Just something...............

Just for fun...............

Mods can delete, move or whatever..........couldnt really find the appropriate place for this.    Not "bonsai" but a Mountain Laurel I have growing in a pot for close to ten years now.

It's very nice. Just curious why you say it is not a bonsai? Looks like bonsai to me....  

I dont know.........I just never thought of it as I do my bonsai. I dont really prune it, wire it, style it.............I just let it grow and take care of it.  

Like it a lot - sounds like the ideal bonsai!

Dave

I've been trying to collect and containerize mountain laurel for years with very limited success. Can you give any pointers? what do you think is your secret to success?

Nice tree! I've had a mountain laurel in its nursery container for over five years... And I just haven't been able to pull the trigger on it because I keep going back and forth about going for a bonsai or just planting it in my landscape... After such a long time in its pot, it really hasn't flourished or failed, but the blooms are awesome... I always read that it does not back bud readily so I never tried to trim it hard... What have you noticed?

When I first dug it up I bare rooted it. I was new in bonsai and thought that was what you do so that is what I did. I planted it in a mixture of turface, gravel and some soil from where I dug it. Again, no logic to this, it is just what I did. I had two and I lost one after only 1-2 years. This one however has been going strong for close to 10. I have only re potted it (in same pot) twice in the ten years. I does back bud but not very much, I cut it back just a little. For me it seems to flower every other year. I have no secret to success with this, I just know what ever it is I am doing............it likes it.   

You underestimate yourself Sir, this is one stunning tree.

Love and light

rickyricardo wrote:When I first dug it up I bare rooted it.  I was new in bonsai and thought that was what you do so that is what I did. I planted it in a mixture of turface, gravel and some soil from where I dug it.  Again, no logic to this, it is just what I did.

sometimes common sense* can be substituted for logic... when i first started a few years ago, i repotted the exact same way (except diatamaceous (sp?) earth rather than turface)... as you now probably know, the turface or DT Earth retains some moisture between waterings, while the gravel (if its sharp granite) promotes root splitting to achieve fine roots... and when collecting, i too (and still) always like some of the native soil to continue the journey with the tree at least for the first pottings (under protest from some others   )

i concur with everyone...
thats a helluva nice tree, traditional style/design thoughts, be damned.

kevin


*re: "common sense"... i have been trying to promote changing that term to "uncommon sense"
because it seems that good "sense" is becoming less "common"   

beer city snake wrote:

sometimes common sense* can be substituted for logic... when i first started a few years ago, i repotted the exact same way (except diatamaceous (sp?) earth rather than turface)... as you now probably know, the turface or DT Earth retains some moisture between waterings, while the gravel (if its sharp granite) promotes root splitting to achieve fine roots... and when collecting, i too (and still) always like some of the native soil to continue the journey with the tree at least for the first pottings (under protest from some others   )

i concur with everyone...
thats a helluva nice tree, traditional style/design thoughts, be damned.

kevin

Thank you sir!

save the "sir' for someone who deserves it    

btw - your screen name reminds me of a thought i have thought since i was a kid watching "i love lucy"...

if "ricky" can be safely assumed to be short for ricardo (being the hispanic richard),
then wouldnt ricky's full name be ricardo ricardo ???   







and now back to that mountain laurel !

beer city snake wrote:save the "sir' for someone who deserves it    

btw - your screen name reminds me of a thought i have thought since i was a kid watching "i love lucy"...

if "ricky" can be safely assumed to be short for ricardo (being the hispanic richard),
then wouldnt ricky's full name be ricardo ricardo ???   







and now back to that mountain laurel !

Well.............his name was Ricardo as mine is. But people, in his case Lucy and in my case, my friends, Americanize it by saying Rick. Now Lucy, as well as my close friends like to call me/Desi Ricky, hence....................RickyRicardo!   

beer city snake wrote: as you now probably know, the gravel (if its sharp granite) promotes root splitting to achieve fine roots...

BCS,
with all respect, this is one of those myths that abound in the bonsai lexicon. There are many articles out there that dispute this myth, the one that comes to mind foremost is Colin Lewis's detailed soil article quoted below. This is a nice read about soil types here is the link, and the pertinent paragraph. There are lots of good articles to be had at his site, part one of the soils is another fine read.

http://www.colinlewisbonsai.com/Reading/soils2.html

Shape
Here many myths abound…. Some would have you believe that sharp-edged grit is best because when a root hits the sharp edge it it forced to split in two. Preposterous! For one thing that is not what causes root division, for another, the chance of a root tip colliding precisely head-on with the edge of a grain of grit are millions to one. Others suggest that round grit is best because of the "ball-bearing" effect: the particles cannot nestle in against each other and reduce oxygen space. While this may be true, in practice there are so many other ingredients in the mix, and so many roots weaving between particles, that the ball-bearing effect is not an issue.

judy - no need for respect... i havent earned it yet   

i have met colin and he's a funny guy... very entertaining too...

i love the way he uses the words "hitting" and "colliding" as if these things happen at any sort of subterranean sonic speed...
(i'm picturing roots careening around the inside of the pot, slamming into bits of grit and splitting apart like a fire log under the splitting ax   )

that is indeed "preposterous" !!!

it seems that soil/substrate is one of the most hotly debated topics in bonsai !

thanks for the link,
kevin

Rickyricardo I love your tree. I grew up in Pennsylvania and this species reminds me of my childhood. And the tree itself reminds me of Chinese penging books that I read and reread at the start of this hobby. It shows that you really enjoy this tree. Thanks for sharing.

DanaKoziatek wrote:Rickyricardo I love your tree. I grew up in Pennsylvania and this species reminds me of my childhood. And the tree itself reminds me of Chinese penging books that I read and reread at the start of this hobby. It shows that you really enjoy this tree. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you............it is like an old friend.