rosemary

do rosemary make nice bonsai. my uncle had a nice tree and the bark was amazing.
zac

Yes, I've seen very fine specimens over here. but the climate is probably not the same as in Delaware where I suspect the winters to be harsher.

Rosemary is originally from the Mediterranean area, and is a bit fragile when potted. Even specimens in the ground have branches that die back and can even die for no apparent reason where I live.

You have to be very careful when transplanting them, placing a plastic bag over it to help it recover.

Maybe I'm over-cautious but it can make good bonsai, I would say it's a bit tricky...

You can have a look at the photos on these threads, and maybe use an online translator for the text if you like:

Rosmarinus 1

Rosmarinus 2 : a very nice exemple by Sandro Sagneri, photographed at an exhibition

Rosmarinus 3 : a beautiful shohin by François Gaut, with a trunk very similar to some shohin junipers

They make beautiful bonsai but they're NOT for anyone but an expert grower.

Almost any fussing with the roots will kill them.

I've tried 4-5 times over 40 years and have had no luck with them in a pot. We have a very large one growing out beside the house that is oh so tempting, but I like what Jackie does with its leaves and using its long, straight branches for shishkebob skewers too much to try to bonsai it.

thanks for the replies, i wont be attempting a rose mary soon. maybe i will just plant one in the garden.

Zac

Mahalo guys for the information. I had one that was growing nicely in a large garden pot and when I repotted it in a bonsai pot it died.

A Hui Hou,
-Tim

tried it twice so far, failed on both occasions

Since we are talking about mediterranean species, has anyone ever tried Thyme??

Thanx

Günaydin-Kalimera Stavros,

It's about the same with thyme : tricky, but worth tryng where you are. If someone can make a nice bonsai with these, you're in the right place

It's probably a species that would fit in a mame/shohin display of Mediterranean species. Try it, and share your experience with us, I'll forward your posts to my French friends: here, we have a wide range of climates, Mediuterranean, Oceanic (Brittany), mountainous (Alps and Pyreneans) and sub-climates too .

My friend Pat, from Belgium (which is not really near the Mediterranean sea! ) also tried Savory (Satureja). Have a look at his page on the EdG forum, look for "sarriette".

Les arbres à Pat

With the right climate and proper care, and a bit of artistry, I'm sure you can make something out of thyme (no pun here

And what's the problem, he wouldn't mind my posting one of his pictures here, so here is his "Sarriette":

Thank you Alain. (Kalispera= Good evening)

I have also tried Thyme when i first started about 8 years ago but it was a disaster

Since then, I have accumulated some experience. I shall try again

Just one more thing I forgot to mention: from what my friends say, rosemary doesn't backbud on old wood. So if you cut a branch, be sure to leave a few sets of leaves or the branch is dead.

I shall try again

Good! Trial and error is a way to success

AlainK wrote:.............. if you cut a branch, be sure to leave a few sets of leaves or the branch is dead.

thank you for the tip

stavros

I have a small example in a bonsai pot. The bark is amazing and the trunk has nice movement. But I have been told to leave the roots alone, even when repotting. Just move up to a bigger pot when necessary. Around here, we also have something we call beach Rosemary (don't know its proper name yet) and I have it in a large pot as well. Will have to wait and see how it does.

Libby

JimLewis wrote:

Almost any fussing with the roots will kill them.

.

Agree

I start mine from cuttings---easy. Then move to a oversized bonsai pot and grow on. They are aggressive growers. Try and get an upright form and wire very early, can be brittle. You will get a cool and stout trunk in a couple seasons. Give it just the hint of a root correction the third year and every couple thereafter,

Use all cuttings for sauce ...uumm good.

R

ps. as for winter, Ill defer to your local expert as I'm in Z-10 and never move my plants, in, out or other

Rock wrote:

ps. as for winter, Ill defer to your local expert as I'm in Z-10 and never move my plants, in, out or other

Quit braggin'! Also, I've been told that they love water in the pot, unlike in the ground where they are quite draught tolerant. My sure do like water in this climate.

Libby

Rock, Libby, Alain, Jim, and everybody else, your tips are very useful.
Thanks.

One thing to keep in mind when designing Rosemary is that the bark does not scab over where you take a branch off. I had a very old specimen (40-50 years as near as we could figure) that had alot of dead branches when I got it. I made the mistake of cutting them close with concave cutter and they never closed over. I finally decided the tree would not make a bonsai, I had hoped it would back bud to some older wood and I could reduce it in size some, but as mentioned, I found they do not do it. I gave it to a friend to plant in his yard three years ago and noticed last week the tree still sitting there in the pot I gave it to him in. In every respect the tree is healthy and vigorous, growing like a weed and flowering profusely. You just can not change them when they get that big and old, so plan your tree carefully as it grows. They do respond very favorably to thinning and trimming of new growth and form very nice tight foliage pads.

Here is the skinny on beach rosemary.
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2808/
Iris

Here goes nothing. Besides this thread, I have found little more information online, much of it contradictory.
Last week, for our Thanksgivukah dinner, a guest brought me a rosemary Chanukah bush:



I hate to throw it out, but I'm allergic to it in its present size. I might as well try to bonsai it. I have nothing to lose. It is 16 inches (about 41 cm) tall in a 6 inch pot. Somewhere in the middle, the main trunk caliper is about 1/2 inch (a little over one cm). There are a few side trunks. It is probably buried way above the original soil level. Since most authors say it is half-hardy, I have it in the sunporch.
Any suggestions? When can I repot it?
Iris

Beats me. I can't keep those things alive to save my neck, but it's not for lack of motivation. Maybe you could send it to me , and me and the ladies in my office will give it yet another try.

Rosemary is difficult to pull out properly.

Re-potting :
Be careful with the root pruning.
Usually 1/3 of the root mass can be safely removed, but more than 1/3 might easily kill the tree.
Removing 1/2 of the root mass usually kills it if there is no proper after care.
I've tried to create and develop nebari, but usually ends up killing the tree.
Progressive exposure of the roots would be my recommendation.

Wiring & Pruning :
I would be careful with pruning off or removing lower branches too close to the trunk.
The plant appears to have life veins ( or is it live veins ? ) sort of like junipers.
Wiring should be done when the wood/branches are still semi-green or soft branches.
Hard wood/branches splinter or cracks easily with the wrong amount of force or bend.

For shohin / mame, it would be best to start with a cutting.
Here it easily drops off roots during the humid season.

Rosemary is also, at least in my experience, the easiest plant to propagate from cuttings. I literally just snip off a bunch of shoots and stick them into the dirt, and 90% of those take.

MichaelJ wrote:Rosemary is also, at least in my experience, the easiest plant to propagate from cuttings. I literally just snip off a bunch of shoots and stick them into the dirt, and 90% of those take.

It must be a California thing.

stavros wrote:Thank you Alain. (Kalispera= Good evening)

I have also tried Thyme when i first started about 8 years ago but it was a disaster  

Since then, I have accumulated some experience. I shall try again  

Hi Stavros,
I dont have much experience with Bonsai trees, so I am not the best person to take advice from, however I have a bit of experience with Thyme trees that I like to share.  

I often go to collect trees from the wild (Mountains that contains lots of rocks) and I see tons of nice looking Bonsai like little Thyme trees.  In one year I have collected few trees, however, they started to die within few days of transport from ground to a pot in my garden.  Only one of them survived for few months.  I was getting excited about her until she died too.  I assume that she didnt like to be moved to Beirut (sea level)  from the colder, drier weather up the mountains (where my garden is).  What is surprising to me is that when I collect a wild Thyme tree I make sure that it is growing on a bed of rocks so when I lift it most the roots and fine hairs are obtained as well.  That tells me that they are very sensitive and dont like to be moved.  
I Basically go Bonsai Hunting every week I will keep you posted if this ever work.

Best regards
Tarek

Tarek,
Thyme and rosemary are pretty sensitive when collecting them.
Do you collect them with the max amount of feeder roots as possible?

Xavier de Lapeyre wrote:
Tarek,
Thyme and rosemary are pretty sensitive when collecting them.
Do you collect them with the max amount of feeder roots as possible?

For the first two Thymes, I digged them the usual way (with a shovel) but that didnt work. so then I decided to only look for trees on a Large Rock where the roots are not penetrating the cracks but are gown a shallow layer of soil.  This allows me to lift the tree with its roots with my bare hands.  So to answer you YES I do collect them with max amount of roots and feeders, but as I said earlier they mostly die in few days.
I am going to wait for the spring to collect Thymes again, and see how that goes. If I find good ones soon I might take some photos and post here.

Mrs. Iris, I grow one shohin rosemary, too. Nursery stock but it was a little bigger than yours. It has a nice trunk about 7.5cm circumferance.
I double what Xavier wrote above. I have reduced the rootball gradually during two growing seasons, reduced height and removed one or two unwanted branches. This year I've removed some more branches so I just repotted with no further root disturbing. It survived and grows nicely but it didn't bloom.  

Xavier de Lapeyre wrote:... ...Wiring & Pruning :
I would be careful with pruning off or removing lower branches too close to the trunk.
The plant appears to have life veins ( or is it live veins ? ) sort of like junipers.
Wiring should be done when the wood/branches are still semi-green or soft branches.
Hard wood/branches splinter or cracks easily with the wrong amount of force or bend... ...

This is interesting the fact about the live veins. I didn't know that but I have left small stubs -which I reduce gradually- when I removed unwanted branches.