Bonsai
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How easy or difficult it is to grow a bonsai depends on what specimen you are trying to bonsai. Magnolia is a fairly difficult specimen because of leaf size... leaf size needs to be proportionate to trunk/branch size and the fact that it is a slow growing tree. This doesn't mean it is impossible. It will take time however, extra years of time if you are growing from seed. The star magnolia is one of the most common used for bonsai as it has smaller leaves than some of the other varieties.
You might want to consider taking a cutting from your tree or air layering a branch to save a few years. Good luck!
You might want to consider taking a cutting from your tree or air layering a branch to save a few years. Good luck!
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Could you explain how to do that? It hasn't started to snow yet so should i do it now? I have no idea what to do.bid said:How easy or difficult it is to grow a bonsai depends on what specimen you are trying to bonsai. Magnolia is a fairly difficult specimen because of leaf size... leaf size needs to be proportionate to trunk/branch size and the fact that it is a slow growing tree. This doesn't mean it is impossible. It will take time however, extra years of time if you are growing from seed. The star magnolia is one of the most common used for bonsai as it has smaller leaves than some of the other varieties.
You might want to consider taking a cutting from your tree or air layering a branch to save a few years. Good luck!
I would plant seeds now and allow the winter cold to stratify them for you. If any come up next spring, wonderful! You have some seedlings for bonsai or to allow to grow into full size trees.
To layer, I would wait until late spring next year. If you have a branch or branches low enough to the ground you simply cut about 1/3 of the way into the branch on the underside taking off a strip of the bark and growing layer and cover with several inches of soil leaving several inches of the growing tip above the soil layer. Weight it down with a rock or a brick or something suitably heavy enough to keep it in place. Check it at the end of the season for roots and transplant the following spring. Alternatively you can use a pot of soil to put the branch in if there is not a low enough branch.
Air layering is a bit more involved. About 1 foot or so from the growing tip you would cut around the branch through the bark and the very outer layer of tissue...cambium, the new growth...making a 1 to 1 1/2 inch section. Cut down through this section and remove it and scrape any remaining cambium layer off. Wrap this wound with wet sphagnum moss and cover with a plastic wrap about an inch or two wider than the moss layer. Secure the plastic with tape and watch for roots developing in the moss. After roots develop and begin to fill the moss layer, cut the branch off and pot up and baby it for a time.
A lot of things I may have left out I am sure but I hope this is helpful. Joe propogates many plants and may be able to explain it in more detail and correct any misinformation I have given you. Good luck!
To layer, I would wait until late spring next year. If you have a branch or branches low enough to the ground you simply cut about 1/3 of the way into the branch on the underside taking off a strip of the bark and growing layer and cover with several inches of soil leaving several inches of the growing tip above the soil layer. Weight it down with a rock or a brick or something suitably heavy enough to keep it in place. Check it at the end of the season for roots and transplant the following spring. Alternatively you can use a pot of soil to put the branch in if there is not a low enough branch.
Air layering is a bit more involved. About 1 foot or so from the growing tip you would cut around the branch through the bark and the very outer layer of tissue...cambium, the new growth...making a 1 to 1 1/2 inch section. Cut down through this section and remove it and scrape any remaining cambium layer off. Wrap this wound with wet sphagnum moss and cover with a plastic wrap about an inch or two wider than the moss layer. Secure the plastic with tape and watch for roots developing in the moss. After roots develop and begin to fill the moss layer, cut the branch off and pot up and baby it for a time.
A lot of things I may have left out I am sure but I hope this is helpful. Joe propogates many plants and may be able to explain it in more detail and correct any misinformation I have given you. Good luck!
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injunjoe
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I think you covered that very well!bid said:I would plant seeds now and allow the winter cold to stratify them for you. If any come up next spring, wonderful! You have some seedlings for bonsai or to allow to grow into full size trees.
To layer, I would wait until late spring next year. If you have a branch or branches low enough to the ground you simply cut about 1/3 of the way into the branch on the underside taking off a strip of the bark and growing layer and cover with several inches of soil leaving several inches of the growing tip above the soil layer. Weight it down with a rock or a brick or something suitably heavy enough to keep it in place. Check it at the end of the season for roots and transplant the following spring. Alternatively you can use a pot of soil to put the branch in if there is not a low enough branch.
Air layering is a bit more involved. About 1 foot or so from the growing tip you would cut around the branch through the bark and the very outer layer of tissue...cambium, the new growth...making a 1 to 1 1/2 inch section. Cut down through this section and remove it and scrape any remaining cambium layer off. Wrap this wound with wet sphagnum moss and cover with a plastic wrap about an inch or two wider than the moss layer. Secure the plastic with tape and watch for roots developing in the moss. After roots develop and begin to fill the moss layer, cut the branch off and pot up and baby it for a time.
A lot of things I may have left out I am sure but I hope this is helpful. Joe propogates many plants and may be able to explain it in more detail and correct any misinformation I have given you. Good luck!
I will like to say for a good cheap practice run with Bonsai I would buy the smallest Yew I could find. They kind of look like Bonsai without any help. With some work they do make a fine specimen.
Joe
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Wow, Bonsai! Isn't it the most intriguing form of gardening imaginable?
I agree, you need to try your hand with simple 'easy to grow' species, and then move into the harder more determined plants later.
I once heard, LOL (yeah it was word of mouth and may be false for all kinds of trees), but I was told that the 'memory' of a tree is contained in that very first root that is formed as a seedling. This 'memory' is what tells the tree how big to get, how large leaves should be, when to flower, and so forth. So a secret to successful Bonsai is to find a way to remove this 'memory'.
Most folks believe that by restricting the amount of growth room (root space) that the plant will naturally dwarf itself and grow accordingly over time. This is partially true in the respects of a 'restricted root space' versus the ability to support the trees efforts at maturing, but as long as the plant maintains this hidden 'memory' the plant will always seek to obtain its original cellular message to grow into its mature optimal size.
This dilemma is overcome by the Bonsai Specialist (I am sure there must be a separate name to describe someone of this caliper) by carefully removing the tap-root of the tree. Then once the 'memory' is removed the tree can be forced to reduce itself exponentially.
Here is an example to help with this visual. I was given a 7-year-old Eastern Redbud tree. It had been maintained as a 'Bonsai' by way of a smaller pot and time. The plant was carefully wired to create wonderful twists and turns. It was stunning!
I continued treating it as a 'Bonsai', but the leaves continued to develop fully as any Redbud in the ground would grow. I found I had to remove larger growth shoots in maintaining this effect of 'dwarf'. Ultimately I removed it from the restricted pot and placed it in the ground. The tree grew by many feet within one season, and ultimately became a big Redbud Tree! LOL It is now 15 years old! The original twisted trunk was slowly replaced by more natural growth and there is no longer any indication of those previous years training.
If I had pulled this Redbud out of the small pot and then dug in beneath the tree and carefully removed the central portion of the root I could have been able to remove the tree's original natural memory to grow big, then by placing back in its restrictive pot I could have then begun the process of causing the tree in reducing the leaf size over time and also the trunk, branching, and so forth. Even the blooms should become small versions of the original tree if done properly.
Now I am wondering if all that made sense? LOL 
I am sure if I took the time I could validate these findings and also validate this procedure as being the "big secret" in creating true 'Bonsai'. I have asked over time to several folks who were "in the know" and several just simply confirmed "Yes!". Not, that, this is true or correct, since I am partially suspicious! LOL
At any rate, it all seems sensible to me! LOL
I like the look of using Desert Rose Adenium obesum, which has a similar look to Magnolia and creates wonderful blooms. Here is a good example of one in Bonsai form (this plant would not require the tap root from being removed but only a restrictive root space and pruning/training.
and a white one
Surprising that this is normal growth behavior of a Desert Rose. I just recently purchased seeds from Trade Winds Fruit out of California for $2, and I got over 50 seeds!
Hope this helped!
Ron
I agree, you need to try your hand with simple 'easy to grow' species, and then move into the harder more determined plants later.
I once heard, LOL (yeah it was word of mouth and may be false for all kinds of trees), but I was told that the 'memory' of a tree is contained in that very first root that is formed as a seedling. This 'memory' is what tells the tree how big to get, how large leaves should be, when to flower, and so forth. So a secret to successful Bonsai is to find a way to remove this 'memory'.
Most folks believe that by restricting the amount of growth room (root space) that the plant will naturally dwarf itself and grow accordingly over time. This is partially true in the respects of a 'restricted root space' versus the ability to support the trees efforts at maturing, but as long as the plant maintains this hidden 'memory' the plant will always seek to obtain its original cellular message to grow into its mature optimal size.
This dilemma is overcome by the Bonsai Specialist (I am sure there must be a separate name to describe someone of this caliper) by carefully removing the tap-root of the tree. Then once the 'memory' is removed the tree can be forced to reduce itself exponentially.
Here is an example to help with this visual. I was given a 7-year-old Eastern Redbud tree. It had been maintained as a 'Bonsai' by way of a smaller pot and time. The plant was carefully wired to create wonderful twists and turns. It was stunning!
I continued treating it as a 'Bonsai', but the leaves continued to develop fully as any Redbud in the ground would grow. I found I had to remove larger growth shoots in maintaining this effect of 'dwarf'. Ultimately I removed it from the restricted pot and placed it in the ground. The tree grew by many feet within one season, and ultimately became a big Redbud Tree! LOL It is now 15 years old! The original twisted trunk was slowly replaced by more natural growth and there is no longer any indication of those previous years training.
If I had pulled this Redbud out of the small pot and then dug in beneath the tree and carefully removed the central portion of the root I could have been able to remove the tree's original natural memory to grow big, then by placing back in its restrictive pot I could have then begun the process of causing the tree in reducing the leaf size over time and also the trunk, branching, and so forth. Even the blooms should become small versions of the original tree if done properly.
Now I am wondering if all that made sense? LOL I am sure if I took the time I could validate these findings and also validate this procedure as being the "big secret" in creating true 'Bonsai'. I have asked over time to several folks who were "in the know" and several just simply confirmed "Yes!". Not, that, this is true or correct, since I am partially suspicious! LOL
At any rate, it all seems sensible to me! LOL
I like the look of using Desert Rose Adenium obesum, which has a similar look to Magnolia and creates wonderful blooms. Here is a good example of one in Bonsai form (this plant would not require the tap root from being removed but only a restrictive root space and pruning/training.
and a white one
Surprising that this is normal growth behavior of a Desert Rose. I just recently purchased seeds from Trade Winds Fruit out of California for $2, and I got over 50 seeds!
Hope this helped!
Ron
It makes good sense. Root pruning is an essential part of bonsai and one of the scariest parts for me. After several years of growing a plant I may kill it in one afternoon...and have killed a few over the years. But I learned from it and would offer this advice:
leaf pruning promotes root growth and root pruning promotes leaf growth;
be patient- if gardening teaches patience, then bonsai is the post graduate course;
don't worry to much over mistakes. In a few years that "mistake" may turn into the tree's best feature... or not.
leaf pruning promotes root growth and root pruning promotes leaf growth;
be patient- if gardening teaches patience, then bonsai is the post graduate course;
don't worry to much over mistakes. In a few years that "mistake" may turn into the tree's best feature... or not.
injunjoe
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Ron I love those Desert Rose Adenium obesum.
A few weeks ago a lady gave me one. To bad it is to big for a small Bonsai. I think I will limit it's roots and see if I can keep it at it's current size as it matures and forms that nice base.
That is helpful reading Ron.
Joe
A few weeks ago a lady gave me one. To bad it is to big for a small Bonsai. I think I will limit it's roots and see if I can keep it at it's current size as it matures and forms that nice base.
That is helpful reading Ron.
Joe
