Advice on Starter Tree

[BobbyLane]

just to keep things simple, have a look on the kaizen website and there you will find a write up and some basic mail order soil mixes/straights,

Buy Bonsai Soil Mix for Tree Potting from Kaizen Bonsai

Kaizen Bonsai Soil Mixes - Blended Soils Ready To Use. Our soil mixes all contain uk produced Biochar. These soil products are constantly refined and improved as better ingredients present themselves and represent the very best in quality, value and performance for bonsai tree growth in the UK...

www.kaizenbonsai.com

Bonsai Growing Media Straights

By far the most significant element in success with Bonsai Trees is creating a healthy vibrant environment in which roots can flourish. Conditions within a bonsai pot are largely dependent upon two factors, the first being how often you water your Bonsai and the second is what growing medium or...

www.kaizenbonsai.com

number 2 is a general purpose mix you can use for most trees. in the past ive used it often and to stretch it out added cat litter or compost as i have quite a few in growing on containers. something like number 2 will suffice until you gradually gain more experience and can then try your own mixes suitable for your micro climate.

in the past ive kept it pretty simple when creating my own mixes, often ive used pumice, cat litter (sofisticat pink), lava rock, john innes number 3 all in equal amounts, overtime ive gradually reduced the amount of compost in the mix. i have mainly deciduous and havnt found them to be too fussy to these components.

 

[atlarsenal]

Astrophysicist, huh?

Well then, I’ll write this post in a way that you’ll understand...

Stay in your lane bro!

 

[rockm]

Oh, super-massive blue super-giant supernova progenitors are a contentious subject! I know some professors who would fight you on the spot for even going there (those old astro-professors can be scary when roused)! Anyway, you're probably better asking a Particle Physicist to explain those weird guys.

Now, if the starter tree is a red super-giant at its iron peak on its fusion evolution, I get what you're saying.

I take your point about the Crab Apple tree. However, since we're on an Astro-theme, I've been studying cold molecular gas dynamics in a galaxy called GAMA31452 recently with long baseline interferometry (which is my area as opposed to stellar evolution!). As galaxies go, he's probably not going to form stable spiral arms and follow the usual evolutionary path to late-type; he's losing ionised and molecular gas through his warped spiral arms. However, his strangeness has ended up opening a whole new line of research - may even get a paper out of him! Originally, he was going to be thrown out of the sample all together - occasionally being unorthodox and a bit dysfunctional works!

"occasionally being unorthodox and a bit dysfunctional works"

Here on earth, 'unorthodox' and 'dysfunctional' in bonsai are mostly beginner's excuses for not doing things, or lacking the vision to see what needs to be done. Both take time to understand and correct. Those roots on that otherwise very nice crab apple will NOT age gracefully. They will stick out like sore thumb and make a nice tree look silly.

Beginners often make the mistake of thinking that "odd" and "unorthodox" are good traits to be exploited. Nothing is further from the truth. "Odd" and "unorthodox" are kinds euphemisms for "awkward," "ugly," and "amateurish."

This is harsh, but unfortunately the longer you admire bad and awful traits in otherwise decent stock, the longer those bad things will hang around uncorrected, and eventually require DRASTIC action to correct...

As for the peat and drainage layers that you're thinking about for your soil, well, all the above might not be applicable since your tree will probably be dead in a couple of years using this soil plan.

 

[Paulpash]

Air layering one 'spiral arm' per year is the way to go in future. Invest in some sphagnum moss and a Stanley knife. Crabs layer very well. @BobbyLane's advice re: substrates is very good - I use similar raw ingredients for mixes. Myself, TomB and Bobby are all based in the UK.

 

[Adair M]

Stay in your lane bro!

Common, man. He knows I’m no astrophysicist! But I do try to keep up with the latest discoveries. When I was in college, I took a course in Astronomy. Back then, we were just getting a grasp on stellar evolution. We had no clue as what Quasars were! Black holes were considered unlikely. The whole concept of “Dark Matter and Dark Energy” were yet to be conceived.

Can’t have any fun around here...

 

[Orion_metalhead]

No fun. Bonsai is torture.

 

[Crawforde]

Don’t let people shame you into removing the roots if you don’t want to.
Sure they are “wrong” for a normal bonsai and you knew it.
But you like them for your own reasons. Not just lazy beginner excuses.
Cosmic Penjing.

 

[rockm]

Don’t let people shame you into removing the roots if you don’t want to.
Sure they are “wrong” for a normal bonsai and you knew it.
But you like them for your own reasons. Not just lazy beginner excuses.
Cosmic Penjing.

Oh for crying out loud. Not trying to shame anyone, just blunt advice. I've been in the poster's situation. Roots that I thought unusual on a apple, turned into a real problem over seven years or so. You grow any apples or crab apples there in Fla.?

 

[Orion_metalhead]

The longer one endeavors in an art the shorter the list of flaws one accepts.

 

[moved on]

Common, man. He knows I’m no astrophysicist! But I do try to keep up with the latest discoveries. When I was in college, I took a course in Astronomy. Back then, we were just getting a grasp on stellar evolution. We had no clue as what Quasars were! Black holes were considered unlikely. The whole concept of “Dark Matter and Dark Energy” were yet to be conceived.

Physics moves so quickly, I find it tough to keep up all the time too! It is weird to think for example that Quantum Physics is a standard course now for every year at university when a few years ago it was far more speculative and esoteric. Astrophysics in particular has trends - we'll all believe something completely different next week!

 

[moved on]

number 2 is a general purpose mix you can use for most trees. in the past ive used it often and to stretch it out added cat litter or compost as i have quite a few in growing on containers. something like number 2 will suffice until you gradually gain more experience and can then try your own mixes suitable for your micro climate.

Thanks for this. That's super helpful.

By number 2 you mean the "Lapillo Medium Grade Volcanic Bonsai Soil Growing Media" right? Just checking.

 

[BobbyLane]

Thanks for this. That's super helpful.

By number 2 you mean the "Lapillo Medium Grade Volcanic Bonsai Soil Growing Media" right? Just checking.

 

[TomB]

This stuff is a good substrate, good general purpose mix.

The lapillo you mention is also a good *component* if you want to blend your own (it’s lava granules). But the Kaizen premixes are very usable (the only ones I’ve seen that I’d say positive things about).

Btw on the crab apple - yes the roots are technically awful BUT when your taste changes it should be easy enough to replace them. In the meantime just enjoy it.

 

[moved on]

Thanks. Didn't see the numbers on my first look!

 

[moved on]

It's on its way!