but you need to replace all the old foliage with new shoots..and the only way is to do it step by step, alternatingly...



Take out all the old twigs, but leave few to keep this part alive..wait till new sprout comes out, then cut out the old ones...avoid many shoots on one spot...





Hope this help, Jong....

They call you master Robert and I shall do the same...

Master Robert, a new comer like me truly appreciates your comments and the pictures you added to explain the ramification process pruning on deciduous trees. Thank you.

Denis

Thanks Denis, but calling me "Master" is too much...

Just to add...For Pemphis (in fact for all deciduous bonsai), always keep short twigs, compact but not densed; and again, this can only be done if you start with proper ramification structure by clip-and-grow technique.. NO INSTANT !!!



If you have the situation like this, looks healthy but tiny long twigs....



...then you should start from the beginning by alternating prunning to obtain new vigorous shoots for better structure..

Kitel,
Just ask from a garden materials suppliers or any landscapers in your area, they always know where to find these. Normally they appeared reddish or blackish in color.

Robert,
Thanks again for these tons of information, giving air passage in the foliage really make the the leaves growth more healthy and really aids in developing proper ramification. You're still the best Robert!
Regards,
Jolz

Robert,

Thanks for the very informative post...its the exact information i'm looking for.


"crush"

Thanks Jolz..and Crush... My pleasure.

hi robert great post, what about root pruning when its pot bound, regards john

Thanks Robert!

been away for holiday...checking out spots for your visit.


Anyway thank you for the very interesting discussion brewing in this thread. this is what most phempis people needs, a detail info on how to take care of the delicate specie...we were committing the same mistakes all over and over again. We had this discussion in one of our casual meeting a few weeks ago, and I told them what you said to me on how to take care of the Phempis.

I myself are trying to redo some of my trees based on your adviced techniques.

This one I thought is almost finish but started to work back again, and reduced the volume and length of twigs,,,




It would take more time to totally reduced all the long twigs.


regards,
jun

jun wrote:Thanks Robert!

been away for holiday...checking out spots for your visit.


Anyway thank you for the very interesting discussion brewing in this thread. this is what most phempis people needs, a detail info on how to take care of the delicate specie...we were committing the same mistakes all over and over again. We had this discussion in one of our casual meeting a few weeks ago, and I told them what you said to me on how to take care of the Phempis.

I myself are trying to redo some of my trees based on your adviced techniques.

regards,
jun

Hi Jun,

Gun shooting ground ? Make sure we will do it this time...

Re. Your Pemphis. It seems to me that you still need to work on the secondary and tertiary branches before ending with the twigs, otherwise the foliation will not be compact.

Can't wait for my next visit...

that's the reason why i call u master robert. because you are the type of person that is not selfish. you share all the informations you know. for me, it is a character of a real master. as a beginner, your books are very much helpful to me. and just for you to know master, all your replies are filed/documented by me. it is for my pemphis study. thank you so much master, and more power to you and your family. God bless!

Regards,
Jong

Very touching Jong..thanks and I am glad that it helps...

Sure Robert! Shooting range on the 5th of May, We'll spend hundreds of rounds the whole day and have our "guns' ready at night...hehehe
Visited last week the 3rd most beautiful beach in the world. Very nice! You'll find the helmet diving interesting.


With the phempis, thanks again.

regards,
jun

Sound great..I am full loaded...

With Master Robert Steven - thank you so much sir. Thank you to tofuboy (Oliver) for this pic. god bless.

Thanks..brother...