Just a personal gripe. Move along.

[ShadyStump]

I am SO disappointed that I have NO trees in a position for summer work.
I mean, I have a couple tropicals I could repot, and I could get away with some light pruning on a couple deciduous, but that's it.

This has been my single biggest motivator to NOT go get new material. Why acquire more stuff to wait another couple years on?
(Totally keeping an eye on all the Blue Star junipers that seem to be all over this year, though. Waiting to get my hands on the ugliest one.)

I do have a couple extra peppers there's no room for in the garden.
Guess I'm doing bonchi this summer.

Anyways, what's up with this weather?
Go Avalanche!? I don't know a thing about hockey.

 

[bwaynef]

Are you saying the weather is impacting your trees' growth ...and they're behind? (I'm just back from a vacation where my trees huddled by a sprinkler. They always seem to have grown a foot each when I get back so there's a good bit for me to do right now.)

 

[Hartinez]

Here’s my take. May not be and probably isn’t the best advice. But here it is. Practice on cheap junipers. Style them in there nursery pots. Like cheap junipers. Work on your wiring and branch placement. If you can make a shitty little juniper look good, you’ll be set when it comes time to style the big stuff.

 

[HardBall]

The idea is to get the puck in the back of the net.

 

[ShadyStump]

Are you saying the weather is impacting your trees' growth ...and they're behind? (I'm just back from a vacation where my trees huddled by a sprinkler. They always seem to have grown a foot each when I get back so there's a good bit for me to do right now.)

I have a couple that seem to have stagnated like a Chicago fig and my gardenias, but mostly no.
The past year has been, shall we say, "disruptive," and I've essentially reassembled what was once already a very meager collection from scratch over the past 6 months or so on a very light budget. That means everything is prebonsai/grow out/development stage right now.
Therefore, not much to do this summer.

Here’s my take. May not be and probably isn’t the best advice. But here it is. Practice on cheap junipers. Style them in there nursery pots. Like cheap junipers. Work on your wiring and branch placement. If you can make a shitty little juniper look good, you’ll be set when it comes time to style the big stuff.

I mentioned light budget above. I was going to wait until the end of summer or pickings get slim- whichever comes first- to grab whatever is left at Walmart and Home Depot, maybe the local mom-&-pop shop, and then have a stack of them to work on.

Biggest issue my current collection is running into is climate. It's so damned dry anything traditionally tropical/Mediterranean is just frozen in time. My Chicago fig (sapling new to me this March) hasn't moved in months, but still looks healthy. Gardenias are about the same. Ficus benjies are doing alright but slow. The rest are newly collected/acquired this spring so need their R&R.

Nah, nothing really wrong, just wish I had more to do.

 

[Hartinez]

I have a couple that seem to have stagnated like a Chicago fig and my gardenias, but mostly no.
The past year has been, shall we say, "disruptive," and I've essentially reassembled what was once already a very meager collection from scratch over the past 6 months or so on a very light budget. That means everything is prebonsai/grow out/development stage right now.
Therefore, not much to do this summer.


I mentioned light budget above. I was going to wait until the end of summer or pickings get slim- whichever comes first- to grab whatever is left at Walmart and Home Depot, maybe the local mom-&-pop shop, and then have a stack of them to work on.

Biggest issue my current collection is running into is climate. It's so damned dry anything traditionally tropical/Mediterranean is just frozen in time. My Chicago fig (sapling new to me this March) hasn't moved in months, but still looks healthy. Gardenias are about the same. Ficus benjies are doing alright but slow. The rest are newly collected/acquired this spring so need their R&R.

Nah, nothing really wrong, just wish I had more to do.

I feel you. I’m extraordinarily dry here also. I’d imagine a very similar climate to yours. High desert, zone 6b-7a. 5300 feet in elevation or so. I’ve given up on so many deciduous, except for elm. Junipers all day though. Another thing to think about is just collecting a shit ton of small Siberian elm trees, cutting REALLY hard and then wire and trim all summer. I’d imagine you have them everywhere like we do. I wouldn’t hesitate to dig those any time of the year. I have quite a few that keep my itchy fingers happy and we’re all dug at random times.

 

[sorce]

What's the opposite of disappointed? Appointed?
Undisappointed?

I'm that that you are disappointed because it means you are exercising patience!

But I always thought bi-weekly new stuff in need of a first "lil glance" was a necessity...isn't it?

Real Hockey is about the Fight.

No one gives a puck about a disc shaped ball.

I thought I found a puck today but it was a face cream container.
Litterbugs.....such lazy selfish people should be repotted too often.

Sorce

 

[sorce]

Oh and....start overthinking stuff!

There's ALWAYS thinkwork to be done.

Sorce

 

[ShadyStump]

Oh and....start overthinking stuff!

There's ALWAYS thinkwork to be done.

Sorce

TOO LATE!!!!!!
I think this might be related to that meeting I missed this evening.

 

[ShadyStump]

I feel you. I’m extraordinarily dry here also. I’d imagine a very similar climate to yours. High desert, zone 6b-7a. 5300 feet in elevation or so. I’ve given up on so many deciduous, except for elm. Junipers all day though. Another thing to think about is just collecting a shit ton of small Siberian elm trees, cutting REALLY hard and then wire and trim all summer. I’d imagine you have them everywhere like we do. I wouldn’t hesitate to dig those any time of the year. I have quite a few that keep my itchy fingers happy and we’re all dug at random times.

Yeah, sounds about right.
Yup, more Siberians than you can shake an American at. I've learned to identify their cotyledons by cleaning my herb garden, and chopped a sapling in the back yard. I think it's a sucker off the half dead tree that will eventually take out the power lines to my home. Does need trimming already though.

There are some air layers I'd like to do that I could get on. Might go for those soon.

 

[Hartinez]

Yeah, sounds about right.
Yup, more Siberians than you can shake an American at. I've learned to identify their cotyledons by cleaning my herb garden, and chopped a sapling in the back yard. I think it's a sucker off the half dead tree that will eventually take out the power lines to my home. Does need trimming already though.

There are some air layers I'd like to do that I could get on. Might go for those soon.

Just go bananas and dig them all. An air Layer is fine and all, but it does nothing for you right now. Take 2 minutes per tree and rip them fuckers up!! I almost guarantee they’ll take.

This thread has Siberian elms that were all started by basically ripping them up from ground. Get ripping!

Harts Shohin Trash Elms

Thought I’d start a thread on what I consider to be itchy bonsai trigger finger relievers. I’ve seen several people ask, “what keeps you the busiest in your garden?”. For me it’s my elms. I’ve got several varieties but have more Siberian Elms than anything else. Not because Siberian elm is...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[sorce]

I just ran into a friend who is like me as he fits into this category of homeless kids my Sorceress's mother let live at their house.

He was on his way to Walgreens after missing more than one meeting.

The odd thing is, it been a fateful last couple days. Good Positive things in the household, led to me getting accepted late to a local art in the park show, led to me getting into the park district on the last day to sign up my super bored youngest for soccer, led to going to the park to check the internet connection, which is where I ran into dude.

But the craziest shit is, we're like 90% set on Tennessee if we move, and this dude that we almost by a clock run into on and off for 20 years, mostly en route to Walgreens, is also set to relocate to Tennessee next year.

That meeting in another state would have been unbelievable!

Anyway.....
Dude is a really good person even if he has missed a couple too many meetings, made me realize "Our Boy Upstairs" accepts those of us who miss meetings, we just have to accept ourselves, and not that cheesy ass new wave type of "accept ourselves". That Lost Honorable form of Acceptance. Just Knowledge of Self. We don't look deep enough any more to understand what it is we are accepting.

It's almost fall now!

Sorce

 

[namnhi]

Pulling weeds out of pot is very relaxing....

 

[sorce]

We figure walking on Vodka in Berwyn is going to be Riding horses and Drinking whiskey in Tennessee which led to this concept of an RUI.

Riding under the influence.

Bro.....

These fools won't be able to charge their smart cars and I'll be on that old school auto pilot, a smart horse!

Peace!

It's winter!

Sorce

 

[palafr01]

@ShadyStump If you are in a slump here's a list of activities you could do while everything is growing:

1. take some photos of trees to get inspired (be it in parks, arboretums, other bonsai collections, etc.)
2. search for some for rocks for suiseki if that interests you
3. start a project (cement pot, a stand, bench) that will further your interest in the hobby
4. draw some future designs for your trees while you wait for your trees to grow
5. lastly and most important just relax and enjoy your trees

 

[ShadyStump]

Pulling weeds out of pot is very relaxing....

I've actually been somewhat distracting myself doing this with the vegetable garden. I think next year's will be much bigger.

Just go bananas and dig them all. An air Layer is fine and all, but it does nothing for you right now. Take 2 minutes per tree and rip them fuckers up!! I almost guarantee they’ll take.

This thread has Siberian elms that were all started by basically ripping them up from ground. Get ripping!

Harts Shohin Trash Elms

Thought I’d start a thread on what I consider to be itchy bonsai trigger finger relievers. I’ve seen several people ask, “what keeps you the busiest in your garden?”. For me it’s my elms. I’ve got several varieties but have more Siberian Elms than anything else. Not because Siberian elm is...

www.bonsainut.com

The air layers I was talking about actually are wild plum from the stand by the parking lot at work and a feral apple tree on an abandoned lot I know of.
Still, I may well get to the rippling.

@ShadyStump If you are in a slump here's a list of activities you could do while everything is growing:

1. take some photos of trees to get inspired (be it in parks, arboretums, other bonsai collections, etc.)
2. search for some for rocks for suiseki if that interests you
3. start a project (cement pot, a stand, bench) that will further your interest in the hobby
4. draw some future designs for your trees while you wait for your trees to grow
5. lastly and most important just relax and enjoy your trees

These are great ideas actually.
Thanks!