Potentilla

we worked on this tree yesterday- cutting off the seed pods. thining and wiring.
last year, we prune it 3 times.

before


close up of the flowers


after

Very nice boon. I love these trees as bonsai. Any secret to getting the tight internodes and small leaves?

Hi Boon.

Potentila cute. You have selected a new pot?

Pavel

Velodog2 wrote:Very nice boon. I love these trees as bonsai. Any secret to getting the tight internodes and small leaves?

secret is - giving it a lot of water and fertilzer. this one sit in the water all summer. now it will be cut back 2-3 times a year. pretty much like the picture then let it grow again. this tree is more refined. there are lots of buds on each branch.

last year, it bloom like this 3 times.

hi Pavel,
this is a growing pot. it loves water. it dried out every day. we have saucer under the pot. the pot is not clean. sorry about that.

the owner showed it in January. it is a winner of member choice award for deciduous shohin. the pot is old Japanese pot.

Now that is a lovely picture and while I'm not generally attracted to that type of pot, in this case it is perfect.

Boon, can I ask how often you feed your potentillas, e.g. once a week, every second week?

I know what you mean about the water requirements as I am watering mine twice a day in the height of the summer even up here in Scotland where temperatures are normally about 18-20C (although this past week it has been up at 23C). Curiously, the one I have in the larger pot dries out much quicker than the shallow potted one.

fiona wrote:Now that is a lovely picture and while I'm not generally attracted to that type of pot, in this case it is perfect.

Boon, can I ask how often you feed your potentillas, e.g. once a week, every second week?

I know what you mean about the water requirements as I am watering mine twice a day in the height of the summer even up here in Scotland where temperatures are normally about 18-20C (although this past week it has been up at 23C). Curiously, the one I have in the larger pot dries out much quicker than the shallow potted one.

Fiona,
i have the fertilizer cake on top and also in the water in saucer. i also use liquid once every 1-2 weeks.
so it get a lot of fertilizer.
this will not work if it is grown in organic soil. this amount of fertilizer will cause root rot if bark and potting soil is used.

i agree that the shallow pot stay wet a little longer. but when it dry, it is quick.

boon wrote:hi Pavel,
this is a growing pot. it loves water. it dried out every day. we have saucer under the pot. the pot is not clean. sorry about that.

the owner showed it in January. it is a winner of member choice award for deciduous shohin. the pot is old Japanese pot.

Same show , same tree, it is a wonderful tree[img]https://i.servimg.com/u/f62/14/52/66/55/grand_11.jpg[/i[url=https://servimg.com/view/14526655/43]mg][/url]

mehrdad,
thank you for posting extra pictures.
boon

boon wrote:mehrdad,
thank you for posting extra pictures.
boon

Your are welcome Boon , It's always a pleasure meeting you & BIB show.

I have a Potentilla (Elizabeth I think) it has yellow flowers showing at present. I have not pruned it at all yet because I wanted to see the flowers which have formed at the ends of this years long new shoots. I want to prune as it is getting very untidy but don't want to loose the flowers ?

As you can see I'm not too clued up on Potentilla, its new to me as bonsai. Should I wait until flowering is finished then cut back hard, or would it be better to prune now or maybe in early spring next year. I would like to keep the tree as compact as possible but I also like the flowers. I am feeding and watering well and the tree is responding well.

Any advise is well appreciated.

Thank you

cut the flowers off and wire let it grow the whole season. cut to about 4 new buds-set of leaves at the end of growing season or next spring. repeat till you get basic structure of branches. then the new shoots will be short and plentiful. then you can cut new flowers off 3 times a year. do not let all bloom. it is stressful for the tree. i let it bloom for a week and some has not opened yet. i cut them all off. and cut branches to about 4 sets of leaves. 2 or more new buds will come out where i cut.
i keep a small water tray under it. it sits in about 1/2 inch of water. the tray will dry every day. it is in full sun. it drinks a lot of water and fertilizer.




after pruning 2 weeks ago

Hi Boon,

Good to see you made it home safely from Louisville ! Beautiful & very interesting little tree. Excellent work as usual !!


Ed

Hi Ed,
Thank you, the flight is on time and everyone is cheerful. the connecting flight is in Las Vegas. i think that is why. flt from Vegas to Oakland is quiet. LOL.
it is great to see you again.
Boon

Hi Boon

Just found this tree again, searching, having been working on my Potentilla... Have you any updates at all for this tree for 2012. It's a stunning tree!!

Thanks
Bryan

very cute tiny tree !, I like it broom and very small foliages

Bryan,
Here is the update picture taken on May 13th.

DangerousBry wrote:Hi Boon

Just found this tree again, searching, having been working on my Potentilla... Have you any updates at all for this tree for 2012. It's a stunning tree!!

Thanks
Bryan

pongsatorn.k wrote:very cute tiny tree !, I like it broom and very small foliages

thank you,

Very nice potentilla. Can it be pruned or wired to show more of the beautiful trunk movement ? Here is a pic of mine.

I only let mine show one or two flowers, also cut back the tree maybe 6-8 times per season.

Thanks Boon...
Still looking great... !

Mines not so impressive but lovely all the same...


Thanks again for sharing an update of your tree...

Bryan

excellent, very impressive

wonderfull little bonsai, very nice detail, I love the species. cheers

Hi Boon
A few weeks ago, I saw many beautiful potentillas at Jim Gremel's place. He grew all his from cuttings over 20 years ago. He has new cuttings off the current trees. He won't sell any cuttings and I can't afford to sell my car to buy one of the Bonsai specimens LOL (they are top notch bonsai and worth every penny)!
I live in the San Fernando valley in Los Angeles and I have 2 questions for you.
1. will potentillas do well where I live? and 2. do you know where I can find some pre-bonsai potentillas for sale?
Also ( I lied, more that 2 questions) I have a purple star flower , Grewia Occidentalis, that is turning out very nice. It flowers year round. How should i manage the flowers on that species? it can't be good to let it flower year round.
Thank you!!

Hi Boon,

That's a wonderful potentilla. The last photo gives me more of a scale of how large it it may be.

I have a Potentilla (Elizabeth I think) it has yellow flowers showing at present. I have not pruned it at all yet because I wanted to see the flowers which have formed at the ends of this years long new shoots. I want to prune as it is getting very untidy but don't want to loose the flowers ?

As you can see I'm not too clued up on Potentilla, its new to me as bonsai. Should I wait until flowering is finished then cut back hard, or would it be better to prune now or maybe in early spring next year. I would like to keep the tree as compact as possible but I also like the flowers. I am feeding and watering well and the tree is responding well.

One of the traits of Potentilla is that it keeps blooming on "new wood" through out the growing season. So in Spring, you can shape it, let it bloom, cut back after the second flowering
and so on. But you don't want to wear the plant out flowering.

Boon, I like your DVD, SCALE JUNIPERS: Styling & Maintenance I watched it often and a lot sunk in. I will watch it often.