I stopped advocating the "hedge pruning method"

[Joe Dupre']

I'm done advocating it to others. I wholeheartedly believe in and use it myself, but will not bring it up more than once to my friends. I can see how Walter gets so frustrated. I just got finished with ANOTHER text session with a 20 year bonsai practitioner friend . He always comments how much he likes my trees and that his just don't look like he would like them to. I explained the process MANY times and all he focuses on is the "slashing and chopping" (???????) part. He even mentioned electric hedge pruners and chain saws! That's a wrap!.......... as one of my friends likes to say. No more. It's really a simple process to not be able or willing to understand how it works.

 

[cmeg1]

Well,Good.As I see it.If someoness trees look right.Then something good is happening and one can delve into the obvious causes and effects.
I was introduced how ‘chopping’ of leaves by grazing animals can actually induce pheonols?( or good things) in the leaves that make stronger and more pest and fungus resistant.
The most successful results I have seen of this popular technique is with large ,mature stock( in some instances anyway) where the tree flushes big time with so many happy photosynthesizing leaves where the net gain from energy produced from photosynthesis is more than compensating for the initial gross comprimised loss of photosynthetic carb energy that was initially produced in each leaf.
Some cases I observed heavy salt fertilizing which actually stimulates essential oils,terpines and other fruity things in the plants because the plants are stressed from lots of salt inhibiting water absorption.Then they get flushed for a week or whatever......probably straight , good ph water.Still adequate salts on roots to sustain the minerals the plants need in this rapid( or pushing ,intense growth time). When plants are pushed in high light or maturity,ripening or the like,the extra nutrients go a LOOOOONG Way. Especially potassium.
So when I delve why so and so’s trees are so green,dense and vibrant after chopping and even defoliating with this method..........I believe agressive feeding is a must because this plant would deplete essentials like potassium very,very quickly.
At the same time there is a balance where I would let rest too and let the tree be a tree and just photosynthesize........
Just me though.I have never tried it,except the time I tried it with every watering with collected rainwater and heavy Dyna-Gro and my rain was so pure the fert plumeted the ph to around 3 with every watering and my little trees stopped everything and declined very quickly.

 

[Woocash]

Yes, that’s all very well, but don’t forget the earth is flat and vaccines are control!

 

[cmeg1]

There are things that need spelled out though.........it was not all for not!

I mean ,someone still has not gave me a valid definition of what loam is and how this relates to a healthy bonsai soil.....potting soil,peat,forest leaves....what?
Its been at least 10 yrs now.......

I can be incredibly dense

 

[fredman]

There are things that need spelled out though.........it was not all for not!

I mean ,someone still has not gave me a valid definition of what loam is and how this relates to a healthy bonsai soil.....potting soil,peat,forest leaves....what?
Its been at least 10 yrs now.......

I can be incredibly dense

It's all about the Brix...bout da Brix...yeah baby

 

[cmeg1]

 

[cmeg1]

Loam................yes I did go dig some clay out of the yard.........I said no.....this what everyone needs

 

[Woocash]

There are things that need spelled out though.........it was not all for not!

I mean ,someone still has not gave me a valid definition of what loam is and how this relates to a healthy bonsai soil.....potting soil,peat,forest leaves....what?
Its been at least 10 yrs now.......

I can be incredibly dense

You know when you dig a nice piece of virgin ground? Minimal sand, no clay, just that beautiful black as the night, crumbly soil that gardeners dream of. That’s loam. Fully composted, organic based, fertile wonder stuff.

Great for ground growing, probably not suitable for bonsai pots.

 

[Joe Dupre']

There are things that need spelled out though.........it was not all for not!

I mean ,someone still has not gave me a valid definition of what loam is and how this relates to a healthy bonsai soil.....potting soil,peat,forest leaves....what?
Its been at least 10 yrs now.......

I can be incredibly dense

It's BAKED loam. I gathered it's calcined clay from reading between the lines. If you watched Walter's video on soil he makes a point of saying it really doesn't matter exactly the type of or proportion of aggregate, just as long as it has the right properties.

 

[cmeg1]

✌

 

[cmeg1]

Deep down I always kept telling myself it is a language and region thing

 

[leatherback]

No hedging!
If you use pure loan in your pot, all bets are off!

 

[Anthony]

Loam

- sand - 5 mm silixa based quartz

-silt - decomposed rock - sifted aged compost

- clay - 5 mm fired crushed earthenware building block - porous

Observe the rule -
marbles in the jar -------- excellent drainage

Compost returns the microbes.

KISS and nothing used that the roots can crush.
Get to LUSH first.
Good Day
Anthony


LUSH
Tamarindus i
Before we begin training

 

[cmeg1]

Cool tree @Anthony

 

[Tree by River]

It's BAKED loam. I gathered it's calcined clay from reading between the lines. If you watched Walter's video on soil he makes a point of saying it really doesn't matter exactly the type of or proportion of aggregate, just as long as it has the right properties.

Joe we both live here in La being that I would like to pick your brain on some growing methods, the soils that you use, the methods you use to recover yamadori and so on. I have seen some of your bald cypress trees and they are nice. I just recently pulled out a native maple from the woods that really needed a rescue, so I put it in a growing pot with some bag compost and Bam! The next day it took in a heart beat. But I would like to get some growing techniques from you. Thanks for reading.

 

[Mikecheck123]

I'm done advocating it to others. I wholeheartedly believe in and use it myself, but will not bring it up more than once to my friends. I can see how Walter gets so frustrated. I just got finished with ANOTHER text session with a 20 year bonsai practitioner friend . He always comments how much he likes my trees and that his just don't look like he would like them to. I explained the process MANY times and all he focuses on is the "slashing and chopping" (???????) part. He even mentioned electric hedge pruners and chain saws! That's a wrap!.......... as one of my friends likes to say. No more. It's really a simple process to not be able or willing to understand how it works.

Cognitive dissonance is a hell of a drug.

 

[JoeR]

I'm done advocating it to others. I wholeheartedly believe in and use it myself, but will not bring it up more than once to my friends. I can see how Walter gets so frustrated. I just got finished with ANOTHER text session with a 20 year bonsai practitioner friend . He always comments how much he likes my trees and that his just don't look like he would like them to. I explained the process MANY times and all he focuses on is the "slashing and chopping" (???????) part. He even mentioned electric hedge pruners and chain saws! That's a wrap!.......... as one of my friends likes to say. No more. It's really a simple process to not be able or willing to understand how it works.

Hedge to a silhouette. Cut leaves and stems. Allows light and air in. In winter, reduce hedged branches to one bifurcation per branch.

Yeah, pretty damn simple, even this 20 y/o gets it.. frustrating to hear "I love your trees" and "you can't make trees that way" in the same conversation, ignorance by choice