What is your max size?

[Tentakelaertje]

About 50 kilos probably, 110 lbs or something? I agree with Leo, a 3 foot literati is probably less heavy than a 3 foot sumo but at the end of the day it still is a 3 footer.

 

[Nanuk]

I like looking at the bigger ones, but I really don't need to own any.
I have severe back problems, bad enough I ended up retiring early for that reason.
I think I will stick to shohin size or so. I don't need to make a bad situation worse.

 

[Adair M]

Uuh? Never will be natural period.

So, Pots... What experience, advice, do you offer here? Do you have any big olives? I know you’ve watch thousands of hours of Ryan Neil videos, as an experienced watcher of videos, what do you suggest Leatherback do to improve his tree?

 

[Adair M]

This tater is my biggest, weight & size wise. Repotting and reducing the rootball last year took some chainsaw action. Moving involves a piece of wood under the pot and sliding as lifting is not an option. This summer there will be a lot of carving to hollow-out the trunk: The chops will never become natural otherwise.

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Olive wood is really heavy! From looking at your photos, I suspect you could chainsaw off another 2 to 3 inches off the bottom of the trunk, which would allow you to get it in a much shallower container. Which also would greatly lighten the load. Then, using a soil mix with a higher than average proportion of pumice would also help lighten it. Olives love pumice!

My big olive:



The underside is virtually sitting on the bottom of the pot. There’s a very thin layer of pumice under it. There’s no downward growing roots, all the roots are coming off the sides.

The best time to do something like that would be early summer when it’s actively growing.

 

[Dav4]

If I only lived on a flat lot... even less hilly would be good!! A single man can move very large and heavy potted trees with the help of a hydraulic lift cart. I have one, but the steep yard I work on makes it pretty useless. I'm limited to what I can lift and move by myself... still quite substantial but lessening ever so slightly every year. I can still toss around this big rmj with relative ease, but the cypress stays put now... that pot is 26" wide and the tree is almost as tall as me.

 

[bonhe]

Most of Vietnamese like big bonsai. The bigger, the better. I saw some huge bonsai with the pot size about 2.5 meter length!!! Unbelievable!
For me, i like all sizes but I prefer to the big one. Why? In my area, the weather is hot and dry most of the time. The small bonsai is very difficult to be maintained. I have to place most of small bonsai under the filtered sunlight area with occasional mist through out the day. It means someone living in harsh area wants to enjoy bonsai, he/she should consider the tree size to fit into the weather condition.

Prevention is much better than treatment. I created the thread about handling of large bonsai in the past. If you are not careful in taking care of the big bonsai, you could get serious problems for your health such as low back pain, hernia, hemorrhoid, stroke, etc.

I am the small guy with only 120 lbs weight, but some of my trees are huge (3-4 people to carry) and I have no one to help me in the tasks. I have been using Hoyer lift for at least 7 years. It is an excellent tool because it help me to move the pot up to the hydraulic cart and from there I can work on the root, change the pot . The Hoyer lift and hydraulic cart are the must for everyone wants to enjoy the big bonsai for a long time. With these 2 tools, I could take care of the large bonsai for a long time .
By the way, some of my bonsai have the trunk base diameters are about 18”.
You can get the Hoyer lift from Craigslist for $ 100 . I got mine for only $ 60 with great condition. The new one is very expensive, it could cost over $1000 easily! It is used to lift 500-1000 lb paralyzed patient in the hospital.
P/s : I am not a sale person for Hoyer lift.
Thụ Thoại

 

[leatherback]

Olive wood is really heavy! From looking at your photos, I suspect you could chainsaw off another 2 to 3 inches off the bottom of the trunk, which would allow you to get it in a much shallower container. Which also would greatly lighten the load. Then, using a soil mix with a higher than average proportion of pumice would also help lighten it. Olives love pumice!

The best time to do something like that would be early summer when it’s actively growing.

I know. But this was the first repot, getting it out of Spain's native soil. Decided to be gentle with the backbreaking s.o.b.

 

[Adair M]

If

I know. But this was the first repot, getting it out of Spain's native soil. Decided to be gentle with the backbreaking s.o.b.

you repot in the right season, olives can take a very hard root prune. They’ll grow from cuttings of almost any size, with no roots at all! They’re amazing.

Next time, cut it back harder, and pot it up shallower.

 

[Fonz]

I recently bought this big ass Acer Campestre, defenitely not a 1 man tree but since I have to do everything by myself my back hurts from time to time