Jade Twin Trunk Bonsai

Current Image - July 2010
It took me a while to straighten up this plant, which was in cascading down as seen in last image. It was a challenge that it cannot be straightened up, and after two year of wiring, rewiring, it finally has worked in my favour. Alas, when i re potted in current pot, i planted it in a slanting way, for it appealed to me. Though, i am still confused, as what will be the final shape straight or slanted.

Last wiring - June 2010
Straight plant, clean twin trunk style.

Early 2010, guess, I was in a bad mood, i twisted the trunks around each other & named it Krishna.

Mid 2009 - the plant had straightened to a great extent after 1 year of wiring.

Mid 2008 - Plant after first wiring.

Original Image - Bought this plant in Mid, 2008

For more images of Jade Twin trunk - click here for more details

Jade Bonsai - Inform Style Mame

Jade as on July 2010 - After few monsoon showers, i had repotted this into a 1 Inch high, 5 inch wide tray. This is under training since Mid 2008, whenc i had planted a cutting next to huge stone as seen in the last image in this photoseries.



Picture of jade post repotting early June, 2010

Picture of jade post repotting early January, 2010

Picture of Jade, Mid 2009. Had rewired & reshaped.

Rewired.

Stone Removed. Pruned. Early 2009

Picture of Jade in Dec, 2008 or around, after growing wild for few months.

Picure of jade Mid 2008, when i wated the crown to fall & cover the face.

Adansonia / Boabab

Under training for more than 2 years. Seen beside is an image as on July, 2010. The white background is the outline of the canopy i plan to build for this beautiful tree.

Boabab can survive for 5000 years and the biggest one is in South Africa, which has a Beer bar inside its trunk, worth seeing.

It stores all the water it needs in its fibrous trunk & can go without water for months. An ideal plant for indoor bonsai during winters when it shed all its leaves & becomes dormant. No need to water for months at a go.

Bonsai Tutorials

- Click here to know all about Fertilizers for your Bonsai

This will tell you all that you need to know about plant food.

- Things to keep in mind, when selecting pots for your Bonsai

It is very important that the pot is in proportion to your Bonsai. This article will tell you as what you need to keep in mind.

- Tips on how to wire Bonsai

Without wiring, you cannot achieved the desired shape. This article tells few things to keep in mind when wiring a bonsai.

- Wind Swept Style Bonsai tips

This is probably the most difficult bonsai style. Things to keep in mind, when making a wind swept style are listed in this article.

- Cascade Style Bonsai tips

This is the most astounding style of Bonsai, listed here are some of the finer points of cascade style bonsai.

- Twin Trunk style tips

What you need to know before you try your hands on Twin Trunk style bonsai is mentioned here.

- Bonsai Basics

Some basic points that you need to keep in mind, before you get started are stated in this article.

- Makin Neem Bonsai

here are some of the points that you need to keep in mind for making neem bonsai

My Bonsai under training since 2007

# Jade Twin Trunk Bonsai

Under training for last 2 years since Mid 2008, to view the progression series click here

# Jade Informal Style Mame

Jade Informal Style (Mame) - Under training since last 2 years (as on July 2010), to view the progression series, click here


# Boabab Slanting Style Bonsai

Boaboa /Adansonia - A tree that can live for 5000+ years. Under trainign since 2 years.

# Rayan /Khirni Informal Upright style bonsai

Rayan - Under Training since 2 Years - to view last 2 years of progression, click here

2. Jade - Formal Upright Style - Click here to view more details

4. Jade - Twin Trunk Bonsai - click here for more details

8. Rayan - click to view more details

10 Peregrina / Jatropa Literrati bonsai

11. Peregrina / Jatropha - click to view more details

12. Adenium click to view more details

13. Neem Bonsai - click for more details

about fertilizing bonsai

Plants make food by process called Photosynthesis, where Carbon dioxide & water in presence of sunlight gets converted into Sugars & carbohydrates, and this is what plants feed on. Fertilizers are like Vitamins for plants, which aids in carrying out the various functions like growing, photosynthesis, flowering, seeding, etc.

Fertilizers are classified as
- Macro-nutrients
- Micro-nutrients or trace elements

Macro-nutrients:
These are further classified as Primary & Secondary Macro-nutrients:
- Primary Nitrogen (N), Phosphorous (P), Potassium (K)
- Secondary Calcium (Ca), Sulphur (S), Magnesium (Mg)

Micro-nutrients or trace elements
Boron (B), Chlorine (Cl), Manganese (Mn), Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn), Copper (Cu), Molybdenum (Mo) and Selenium (Se).

Organic vs Inorganic Fertilizer
To plants it makes not difference if the Fertilizer is Organic or Inorganic. All that it needs is Macronutrients & Micronutrients in the right proportion to grow. It does not care if the same is manufactured or is available as natural resource i.e cow dung, compost, manure, etc.

Solid vs Liquid Fertilizer
Plants absorb nutrients from roots or via opening in leaves. In nature, the roots play a major role in absorbing fertilizers. Remember roots do not eat soil, all it can do is absorb water & fertilizers dissolved in water. Hence it makes no difference to plant if fertilizer is available in solid or liquid form.

What Fertilizer to Buy?
Together Nitrogen, Phosphorous & Potassium is know as NPK. Composition of NPK differs as per plant requirement i.e NPK 19:19:19 or 24:19:19, etc. These rations determines as what % of element in more & in which ratio. NPK 19:19:19 means all three elements Nitrogen, Phosphorous & Potassium are in equal proportion.

Element: Use Purpose
Nitrogen Ability to produce chlorophyll & thus aids in plants growth
Phosphorous Roots development, Flowering & absorbing food
Potassium Protection against draught, cold, diseases

NPK 19:19:19 which has all nutrients in balanced proportion is recommended for Bonsai Plants. The fertilizer you buy should contain the other elements too as listed above but in very small quantities.

Usage guidelines;
- Please refer instruction manual thoroughly
- Please seek usage instruction from expert if possible
- Fertilizers should be used sparingly
- They should used in small quantities, once every 2 weeks
- Preferably they should be diluted in water & than fed to the plants
- If sprayed on leaves it should be done during early morning or evening hours
- Excess usage can harm plans & even kill them
- Usage should be more in Growing season & less in dormant period

Ramesh Sinha
Ahmedabad Bonsai Club
9924332267

Join Indian Bonsai group on Facebook

For more information, please visit this website.
http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/fertiliz.htm

Wind swept style bonsai

Picture courtesy - http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=73893&id=546591265 Tony Tickle album on Face book.

One of the most exciting wind swept images I have come across, as seen in raw nature. If you plan to make one, here are some points to be kept in mind. Pl. note that this happens to be the most difficult style to copy.

- Note, the center most branch is the longest, and if you can tilt the image by 90 degrees, you will see a triangular shape. Simply put, it is formal bonsai, laid horizontally.

- Try to show dead wood, and rough wood, which is a typical characteristics of a wind swept

style.

- The branches will turn 180 degrees and go on the opposite side of the flow of wind

- The background should be visible form between two branches

- The lower part will have lesser growth because of branches above

- The tip of branches are towards the sky

- The branches are more or less horizontal, and are not falling down

- Show less foliage

- In above picture couple of trees which are planted next to each other have grown in wind swept style, if it was one tree, foliage would have been very less

- ramesh sinha

pl. share your learning on this style

Ahmedabad Bonsai Club

Join me on Facebook

Dear Visitor,

I have been now days daily updating Indian Bonsai Group on Facebook. I request you all to join India Bonsai Group by clicking here. It's Free.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=134040618089

Unknown Giant

I had picked up this giant some time back. Seen below is the image of the plant post cutting, carving. As you go below, you can see the actual plant.

I do not know as what variety of plant this is, but will figure out, once the leaves start to show up. The wood though it looks very hard, is actually pulpy & soft. The trunk base is like 1.5 to 2 feet & the current height is approx 2 feet.

Rest I will be updating soon, once I come to know how to remove this underline.

After Pruning & Repotting:

Removing Tap roots for repotting

Before Re potting & Pruning

Wood carving done

Dead branch before scooping

Close up of Trunk

Position for repotting

Right Side view of plant

Left side view of the Plant

Back side view of the Plant

Front Side view of the Plant

Wind swept style

Well this is not a style for bonsai beginners as its movement of the branches & overall tree that matters. Leaves, Flowers & Fruits cannot sustain longer duration of strong windy condition & eventually fall and wither away.

You'll find wind swept style trees on Mountain cliffs in nature where winds blows in one direction thought the year. As a result, you will find growth in the opposite side also know as sheltered region. Young branch on the windy side either break or they bend as much as 150 degrees & start growing in the opposite direction, which can be considered as deformity in other bonsai styles.

Windswept style bonsai is characterized by strong & twisted long branches and do not have a very strong sub branching. Leaves, fruits & flowers are just notional. Further branches can be of equal lengths but most of them are long & wavy. Only the branches on the windy side are small. Remember that younger branch will bend more compared to older branches.

The fall of branches should be towards the ground, because of gush of winds & gravity if wind is blowing from the side, or towards the sky if wind is blowing from the bottom i.e. from the valley. The branches should not be placed horizontally as in case of formal or informal style.

Winds don't come down from top, and for those who believe that it does, than go for cascade style & not wind swept.

Heavy winds results in broken branches on the windy side & hence add jin to create an impact. Adopting drift wood/phoenix graft /tanuki will enhance the overall look. Go for evergreen trees rather than deciduous trees. Juniper are the best for this style.

ramesh sinha

ahmedabad bonsai club, gujarat, india

Tips on selecting appropriate pot for your Bonsai

Tips on selecting appropriate pot for your Bonsai

Off late something else is keeping me occupied and hence my contribution on this blog is limited. Nevertheless, few days back I got a chance to go through few articles on Bonsai Pot selection and thought of sharing the key points to be kept in mind when selecting a pot for bonsai.

#1 - When you look at a Bonsai Tree, it is the tree that should stand out & not the pot. If colour, shape or texture of the pot hits your eye first, something is seriously wrong. Thumb rule is when you look at the mirror, you should get to see your reflection without any distortions. If Golden frame of mirror hits your eye, than the purpose of the mirror is lost. Also remember $ 5 Bonsai & $500 Bonsai Pot does not make $505 Bonsai.

# 2 - The height of the pot should be equal to with diameter of the trunk.

# 4 - Angular pots (Rectangle, square, hexagonal design) go with Bonsai with Masculine characteristics like Sari, Jin, Dead branches, etc.

# 5 - Oval, round pots go well with Bonsai with Feminine characteristics like Flowers, soft branches, good foliage, etc.

# 6 - The depth of the pot should be slightly less than the spread of the Tree

# 7 - The length of the Pot should not be more than 2/3 of the tree size

# 8 - For cascade style - select appropriate pots, it should not be plated in oval or trays

# 9 - For Literati style, go for oval or round pots

# 10 - For forest style, go for rectangular trays with low height such that user can go into the landscape & see the plantations

# 11 - Go for unglazed pot for evergreen trees like pines, etc.

# 12 - Go for glazed pots for flowering, deciduous trees and pot can be of contracting colour to enhance the look of the bonsai during spring & autumn

# 13 - for mame bonsai, go for bright colour pots

# 14 - The base of the pot should be smaller than top of the top to give lighter effect

# 15 - Pots should have enough holes

remember, there is only one rule for training pots - bigger the better. The above rules are applicable only in case of a Trained bonsai, ready for display.

I will love to add more points, so please feel free to contribute.

Ramesh Sinha, Ahmedabad Bonsai Club

9924332267

Bonsai Tree & Pots exhibition

Ahmedabad Bonsai Club will be completing 1 year in Feb 2009. On this occasions, Ahmedabad Bonsai Club is organizing exhibition of Bonsai Trees & Bonsai Pots on 12, 13 & 14th Feb, 2009 at Horticulture Nursery, Lawgarden, Ahmedabad. All of you are cordially invited to our stall no. 14.

New members who are interested in Bonsai, can enroll for Bonsai Basic Training Course at the Stall too.

Ramesh Sinha

Jade Semi Cascade Progression series - latest image

Latest picture of Jade Semi Cascade, post re potting.

Front View:

Top View:

for earlier picture to view the progression, click here

http://rameshsinhabonsai.blogspot.com/2009/07/jade-semi-cascade.html

Original Plant

Jade Bonsai - Back Side

Jade Bonsai - Front Side

Height - Under 5 inches from rock top

Width - 6 Inches

To view the progression series of this plant, click here

http://rameshsinhabonsai.blogspot.com/2009/08/jade-bonsai-on-rock-style-jade-mame.html