A Little Twist

JudyB

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Really nice Oso, I am starting to have a new affinity for cherry. I'm actually awaiting 20 whips to start a grouping with this week! I'm using Okame.
I love the silver bark my higan has, but they are harder to fine. Okame has a nice red bark though, and orange fall color, so I'm excited.

Great blooms!
 

Carol 83

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That is really beautiful. I picked up a Little Twist at the bonsai show last weekend. It is just at the end of blooming. Any special tips for them? Any special needs as far as soil, winter care, whatever you care to share, I would appreciate.
 

GrimLore

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That is really beautiful. I picked up a Little Twist at the bonsai show last weekend. It is just at the end of blooming. Any special tips for them? Any special needs as far as soil, winter care, whatever you care to share, I would appreciate.

hehe, let the soil wars begin :p I make a well draining organic for the first few years and change over to inorganic when the over all plant has reached the size I am hoping for. Works for me in the North East on all pitted fruits. The reason is it gives me fast healthy growth.

Grimmy
 

Melospiza

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Little Twist and Kojo No Mai must be closely related. Little Twist is definitely contorted, but it tends to twist around (hence the name, I suppose). Maybe it was derived from Kojo No Mai.
View attachment 96490
I am fairly certain that Kojo-no-mai is sold in the US under the trade name 'Little Twist'.
 

GrimLore

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You are not the only one to believe in organic for growth,

Yes I know, but it can be a hot topic here. I do show people actual examples when they visit for workshops at my home and they follow the same with very good results.

grimmy
 

0soyoung

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That is really beautiful. I picked up a Little Twist at the bonsai show last weekend. It is just at the end of blooming. Any special tips for them? Any special needs as far as soil, winter care, whatever you care to share, I would appreciate.
I bought it bare root from my favorite local garden center nursery. It went directly into that big pot full of nothing more than Turface MVP. I use Osmocote-Plus at the rate of about 1/2 teaspoon per nursery gallon of substrate every 6 months. I get very good root ramification with it. As far as winter care, for me it was nothing more than sit it on the ground (USDA zone 8).

Like any cherry - lots of sun; of course, it looks pretty ratty late in the season. Mine doesn't have much of a winter image because I have it for the early spring flowers. But it can be pruned fairly hard following the first flush and not sacrifice all the flowers of the following spring (i.e., like most flowering species, don't 'mess with it' much after the summer solstice) = standard stuff.

You are not the only one to believe in organic for growth, @GrimLore

I have grown and continue to grow trees in potting soil, bark, and Turface. In potting soil I tend to get a relatively small number of long roots with poor ramification. In bark and bark+potting mix roots are better ramified, more so in nothing but bark. I like to use this with tall trees like potted 'patio trees' and trees that I am growing as whips because the roots tend to quickly get locked into the pot so I don't have hassles with securing the roots into the pot. It appears to me that the less the potting soil the better the ramification, even though air filled porosity and ramification don't have any direct connection that I know. Roots grown in Turface are much more ramified and finer. I find it interesting how threads of fine roots bloom into thick fleshy roots when they hit the pot wall. I don't know why it is, but am convinced that Turface produces and entirely different root morphology.
 

Paulpash

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Dwarf cherries
View attachment 96417

This is a dwarf cultivar Fuji cherry (prunus incisa) that I acquired as a bare root plant from a local garden nursery in the spring of 2013.
View attachment 96418

I now realize that I might have accomplished the root pad development and the size reduction in just two seasons instead taking three years as I have (it is now only about 12 inches tall whereas I started with it in a 16-inch diameter plastic bowl). I have no idea whether it will ever develop an interesting bark. It is a fun little tree nonetheless.

Leafs are small, so it is respectable in leaf at this size. Its growth habit pretty much dictates being broom-style.
View attachment 96419

Dwarf cherries start to develop craggier bark after 15 years or so. Lenticels become more pronounced. They are prone to canker so I tend to seal all cuts and give them a preventative spray a few times every season. They generally thicken quite slowly so specimen quality trees are quite rare.

They are attractive trees and easy to grow, putting on a show in spring and fall.
 

Clicio

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Roots grown in Turface are much more ramified and finer. I find it interesting how threads of fine roots bloom into thick fleshy roots when they hit the pot wall. I don't know why it is, but am convinced that Turface produces and entirely different root morphology.

I trust your experience with Turface, @0soyoung , but unfortunately it's difficult to get it here. We use fired clay instead, with good results and fine ramification.
But (I swear it's NOT to create another useless soil battle), but I keep hearing from others that Turface is outdated and in fact not so good for the rooting system.
Here's an example:
https://crataegus.com/2013/11/24/life-without-turface/
 

0soyoung

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I trust your experience with Turface, @0soyoung , but unfortunately it's difficult to get it here. We use fired clay instead, with good results and fine ramification.
But (I swear it's NOT to create another useless soil battle), but I keep hearing from others that Turface is outdated and in fact not so good for the rooting system.
Here's an example:
https://crataegus.com/2013/11/24/life-without-turface/
Turface is just a brand named calcined clay.

Yes. While I have high regard for Michael Haggedorn's artistry, but he is lacking in logical thinking. The bottom line on his Turface troubles is "don't put shit in Turface". He is a devoted user of poo. Use chem ferts and no such issues arise. Put the poo in tea bags so that the poo solids don't get in the Turface and there is no problem. Lava/pumice copes with this better, but those users must clean off the top layer periodically or put the poo in teabags, else they've got similar toubles.

btw, I am not opposed to organic ferts.
 
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