This desert plant has many regional names, the most common name around here is 'smoke tree' but apparently there's a European species called 'smoke tree' that came up when I did searches, so to avoid confusion, I'm calling it a smoke thorn, which honestly sounds cooler. It grows in sandy washes and sends a huge taproot down to anchor itself and draw water year round. They also look bare like this most of the year, leafing out only for a brief time in spring. But they photosynthesize through their young green stems even when bare.
This one is um ... small. Not even the width of a pencil. But that's what they sent me. *shrug* I hope it puts on some trunk girth fast. At least the limbs are still soft and reposition-able.
Now the question is, when and how to work on it? I don't know what they like/hate as I couldn't find any on the web that have been bonsai-ed. It's getting ready to sprout flowers/leaves for the Spring. I assume that's what these orange nodes are:
So I should probably wait to wire it until after it drops its leaves this summer, but should I work the roots while it's 'active', or wait until Fall/Winter after the heat of summer passes and it's getting ready to wake up again? Lots of questions with unknown answers. It's going to be a curious journey--assuming I don't kill within the year....
This one is um ... small. Not even the width of a pencil. But that's what they sent me. *shrug* I hope it puts on some trunk girth fast. At least the limbs are still soft and reposition-able.
Now the question is, when and how to work on it? I don't know what they like/hate as I couldn't find any on the web that have been bonsai-ed. It's getting ready to sprout flowers/leaves for the Spring. I assume that's what these orange nodes are:
So I should probably wait to wire it until after it drops its leaves this summer, but should I work the roots while it's 'active', or wait until Fall/Winter after the heat of summer passes and it's getting ready to wake up again? Lots of questions with unknown answers. It's going to be a curious journey--assuming I don't kill within the year....