LIKE I explained in yesterday's post, time has been somewhat of a luxury for me these last few weeks leaving me with very little of the commodity to do with as I had pleased.
(IMAGE FOR DISPLAY ONLY: Source, Pixabay.com)
ALSO READ: #Writing: This is what I've been up to during the last few weeks
That being said, I definitely haven't not enjoyed the last few weeks as I've really found out just what I am capable of - which is severely long working hours, sometimes well into the morning of the next day but, I have definitely enjoyed this.
Now, for something that I assume most of my followers on Steemit actually follow me for: Bonsai and plants.
Let's get the bad news out of the way first - one of my most exquisite trees, which is quite old, appears to have either died or is still 'trapped' in one of the most deep forms of dormancy I have ever seen. It started with the leaves dying and eventually, the slightest touch allowing them to fall to the ground.
Next, is what really scared me - branches had started rotting. Most were trimmed while others had candle wax applied to them to get rid of the infection.
I've named the tree: Hangman's Delight however, it's actual name is Monkey Thorn.
The little green stem sticking out is actually a bougainvillea that I'm trying to make a cutting from - more on this later as there are far more effective ways of growing from cuttings, this is a test drive.
Now, something that I've been busy with for the last few months is that of growing avocado trees for the purpose of turning them into bonsai. This has been going really well so far with the first tree already doing far better than expected, especially since I started wiring it early.
I had no hopes of success for the first tree, especially since I had also severely damaged it's stem while wiring it - needless to say, avocado appear to be rather durable.
This is what that baby avocado seed all those months ago looks like today and, I've got two more on the way:
Now, if you want to grow your own avocado from seed, you'll want to read this:
#BonsaiNews: (Complete Guide) Do you want to grow your own avocado tree?
Something special I've been working on these last few months is my attempt to keep a bonsai miniature sized and, I'm using a Black Monkey Thorn to do this - the below tree is little over a year old and has been doing really well so far.
One thing that I really intend on showcasing, is the roots of the tree which I have slowly started to reveal to sunlight in order for the roots to be dried out and become 'part of the tree'.
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, this will greatly add to the visual appeal of the tree later on once it has grown a bit more.
These trees are quite easily grown from seed, and all you really need are some cosmetic cotton pads, a plastic lid to place these in after splitting the pads and placing the seeds. Water slightly so that the cotton pad is moist. Continue to provide water once the pad feels near dry. Monitor for growth in the coming two weeks to a month.
Now, if you've read the piece I've done on my Top 3 favorite trees for bonsai, you'll know that apple trees really make for exquisite bonsai.
About a month and a half ago, I planted some apple seed after getting irritated with them spending too much time in the fridge - read the article below for proper germination instructions as these will greatly aid you in growing your own apple tree.
#BonsaiNews: My personal favorite [Top3] most beautiful bonsai species
At long last, they are growing however, it will be some time before they are actually able to be shaped.
This is what a near 400-year-old apple bonsai tree looks like in full bloom.
Further fruit bearing trees that I am busy growing at the moment include lemon trees, something much easier to grow than apple trees, however, if you intend on growing these, this is what you'll need to do:
Gather some lemon seed, chew on them slightly to get rid of the sugary coating as well as the outer layer.
Once this has been done, gather a paper towel sheet and moisten it properly so that it is wet but not dripping wet.
Continue to fold it twice in half and place your seed, again folding only once in half.
Place the paper towel with the seeds in a plastic sandwich bag and seal it - place in the vegetable drawer of your fridge for two to three weeks and monitor closely for the seeds which will soon start to sprout.
As soon as they do, plant them up in a mixture of peat moss (canadian is best), perlite and vermiculite.
Ensure that you plant them in an environment which is always humid - I am using a seed propagator for this as it retains moisture pretty well.
This is what my lemon trees currently look like after I've given away four as gifts.
I've found myself experimenting a lot more lately with fruit bearing trees as opposed to standard bonsai trees and I would actually implore you to do the same - these trees really do have an amazing visual aspect once they start to bloom and carry fruit. Just ensure that you continually treat them to avoid pests setting in once they do near the carrying age.
Lemon trees, prone to tree cancer, should be monitored more closely.
Now, time for cuttings on Bougainvillea - this is the progress so far on two of my cuttings, one with thorns and one without.
I took the cutting of the one without thorns about a month ago and since then it has greatly responded with some leaf growth already occurring.
The one with the thorns has been slightly slower however, it has retained far more color as opposed to the one without - no leaf growth as yet though but root growth has occurred on both.
Below is a sample of the progress so far, please pardon the poor image quality.
A good piece of advice, never take a cutting longer than eight inches and use a clear glass jar which you place over the cuttings in order to stimulate growth and a humid environment - DO NOT ALLOW THE GROWING MIXTURE TO DRY OUT!
Another species I've started working with from seed is that of the Waterberry Tree, more commonly known in my province as the Umdoni Tree - these are a protected species of tree which carries a hefty fine for anyone who even removes a leaf from one.
And there I went stealing a cutting - which never worked to be honest. So, instead I opted to guess my way through growing them from seed and it would seem as though I've done quite well.
If you ever get your hands on seed such as this, ensure that they still have the purple fruit pulp surrounding the seed and allow them to dry out for two days.
Continue to plant the seed at a depth of about 2cm, keep moist and allow it to do it's own thing - eventually you'll end up with babies like this.
Being that I grew them from seed, the laws governing these trees to not apply to me with respect to these future trees.
Ironically, it turns out that Umdoni Trees as bonsai are a highly sought after tree in my neck of the woods, so I am going to grow even more and supply the local nursery with Umdoni Bonsai soon.
Below is an image of the six babies so far, some three weeks since sprouting. Hint: They love regular trashy soil.
Another one of my younger trees, a Chinese Elm bonsai which I had thought had died has remarkably come back to life and is budding like I've never seen a tree bud before.
There's not a lot I can do with this tree at the moment since it has already been wired however, once I am able to remove these I'll start pruning back some of the unwanted branches and perhaps apply some shari or jin - have a look at the article below for some info on shari and jin.
Come to think of it, applying jin or shari on this tree would be wasting the visual appearance of bark at a later stage so I think I'll give that a skip.
#BonsaiNews: The art of Jin and Shari, an expert's technique at illusion of age [UPDATE]
Now, something of a splendid scene.
This is one of my oldest Junipers that I have in my collection and pretty soon, I'll be able to remove the last bit of wiring from one of the branches which have really been stubborn, despite the ease at which it is suppose to take on a new shape.
ALSO READ: #BonsaiNews: What's so great about Juniper bonsai? Simply; Everything!
This is one of the few trees that I've allowed to do most of it's own thing aside of the wiring - this is also a tree which I have never pruned before aside of the occasional pinching here and there to highlight it's design.
There are so many more of the trees and plants that I would like to write about but unfortunately my time has run out yet again.
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