El Duderino's Garden ... A Deep Dive

El Duderino

Yamadori
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In the spirit of sharing with the community, I've decided it's time to start my first thread. I need a central place to document my trees' progress. And I figure if I can do that here, I'll have a better opportunity to learn from you all as I go along. My fascination with Bonsai began a long time ago but didn't get going in earnest until late 2020. I feel like it's always been something I thought about from time to time. But in December of last year, I decided I was going to dive in; so, I started reading, watching videos, paying attention to trees, and generally absorbing all the information I could. In early March, I bought my first tree and pretty much haven't stopped buying (and acquiring) trees since--nothing super expensive, mainly nursery stock and some pre-bonsai-type material. By and large, I've not styled much of anything, opting instead to make sure I could keep my trees alive (but also suffering from paralysis analysis, and not really knowing where to begin).

And so, here we are, the latter part of summer, and I've only killed a handful of trees. Even better, the only trees I killed were rescues that had little chance of surviving anyway. So far, I'd call it a success. I like the diversity of my collection and have found that I really enjoy the actual practice of Bonsai (despite deploying very few actual Bonsai techniques to date). Now, as I gear up for the upcoming winter and spring, I want to make sure I have at least a loosely laid plan for all of my trees. I will probably need to re-pot/up-pot nearly everything I have. That's what I will do in this thread. I will start with some current pictures of all of my trees and a brief description. Then I will take a deeper look at each tree in an attempt to formulate those all-important next steps. So, welcome to my garden, thanks for reading. Please feel free to share thoughts, feedback, critiques, funny quips, useful stories, or whatever suits your mood.

Without further ado, here are the stars of the show:

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Below is a (mostly complete) list of what is on the benches and growing in my yard. The list is NOT in any particular order. Over the coming days and weeks, I will be posting details on each tree and my thoughts on its future:
  • Green Japanese Maple (from seed, unknown cultivar)
  • Soft-touch Holly
  • Hibiscus syriacus
  • Japanese hornbeam
  • Dawn redwood x 2
  • Japanese boxwood var. 'green beauty'
  • Winged spindle
  • Chinese elm var. 'seiju'
  • Trident maple
  • Box honeysuckle (lonicera nitida) x 3
  • European hornbeam
  • Chinese elm x 2
  • Willow leaf ficus x 5
  • Barbados cherry - rooted cuttings x 6 (courtesy of my good friend @JoeR)
  • Flowering serissa (also a gift from my friend @JoeR)
  • Lemon cypress x 3
  • Portulacaria afra x 2
  • Red maple
  • Calamondin orange
  • Grape vine (unknown cultivar)
  • Blue star juniper x 2
  • Hinoki Cypress var. 'Little John'
  • Japanese hemlock var. 'Loowit'
  • Blue spruce var. 'baby blue'
  • Azalea (Encore Autumn Bonfire)
  • Loblolly pine x 2
  • Cotoneaster (I think it's horizontalis but I'm not certain)
  • Mimosa x 2
  • Japanese black pine x 2
  • Parson's juniper
Not pictured here:
  • Eastern redbud x 2
  • Rosemary
  • Flowering dogwood x 2
  • Red Japanese Maple
  • Bald cypress
  • Wax myrtle
  • Hydrangea tardiva
In the cloche:
  • Cotoneaster cuttings
  • P. afra cuttings
  • Hybiscus syriacus cuttings
  • Red maple seedlings x 3
  • Pine seedlings x 2 (probably longleaf)
  • Water oak seedling (tap root and all)
Thanks for reading. I look forward to sharing my trees with you all. I also look forward to the banter.
 

El Duderino

Yamadori
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Loving the humidity tent. The sincerest form of flattery is imitation :) You've given me some ideas :)
Thanks! Turns out it’s a good thing we didn’t throw away that plastic after we painted five years ago 😂. It’s definitely an open source design so have at it 😉.
 

HorseloverFat

Squarepants with Conkers
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Awesome introduction, dude.

I like that trampoline.. really ties the yard together.

On a more serious note, it’s good to see that you have a variety of trees, do you can stick to a fairly strict bonsai-technique procedural regimen to keep the mind, uh, limber.

🤓
 

Deep Sea Diver

Masterpiece
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Nice start!

I like the fact you opted to work out your horticultural side first…. suspect that soon you will be starting to focus on your root work for some of these trees.

Looking forward to seeing your progress!

cheers
DSD sends
 

sorce

Nonsense Rascal
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I didn't realize we became so aquianted before you started your first thread.

Welcome to Crazy!

Anyone who posts on that VW thread definitely belongs here!

Sorce
 

El Duderino

Yamadori
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Awesome introduction, dude.

I like that trampoline.. really ties the yard together.

On a more serious note, it’s good to see that you have a variety of trees, do you can stick to a fairly strict bonsai-technique procedural regimen to keep the mind, uh, limber.

🤓
I like your style, dude.

That trampoline makes my daughter happy, so I don't hate it but I sure want to hate it. I definitely wouldn't call it "Zen."

Yep, it is indeed the variety of "trees" that keeps my mind, uh, limber ☺️.
 

El Duderino

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Happy Sunday, folks. I will be sharing my trees in no particular order and haphazardly as the mood strikes. Today feels like a good day for my little Hinoki.

Specifically, this tree is a chamaecyparis obtusa var. 'Little John' (I think I wrote the name out correctly but I would love it if someone, maybe @Leo in N E Illinois, would correct me if I did it wrong).

Here is the tree today:

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A brief history on this tree: I bought it in mid June on $0.99 Bonsai Auction on Facebook. I really like this particular cultivar. It has almost a orange/rust color where the foliage emerges. I haven't done anything to it other than add a bit of moss to protect some roots at the surface and clean up some dead foliage on the interior. The habit of this tree makes it very dense. I know that over time, this will need to be dealt with so that I can allow more light and air to the interior.

Over the past week or so, I've been pondering a design idea. I am not very good at drawing. Instead, I've been trying to take inspiration from trees in nature that I love. My town has a list of "Significant Trees" that are all tagged. We are also fortunate to have an abundance of old growth Longleaf Pines (pinus palustris) all around us. I love these trees but as we all know, they are not a good candidate for bonsai. My idea is to take this hinoki and make a miniature version of a tree I see nearly everyday. Here is that tree from a couple different angles:

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As you can see, it is a big, noble looking tree. I love the crown and the huge drop branch.

So, my questions are these: is this a good design direction for this tree? Since hinokis are notoriously slow growers, am I right to stick to a shohin size? What am I not considering here?

Here are some better shots of the hinoki for good measure:

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Thanks for reading and thanks for any feedback.
 

El Duderino

Yamadori
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That is a pretty good rate to acquire all of these since March! Looks like you got bit HARD by the bonsai bug :)

Nice!
No question I was bitten hard. Now I'm trying to figure out how to subsidize my new habit, hence the cloche. My wife has been very supportive but it's clear that her support is wearing thin :D.
 

El Duderino

Yamadori
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Nice start!

I like the fact you opted to work out your horticultural side first…. suspect that soon you will be starting to focus on your root work for some of these trees.

Looking forward to seeing your progress!

cheers
DSD sends
That is a great way to put it. I have had some exposure to growing things in my life, having lived on a farm until I was 8. But I've not ever really grown anything myself until this year other than some basil and rosemary. The upcoming season will definitely be very root focused, getting everything set up for continued development in the right substrate and the right container. Looking forward to sharing.
 

rockm

Spuds Moyogi
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A few words of advice Find a local club, get out to see actual bonsai (like the exhibit at the North Carolina arboretum, or make a trip to D.C. to the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum) make the trip SOON.

Also THINK BIGGER. The smaller the tree, the more room errors and miscare will kill it. LArger trees because they have more leaves, branches, thicker trunks and alot more soil to shield roots are MUCH easier to learn on....
 

El Duderino

Yamadori
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Location
Sandhills of North Carolina
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A few words of advice Find a local club, get out to see actual bonsai (like the exhibit at the North Carolina arboretum, or make a trip to D.C. to the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum) make the trip SOON.

Also THINK BIGGER. The smaller the tree, the more room errors and miscare will kill it. LArger trees because they have more leaves, branches, thicker trunks and alot more soil to shield roots are MUCH easier to learn on....
Thanks for the advice! I have already joined Triangle Bonsai Club, there's just not been much of anything going on so far due to the pandemic. But I'm really looking forward to attending workshops, meeting other members, and gleaning all I can from in person learning.

Can't wait to make trips to the NC Arboretum and the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum in DC. Both are top of my list and I plan to visit in the next few months. I have also been fortunate enough to meet @JoeR through Bnut and he lives ~30 minutes down the road. We have become fast friends, visiting each other's gardens, making nursery trips, and nerding out on plants in general. It's been great to learn from his experience so far and Joe's always generous in answering beginner questions I have.

That's an interesting point about larger trees I'd not thought of before. It's a bit similar to the idea in golf that the handicap on a par 5 is always more difficult because you have more opportunities to hit a bad shot as opposed to easier on a par 3 because there's less room for error. I will certainly take that into consideration as I progress. Thanks again for the feedback and advice!
 
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