Any tips on keeping a sycamore small from the beginning. What do you have?
- Thread starter scottc
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M. Frary
Bonsai Godzilla
Sycamore doesn't make a very good small tree.
Huge leaves that don't reduce well.
Besides,most bonsai aren't grown.
They're larger trees that have been cut down to size.
Huge leaves that don't reduce well.
Besides,most bonsai aren't grown.
They're larger trees that have been cut down to size.
Cadillactaste
Neagari Gal
Ventilation for plants...is good. I use a fan in my greenhouse. I know I am not alone. It will not fatten a trunk though. Fastest way to grow a trunk...is eventually ground growing.
Leo in N E Illinois
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as @M. Frary said, usually to create a bonsai, first a seedling is grown to 5 to 20 times the height that the finished tree will be, then the tree is cut down to size. Most building their own bonsai simply shop for the tree that is already 10 times taller than the finished size, so that is what Mike means when he says we don't grow them up, we chop them down to size. Actually the height of the tree is not critical, it is the height that is needed to get the diameter trunk that is desired. Thin trunks give you a tree that looks like a seedling, a thick, 2 to 6 inch diameter trunk will give you a tree that looks like a tree one a one foot tall tree. To get these large caliper trunks, we often ''shop'' the trees that are 4 feet to 12 feet tall. Depending on species, sometime much taller, sometimes a short tree can have a large caliper trunk. It is not the height, it is the caliper. Nearly 100% of all the bonsai you see in photos spent at least a few years in their early life as a much larger tree. Then they get brought down to size.
Sycamore does not have a good track record as bonsai, it has been tried by many and I have never seen a photo of a convincing, reasonable quality bonsai that was a sycamore. Not saying it is impossible, but the species has a number of traits that make it difficult to ''bonsai''. Big leaves, coarse branching, if you were to be successful at all, shoot for a finished size of roughly 4 to 6 feet tall and wide. Smaller than that and the huge leaves will always look out of proportion.
If you want to practice, and sharpen your horticultural skills, then just get these seedlings growing and see how large you can get them to be while still keeping them in pots. Keep them going for 3 years and you will have proven you can handle basic horticulture.
In the mean time, get yourself a 1 or 3 gallon nursery pot with a juniper. Procumbens nana juniper, or shimpaku, or just about any species of juniper carried by your local landscape nursery. Also a flowering quince. They are nice and easy and hardy outdoors, year round, almost anywhere. Both juniper and flowering quince,(Chaenomeles is flowering quince genus name), once in a 3 gallon nursery pot, will increase trunk caliper, in a reasonable time, while still in a nursery pot. Flowering quince is often used with a relatively slender trunk, as it is appreciated for its flowers, and ''tree-ness'' is not as critical a display requirement for flowering quince. There are many good species to try, read through the various sub-forums on BNut and see what others are working with. Try what ever species that appeals to you and seems likely to survive in your climate for outdoor trees, or has a proven track record as a houseplant. Don't try trees that people repeatedly say ''won't work'' - it is not because we are snobs, it is because we are trying to save you time and effort, as we have already tried and failed. Benefit from the failures of others, try something that is proven to work.
Sycamore does not have a good track record as bonsai, it has been tried by many and I have never seen a photo of a convincing, reasonable quality bonsai that was a sycamore. Not saying it is impossible, but the species has a number of traits that make it difficult to ''bonsai''. Big leaves, coarse branching, if you were to be successful at all, shoot for a finished size of roughly 4 to 6 feet tall and wide. Smaller than that and the huge leaves will always look out of proportion.
If you want to practice, and sharpen your horticultural skills, then just get these seedlings growing and see how large you can get them to be while still keeping them in pots. Keep them going for 3 years and you will have proven you can handle basic horticulture.
In the mean time, get yourself a 1 or 3 gallon nursery pot with a juniper. Procumbens nana juniper, or shimpaku, or just about any species of juniper carried by your local landscape nursery. Also a flowering quince. They are nice and easy and hardy outdoors, year round, almost anywhere. Both juniper and flowering quince,(Chaenomeles is flowering quince genus name), once in a 3 gallon nursery pot, will increase trunk caliper, in a reasonable time, while still in a nursery pot. Flowering quince is often used with a relatively slender trunk, as it is appreciated for its flowers, and ''tree-ness'' is not as critical a display requirement for flowering quince. There are many good species to try, read through the various sub-forums on BNut and see what others are working with. Try what ever species that appeals to you and seems likely to survive in your climate for outdoor trees, or has a proven track record as a houseplant. Don't try trees that people repeatedly say ''won't work'' - it is not because we are snobs, it is because we are trying to save you time and effort, as we have already tried and failed. Benefit from the failures of others, try something that is proven to work.
Leo in N E Illinois
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Raising trees from seed is the nurseryman's phase of bonsai. Not much is written about it. It usually takes at least 5 years, sometime up to 20 years, to get a seedling to put on enough size to be ready to be called ''pre-bonsai'', ready for its first styling as a bonsai. Majority of seedlings are 10 years old before being styled as bonsai, only a few grow quick enough to be ready in 5 years.
Most people prefer to skip this phase, and just find trees that are already large enough to be ready to style. Or buy landscape nursery stock that has the caliper trunk needed, but need a few years getting it to be ready to be pre-bonsai. So you won't find a lot of articles on growing bonsai from seed. There are a number on BNut, especially pines from seed, check out the pine sub-forum.
Most people prefer to skip this phase, and just find trees that are already large enough to be ready to style. Or buy landscape nursery stock that has the caliper trunk needed, but need a few years getting it to be ready to be pre-bonsai. So you won't find a lot of articles on growing bonsai from seed. There are a number on BNut, especially pines from seed, check out the pine sub-forum.
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