Culling

[paddles]

There is just no way around it, i have to get rid of some plants (I won't call them bonsai, although they are all bonsai in potential) I keep looking around thinking, I could get rid of some of them (Japanese maples, trident maples, liquidamber (Sentimental, raised from seed from a friends tree), silver birch, corokia (Although with my record they'll die saving me the problem) I know many won't understand this desire, however I would rather have 7-10 healthy nice (Potentially overgroomed) trees than the 40 -50 plants that I have there now, many recieving just basic maitanence at best.

This is not to mention the ceders (Couldn't part with one) Or the pines, or the australian natives (Which really don't make good bonsai.) but then I only have one of them left.

I am thinking of doing a forest, which would use many young undeveloped trees, but still feel that I need to cull at least half the trees. Many have the same potential as the other, some their sheer difficulty in aquiring require me to keep them? (I've rarely seen a bhutan pine, other than in well developed mature trees in Australia.) I put 30 in the ground as per advice, and they can stay there, but others need to go. So I'm asking this, How do I make the dicision?


Let's not forget the oaks and pines that the kids keep growing from seed etc.

 

[Graydon]

40 to 50 plants? If I had such a problem. Try a couple hundred for a while. Actually it's not bad as they really need some attention a couple of times a year at best. The rest of the time they are simply growing.

Now imagine what a nursery owner goes thru...

How to cull? Instinct is best. Try grading everything in to good potential, fair potential and no potential. Pitch the no potential right away before you can think about it again.

Perhaps you don't need to cull. Do you have a nice area to keep them like a simple bench? This helps as it gives you a sense of organization and less clutter on the ground.

 

[paddles]

Yes, but I'm not as fanatical as some. but I've come up with a solution! I'm going to do a forest scene, it should use up some tree's and then I should only have 6 or so in growth? (Besides the ones that I put in the ground of course, but then I can ignor them now? more or less, so next winter I shall begin work! Mind you, might try now? wrong time of year tho, and wanton distruction is not my thing.

I only started bonsai, when my husband started moving us regularly, since it's very hard to pack up a garden and take it with, I started with bonsai. really enjoy it too.

 

[Nigel Black]

I wish a forest would solve my problem. I've literally enough plants to fill two large hoop houses.
(at least) It's the result of having worked in nurseries for the last ten years combined with my compulsion to propagate seeds and cuttings. I'm thinking I'm going to just have to be willing to make some difficult choices.

Or I could make a 'to scale' forest duplicating Central Park!

And to think I still have two crisper drawers stuffed full with seeds....

Nigel

 

[paddles]

Well, after discusson with hubby last night, and ready books with pretty pictures, we are going to drive to monbulk today to a nursery called "The imagination tree" (High drool factor) It's only 4hrs away, each way! and get something more suitable for a group planting.


(Of course I could have dug up the silver birches, but then I couldn't go for a long drive, and they'd probably die)

 

[t.scope]

parents? kin? somewhere you can put them in a safe ground and after some years go back to get free material pretrained and maybe species that you'll get ideas about in future... having the same problem i start to give them as gifts or proposals, the kind of "hey you need a lonicera here for shadow in the summer, i'll give you some" or "yucas are very hard species for your forgotten balcony, get two of them", just to name some. on the other hand a forest is allways interesting but think about to move a slab 35'' x 18'' and 60kg. except if you mean a forest in a placelike your neighbor's wasted land ... besides you can trade them, 20 seedlings for a potensai you like...
just some ideas...
thanks, criss

 

[paddles]

Well, I drove 4hrs with 2 kids, spent 15 minutes picking out 5 false cypress, drove 4hrs home..... (Boy some people must be mad)