Tired old potentilla

I bought this collected tree from a friend last year, and it has developed lots of issues after 10 years as a bonsai. Potentilla deadwood is very soft and needs extra attention to keep it clean and dry. The previous owner did not do this, and now the tree has lost much of its structural integrity due to rot.

Still, I think this tree is very exciting. Its drama and size are unusual for a potentilla. Today I washed away all of the mucky soil which was promoting the rot and had already destroyed some beautiful jins near the base. I planted it higher and more upright to keep the base away from the soil surface. I also excavated as much of the rotted wood as possible.

This pot is not ideal, but I think is an improvement. I think this tree needs a crescent stone, but I have not been able to find the right one yet.

Much more details are here.

That's really cool; it's got a ton of character. How are you treating the deadwood to prevent further rot?

Orion wrote:That's really cool; it's got a ton of character. How are you treating the deadwood to prevent further rot?

The main thing is keep it as clean and dry as possible... keep dead bark out of the cracks and stuff. And make sure that there is nowhere that the water will pool.

And I use this wood hardener. Not sure if its available outside of Canada.

Still, it is impossible to prevent the rot. But it can be slowed down!

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Very nice character...my kind of of tree. perfect for windswept style.

regards,
jun

I agree with Jun. Very nice tree indeed.

Thanks for posting!!
~Sam

Beautiful! Tons of character, I love this one!

Do you have any pics of it in flower?

My friend has tried a few of these but he says they always tend to die after a year or two. Do you have any specific advice on care for this species?

Guess what.... Love the tree (I think that long piece of dead wood in the middle is too long), but I hate the pot. Buy the purple one for your ginkgo and but this in the blue one. Kidding (sort of).

Russell Coker wrote:


Guess what.... Love the tree (I think that long piece of dead wood in the middle is too long), but I hate the pot. Buy the purple one for your ginkgo and but this in the blue one. Kidding (sort of).

I totally agree it is the wrong pot. It was just the best "shaped" pot I had at my disposal. And I definitely think it is an improvement on the last one. You've at least got to give me that!

As I mentioned, the ideal pot is a crescent stone. But natural looking ones are hard to find in North America. If you have a lead, please let me know! I saw some actual natural ones in Japan, but damn are they expensive.

Dan W. wrote:Beautiful! Tons of character, I love this one!

Do you have any pics of it in flower?

My friend has tried a few of these but he says they always tend to die after a year or two. Do you have any specific advice on care for this species?

I actually don't have pics of it in flower. Last year I was cutting off the flowers to improve the density of the tree. These things get leggy as heck when flowering, especially the wildtype ones. I don't really think the flowers are the best characteristics of potentilla. I grow them mostly for the twisted trunks, and keep the growth in check every 2 weeks or so. I never let my shohin potentilla flower.

If your friend's are dying in a year or two, something is definitely wrong. Considering how tough these are, I have no idea what except maybe the winters aren't cold enough? This one has been a bonsai for 10+ years and is still healthy as heck even though it was growing in muck up until this year. The rot, however, is another issue.

Thanks LSBonsai,
I can see why you would want to keep them from flowering. All of the ones my friend has tried were nursery grown..without a lot of that character. Also from your point, our winters should be cold enough here but I think he may have tried to protect them too much in winter.

LSBonsai wrote: I totally agree it is the wrong pot. It was just the best "shaped" pot I had at my disposal. And I definitely think it is an improvement on the last one. You've at least got to give me that!

See? THAT"S why you buy those cool little pots and sit them on shelves! You could own half the pots in the world, and when the time comes maybe just maybe you'll have the RIGHT one.