Blue atlas cedar questions/progression

[Nybonsai12]

Atlas cedars make beautiful bonsai but it seems they are hard to find and slow to develop. I had a small prebonsai atlas years back that I killed quickly. Some bends combined with additional stress and dead it was. I don’t do garden center material anymore but found a bonsai grower who Had some youngish grafted trees available for reasonable prices so I decided to try again. I’ve had this one for a year or so now and it seems to be growing well after this springs repot. Good movement and color. with that said, I have a few questions.

-when is the best time to wire?
-is it typically recommended to remove all buds underneath in order to get better pads?
-backbudding is non-existent, correct?
-what other techniques are there specific to this species I should be aware of?

thanks in advance

 

[LanceMac10]

Pretty hued foliage!

Bungee over the top and around the post, looks like a "tip" hazard.

Yes, something with a "head start" can be pricey.

Good luck. Cascades are a pain, though. Specially winter, it'll take up some space.

 

[Nybonsai12]

Pretty hued foliage!

Bungee over the top and around the post, looks like a "tip" hazard.

Yes, something with a "head start" can be pricey.

Good luck. Cascades are a pain, though. Specially winter, it'll take up some space.

yea, I’ve been weighing it down with a rock most of the time haha. Bungee cord would be much safer.

the only ones I’ve heard or seen for sale outside of the lone random tree that pops up occasionally somewhere is through Jim Gremel but I’m not dropping the kind of dough he is asking (several thousand). His famous cascade is one of the first I saw that made me love them.

im lucky to have an unheated garage with space. just gotta keep the kiddos away!

 

[LanceMac10]

Blue Atlas Cedar

I just picked this cedar up from a local nursery. The trunk is very straight but I like the fact that there is new growth at the base which gives some possibilities. Can these be air layered? If anyone has some experience with this type of tree I would be interested in knowing more about care...

www.bonsainut.com

Blue Atlas Help

Rebudding nicely! Do I remove older needles? I am going to slip pot it. To close to heat to do more. Am I wrong? Will eventually trunk chop it. And start root training. New purchase. Any and all help appreciated!

www.bonsainut.com

Atlas cedar - to repot or not

No it's just that you don't have any idea what you're reading...They are fine after they have been root pruned a number of times. ....as I said. But maybe because you buy your trees already developed you can't imagine what it's like starting from scratch like us poor people. Interesting...

www.bonsainut.com

Atlas Cedar... with apex moving away!!!

Here’s a bit of a challenge. I have this Green Atlas Cedar, that’s been a bit neglected for a while. I’ll share it’s story in a follow-up post. But, I now have it at home where I can take the time to study it to figure out how to improve it. First off, let’s take a look at it from the side...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[jferrier]

Cedars are one of my favorites. I repot in late Feb in PNW as soon as buds start swelling. To get some density, if you pull all the old needles when the new shoots extend it will help with back-budding. I wire in spring/summer but mostly clip and grow and get pretty good back budding that way also. The top got broken by a falling branch so had to start again so needs some thickening up. This is a deodar.

 

[jferrier]

Chopped from a 6' tree about 10 years ago.

 

[I_I_am_not_a_cat]

Cedars are one of my favorites. I repot in late Feb in PNW as soon as buds start swelling. To get some density, if you pull all the old needles when the new shoots extend it will help with back-budding. I wire in spring/summer but mostly clip and grow and get pretty good back budding that way also. The top got broken by a falling branch so had to start again so needs some thickening up. This is a deodar.

I recently picked up a deodar and have been looking for examples of deodar on here. Yours looks very nice! How is this one doing? Any species specific suggestions? I am in the PNW, but high desert so I imagine that changes things a bit.

Also, how far apart (in time) are these pictures?

 

[Nybonsai12]

Repotted this one, or should I say over repotted. It will be in this pot for a long while….

 

[Nybonsai12]

After seeing @Hartinez thread I figured this one is due for an end of season update as fall approaches. It grew well all season, appreciating the deep pot and heavy feed/water in the heat. Got really good extensions throughout. In spring I will likely do cutbacks as it’s getting longer than I would like and continue to try and develop pads.

 

[Hartinez]

After seeing @Hartinez thread I figured this one is due for an end of season update as fall approaches. It grew well all season, appreciating the deep pot and heavy feed/water in the heat. Got really good extensions throughout. In spring I will likely do cutbacks as it’s getting longer than I would like and continue to try and develop pads.

View attachment 567786

Looking good. Nice and healthy. It’s amazing once these trees decide they’re happy, how much growth they will put on. I’m excited to get working on some pads on mine as well.

 

[Nybonsai12]

Updating some threads it’s spring photos

 

[TomP]

That is coming along very nicely