Anybody Ever Try One Of These?

daygan

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Looks like a Magnolia stellata, which is the magnolia species recommended as being most suited for bonsai. Good choice. Looks like you could make an interesting bonsai out of this one.
 
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coh

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I looked up "purple stardust magnolia" on google and didn't find it by that name, but there was a "pink stardust magnolia" which looks the same (or very similar). Assuming the name is correct, it is a stellata. I've only seen one or two magnolia bonsai, and don't know what species they were. But an article in International Bonsai (2007) lists stellata as having "delicate" secondary branching (for magnolias). That issue had a number of photos of mature magnolia bonsai which looked very nice.

I think the leaves do tend to be a little large but I believe magnolias are best displayed in winter (for the branch structure) and early spring for the enlarging buds and flowers. I really like them and over the past 2 years have acquired a couple of plants to experiment with. One is a "leonard messel" which is a cross of stellata and kobus, but looks a lot like a stellata.

Please keep us posted, it's nice to see some different plants being worked on.

Chris
 

dick benbow

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the only thing I could contribute is that they don't like to be repeatedly repotted, so put it off as long as you can. and try and not disturb the roots with aggressive resizing.
 

Mellow Mullet

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I hope that it makes it, then. It is in a 5 gal nursery pot and is extremely root bound. I will maybe just take half of the root mass this time and see what happens. I didn't pay a whole lot for it, and I can easily get another. I would rather have this one make it, though.
 

daygan

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or just slip pot it into something bigger...
 

yenling83

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I like the flowers, def related or a variety of star magnolia- Magnolia stellata. Will be good for bonsai.
 

coh

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I've read in a number of places to be careful when reducing the roots, to do it gradually. I'm going to be getting into the root mass of mine this spring for the first time. Haven't decided whether I'll be repotting it or planting it into the ground.

There have been some good threads on magnolias on IBC. If you haven't come across them - try

http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t5745-star-magnolia

In this thread, Boon posted a nice magnolia and claimed one could do up to 60% root reduction the first year:

http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t2650-star-magnolia

Please let us know how much root work you do, and how the tree responds. Thanks!

Chris
 

Mellow Mullet

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Wow, I dug this thread up and I had not realized that it had been five years since I had updated it. Where does the time go?

Here are the horrors that it suffered in 2015:

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Looking back on it, there are a few things that I probably would have done different, but then again, there always is.
 

Mellow Mullet

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Fast-forward to March of this year. I really did not do much to it in the five years since the initial work, I wired it a few times, trimmed it, and even considered ditching the project. A lot of the original nursery soil had been left during the initial work (I had read that they did not like a lot of root work) and it was starting to show, the pot was staying way too wet, so, I repotted it.

Before:

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A look under the hood:

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Mellow Mullet

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The roots close to the trunk were in not so great shape, partly due to the collapse of the nursery soil and maybe from freezing during our abnormally brutal weather. Anyway, I decided that bare-rooting it was the best plan. Do or die, info on root work is conflicting on these is conflicting, so I will establish the base line for it.

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Since the roots were much smaller, I was able to get it in a more suitable pot.

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As you can see, part of the trunk died, I think due to removing too much growth on that side at the initial cut back from the nursery pot. They seem to have a growth habit much like azaleas. I hope to repair the damage it epoxy putty and have it heal over, I have done this on maples with success. Deadwood on deciduous trees in not a good idea in South Alabama.
 
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