Poinsettia bonsai (from 2013 until now)

[GrampaMoses]

From 2013-2016 this mini poinsettia was grown by a window in a Christmas ornament sized pot that my father in law had gotten me. It was growing such small leaves and such small internodes that I decided to try to start training is as a bonsai. I have no earlier picture than when I first put it in bonsai soil in 2016.



I quickly tried to wire the tree and had almost every branch snap and die on me.



I then realized I needed to use clip and grow methods and saw the trunk slowly thicken over time. In 2017, the roots were growing well in bonsai soil, so I gave it a full defoliating chop to see if it was worth training as a bonsai.



It responded very well, so I continued to repot, defoliate, and clip and grow every year, putting it outside in direct sunlight during the growing season and indoors by a south facing window every winter. It has flowered for me every year. Here it is in 2018 compared to a small store bought poinsettia. Notice the difference in internode length and leaf size. The small orange pot in front is what it was grown in from 2013-2016. The period of time I have no pictures from.



Today it is getting a nice thick woody trunk and I'm very happy with the nebari. But it's the time of year for styling and I'm not sure exactly how to style this tree. I know it has a bit of a sling shot in the first split, but I'm not sure if I want to part with either side. I'd love any thoughts on how to style this before working on it.



Alternate views.

 

[GrampaMoses]

Closeups of current leaf size and nebari.



Internodes are short, but the green growth should be cut back.



I could easily just cut back all the new growth to 2 nodes and call it a day, but I'd love feedback if I should do something more drastic like removing one side or the other from that first split.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Good Job! You should be able to guide growth in the standard way of cutting back to a leaf/bud pointing in the direction that you want it to grow.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I like what you have done. If this were a bad, or hopeless tree, or just a stick in a pot, I would not take the time to do a virtual. But this tree is good enough it inspired me to do a virtual. Well done. Keep it going.

Your have several possible "fronts, But the one in the image with the scissors is good enough as a front. I would not move this to a smaller bonsai pot until AFTER you have made the fixes I suggest below. The tree needs the room for roots to grow, so it can keep growing while you restyle this tree.

You need to shorten all those straight, long branches. Typically for deciduous, or broadleaf evergreens, we try to not have long branches without either branching or changing direction. Look at the distance from the potting mix to the first branch. That distance sets the "scale" or it is the "standard measurement" for the whole tree. Internodes after that first internode length, the "standard measurement" should always be shorter than that first "internode length". Ideally, in an idealized tree, as you move further away from the trunk each subsequent internode should be shorter than the previous. This is an "idealized" situation, but as much as practical one should observe it.

When you have 2 branches, as in your slingshot, one side should be clearly dominant, and one side should be subordinate. Typically the "sub" branch of the 'Y' should be about 2/3 or 1/3 the size of the "dom" side. In your case I would shoot for 2/3 the size of the "dom" side. Visually, 2/3 works better than 3/4 or 1/2, so you might want to pull out a ruler, rather than eye-balling it the way I eye-balled the virtual. You also want the volume of foliage and number of branches to be about 2/3 rds the 'Dom" side on the "sub" side. Once you get the "Dom" and "Sub" sides clearly defined, the tree will loose its awkward bush shape and start to look much more tree like.

The "sub" side of the 'Y' has a long run without branches, but it does wiggle, it is not perfectly straight, so I don't think of it as a serious flaw. If any buds sprout in the green area, keep them, at least one, and use that branch to break up the long branchless run.



as in your photo below, as much as possible cut back each of these long branches to their first or second node. Doing the "Hard Prune" all at once should result in an explosion of back buds. Staggering out the pruning over time might lead to lack-luster back budding. . So I would say "Go For IT" time for a really sharp pruning, and the resulting restyling.

All in all, one of the better poinsettia I have seen as bonsai. A few more years and you will have an exhibit worthy bonsai. You should be proud of this tree. It has developed nicely and has a good future ahead for it.

 

[Colorado]

This is fun. My wife absolutely loves poinsettias and we buy a bunch every Black Friday to have around the house for the holidays.

Might have to try one.

 

[jason biggs]

The leaves have reduced nicely -this is really going to look like something soon...
Don't get any latex in your eye when cutting leaves

 

[just.wing.it]

Wow! I can't get those things to do much over here....must be a perfect window it grows in.
Very cool!

 

[GrampaMoses]

must be a perfect window it grows in.

It lives outdoors and in full sun from April until October! In winter it sits by a South facing window, but doesn't do much other than flower and look pretty.

Doing the "Hard Prune" all at once should result in an explosion of back buds.

Thanks so much for the compliments and feedback, I really appreciate it! I like the idea of a main and secondary trunk. I was afraid of removing one completely because poinsettia don't heal over wounds very well.

I've taken the time to read every bit of your thoughts and will try to work on this tree in the next week or so, I'll post the results when it starts to leaf out again.