Bonsai tree from roadside on Kanan in Malibu

[AmazingUnicorn]

My in-laws live in Malibu and each year we're out here, there's a husband and wife team selling bonsai on the side of the road on Kanan. I've seen them for years and stopped once. The plants look nice to my untrained eye.

This year I decided to gift my mother-in-law a bonsai tree. She's very much into gardening, plants, trees and has a yard filled with variety so if anyone can not kill their first tree it's her.

Originally I wasn't going to get it from a roadside vendor so I called a local nursery. They guy on the phone said "we don't carry them but there's a vendor on the road I've seen selling them as long as I can remember". I told him "really? You'd consider someone on the side of the road?" he responded "normally no but they've been there so long and I haven't heard any complaints that they must be doing alright...if their trees were bad, this community is small and word would spread". So I picked out a tree I liked. I'm guessing most of my questions I can search for but just wanted to have this thread for anyone else searching for this vendor.

When I searched for them on Google I came upon this thread which sounds similar. Anyone else buy from these folks? Tree I picked out she said is about 15 or 16 years old. The age might not matter as much but it looked lovely.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Great looking foliage, I wonder what kind of Juniper it is? Could be tidied up a little...

 

[AmazingUnicorn]

Great looking foliage, I wonder what kind of Juniper it is? Could be tidied up a little...

Not sure what kind. I guess I could ask the next time I drive by but her English is so so.

I personally like juniper best but I know I can't really have one in Chicago. Will be looking at what can grow well when I get back home.

 

[Atom#28]

Not sure what kind. I guess I could ask the next time I drive by but her English is so so.

I personally like juniper best but I know I can't really have one in Chicago. Will be looking at what can grow well when I get back home.

Can't have junipers in Chicago? @sorce , don't you keep junipers?

 

[sorce]

Eeeeeee...

Welcome to Crazy!

I was wondering where this thread went.

Doubt any of them will live up here without pampering I wouldn't give.

Buy one from The Hidden Gardens

The Hidden Gardens in Willowbrook, IL

Sorce

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Not sure what kind. I guess I could ask the next time I drive by but her English is so so.

I personally like juniper best but I know I can't really have one in Chicago. Will be looking at what can grow well when I get back home.

Pretty much all junipers can be grown outdoors in Chicago. They can be wintered outdoors without added heat in Chicago.

I winter in plastic pots, juniper horizontalis, J. chinensis, J. rigida, and J. procumbens. Of my juniper chinensis types I have or did have at one point 'Blaaw', 'Itoigawa', 'Shimpaku', 'Kishu', and 'Foema'. All just sail through a Chicago winter simply set on the ground, a little leaf litter piled around the pot. That is all the protection the juniper needs . Note it takes 2 months of autumn with steadily declining night temps to prepare the junipers for winter. If you bought one today in Malibu, you can not throw it outside in Chicago the next day and expect it to live. But after a summer and autumn outdoors, junipers are fine here.

I do protect junipers in nice, high end, ceramic pots. This is because pots often do not survive freeze-thaw cycling. These get wintered in a space that stays between 32F and 40 F. They go back outside after last hard freeze in spring.

 

[sorce]

Oh oh oh!

Why did I see a shirt at Walmart that Said, Meowgical Kittycorn?

Sorce

 

[coltranem]

Actual age does not matter. The apparent age matters. That is the illusion aspect of bonsai.

Looks like it has some wire on it. Your mother-in-law will need to keep an eye on that to make sure it is removed at the appropriate time. Also make sure she knows to keep it outside. If she is into keeping this alive and looking good I'd look to give a gift certificate for bonsai lessons as a follow up gift (birthday, mother's day, etc.)

 

[AmazingUnicorn]

Actual age does not matter. The apparent age matters. That is the illusion aspect of bonsai.

Looks like it has some wire on it. Your mother-in-law will need to keep an eye on that to make sure it is removed at the appropriate time. Also make sure she knows to keep it outside. If she is into keeping this alive and looking good I'd look to give a gift certificate for bonsai lessons as a follow up gift (birthday, mother's day, etc.)

It does have wire. I presume there's plenty of videos on how to work it?

 

[coltranem]

There are differing opinions on exactly when to remove wire. For junipers I wait until it bites I just a little. Not sure on any videos.