My Fat Fir

[edprocoat]

When I first seen this post when it was first put up I thought either a bad picture or the tree has suffered from being in the shade as there was some obvious yellowing on portions of the foliage and much more looked kind of listless, not dead but not thriving. Rob I bet that now that you removed so much of the left trunk the energy in that heavy trunk will re-invigorate the thing as it will not have so much to heal and support now.

ed

 

[JudyB]

LOL looks like you're wearing your bathrobe in that pic...
You could be the HH of bonsai! (in which case the title is oddly apropos )

The deadwood looks very good, I hope this does well for you. I totally get why you got this, I think that sometimes it's worth the risk, and to bring a tree back to health is it's own reward sometimes...

 

[M. Frary]

I've never tried a fir myself. ( Because I haven't seen one that caught my eye yet.) Are they like spruce when it comes to wiring. Hard to hold position or does wiring work on them?

 

[october]

When I first seen this post when it was first put up I thought either a bad picture or the tree has suffered from being in the shade as there was some obvious yellowing on portions of the foliage and much more looked kind of listless, not dead but not thriving. Rob I bet that now that you removed so much of the left trunk the energy in that heavy trunk will re-invigorate the thing as it will not have so much to heal and support now.

ed

Hi Ed, yes, I am hoping for the things you said. The black nursery container it was in was split up the side and the roots were completely exposed. The first thing to do was to get it in good soil in a good pot. Since I am not very familiar with this species, I only have little experience to go on as far as assessing the health. Normally with conifers, when the entire tree turns pale, the tree is dead and there is nothing you can do. However, it is tough to say here. It could be because it's winter. It could be because the tree was stressed. It might also be just the color of the tree. Either way, we will know in about 10 weeks.

JudyB
LOL looks like you're wearing your bathrobe in that pic...
You could be the HH of bonsai! (in which case the title is oddly apropos )

The deadwood looks very good, I hope this does well for you. I totally get why you got this, I think that sometimes it's worth the risk, and to bring a tree back to health is it's own reward sometimes...

lol.. Hi Judy, nope, it's a flannel shirt with unbottoned sleeves. Also, what is HH? As far as the health of the tree. The needles are still soft and attached. Once they start to drop, that is most likely the end.

M. Frary
I've never tried a fir myself. ( Because I haven't seen one that caught my eye yet.) Are they like spruce when it comes to wiring. Hard to hold position or does wiring work on them?

Hello M. Frary. From what I understand, they are very similar to spruce. I will be treating it as such. Using the timing and techniques I would use with spruce. I have a feeling that it might present some of the same wiring issues. However, time will tell. There is a lot of things to say as far as styling for this tree. As is, it will be difficult to style because the branches are very long, sparce and have foliage mostly on the ends. It appears there is some back budding going on. With enough back budding, this tree can be an amazing bonsai. Even without it, it will still be pretty good. I am planning on a combination of back budding and using what is there.

Rob

 

[JudyB]

Hugh Heffner baby!!!

 

[october]

Hugh Heffner baby!!!

lol...Thank you for starting my Monday with a laugh. Hold on a second, where are all the bonsai bunnies?

Rob

 

[Dav4]

where are all the bonsai bunnies?

I know they ain't in Georgia.

 

[tom tynan]

Sub-Alpine Fir ie. Abies Lasiocarpa make great bonsai - but not sure if they can survive east of the Rockies longterm. They are an alpine tree, with roots more sensitive than you would think. They do not like our east coast heat and humidity. I have had several and they have not survived - but I hope yours does better....like your overall approach......Good luck...Tom.

 

[october]

Sub-Alpine Fir ie. Abies Lasiocarpa make great bonsai - but not sure if they can survive east of the Rockies longterm. They are an alpine tree, with roots more sensitive than you would think. They do not like our east coast heat and humidity. I have had several and they have not survived - but I hope yours does better....like your overall approach......Good luck...Tom.

Thanks Tom. My area is actually cooler than the surrounding areas. Usually the temperature is 5-10 degress cooler at my house than the surrounding areas/towns. So that might be a good thing in this case.

Rob

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

How did the roots look when you potted it? Lackluster color can often be corrected with iron Rob. I'd keep it in filtered light most of this year. I don't doubt you can nurse it.... you've got one of the greenest thumbs I know. lol

Warmly,

Vic

 

[Vance Wood]

How did the roots look when you potted it? Lackluster color can often be corrected with iron Rob. I'd keep it in filtered light most of this year. I don't doubt you can nurse it.... you've got one of the greenest thumbs I know. lol

Warmly,

Vic

Wonderful to see you posting here again. You have been missed.

 

[october]

How did the roots look when you potted it? Lackluster color can often be corrected with iron Rob. I'd keep it in filtered light most of this year. I don't doubt you can nurse it.... you've got one of the greenest thumbs I know. lol

Warmly,

Vic

Helloooooooooo thereeeeeeee Great to see you back on. I think the roots looked ok. I have not seen the root systems of many firs. I really don't have a comparison. Welcome back and thanks for the green thumb compliment.

Rob

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

The roots are not significantly different from your other conifer roots like hinoki or pine. So if you didn't see anything that jumped out at you, your probably going to be find if you leave it be until next year.

It's a nice piece of stuff to be sure.... and I would not call you a green thumb if it were not true from long association.

V

 

[edprocoat]

Now green oozing out of a cut on your thumb would be a different story altogether...

ed

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

Now green oozing out of a cut on your thumb would be a different story altogether...

ed

lol....... oh ed.

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

Wonderful to see you posting here again. You have been missed.

My dear friend... I have not been resting on my laurels... I promise. I have some fun things I'll be posting soon. I am so glad to see so many familiar faces still in the scene though... that's a true pleasure.

Warmly,

Victrinia

 

[october]

The roots are not significantly different from your other conifer roots like hinoki or pine. So if you didn't see anything that jumped out at you, your probably going to be find if you leave it be until next year.

It's a nice piece of stuff to be sure.... and I would not call you a green thumb if it were not true from long association.

V

Thank you. Like the owner of NE Bonsai says "All we can do is help them along, now the tree will decide". A very profound statement.

Rob

 

[october]

It lived.

Rob

 

[Rose Mary]

Thanks for a followup on the fir, so happy it lived.

Watching with interest as I have a couple firs I collected from the Oregon coast range several years ago that are thriving and ready for some work....
one has a trunk nearly the size of yours and they both have some natural deadwood and survived years of elk pruning and breakage...

Rose
SW Oregon

 

[october]

Thanks for a followup on the fir, so happy it lived.

Watching with interest as I have a couple firs I collected from the Oregon coast range several years ago that are thriving and ready for some work....
one has a trunk nearly the size of yours and they both have some natural deadwood and survived years of elk pruning and breakage...

Rose
SW Oregon

Thanks Rose. From what I see with fir, they grow very slowly. If this one does well, I think the Fall after this one, I might style. So A little over a year. Even then, I will not really cut much if any foliage or branches. I will just wire the branches in place. There are still hurdles to over come here. The tree has very little foliage and it will need to survive through the upcoming winter. If it does that, I think we will be in good shape.

Also, I would love to see the firs you collected. You might want to start a thread about them.

Rob