My first crepe myrtle. And train box

Tulsabonsigh

Shohin
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My first training box with my first crepe myrtle in it. Constructive criticism always welcomeDCC1CE18-D866-4210-B960-DD3CA84BE232.jpeg6723641D-AE0C-4276-B928-033CBF91FBFD.jpeg21C4C643-9E84-4326-B95A-480725590C92.jpeg1BCCDB62-4F0F-423C-8A13-9009A8FFBDB8.jpeg
 

Japonicus

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Cool :cool:
A little late to put good screened drainage holes in, but I would if you didn't.
What size holes did you punch in the bottom? How did you secure the tree?

Wish I could park in my garage. I like the fence in the background shot for the front myself.
Hole progressively tunnels in giving depth perception.
 

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Screwed it to bottom with 1” deck screws.
1/8” holes drilled with drill bit.
 

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Cool :cool:
A little late to put good screened drainage holes in, but I would if you didn't.
What size holes did you punch in the bottom? How did you secure the tree?

Wish I could park in my garage

which side do you like for front??
 

Japonicus

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Screwed it to bottom with 1” deck screws.
1/8” holes drilled with drill bit.
OK I expect this is straight pumice? Hopefully sieved, but over time these 0.125" holes will foul.
Quicker if not sieved, and quicker with akadama, and organics in the soil make up.
I edited the fence side into my 1st reply. Sorry
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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I like this side as front, perhaps rotated 30 degrees clockwise from where it is in the photo.

But you don't have to choose front now, or embrace that your choice for front will change several times as this tree grows out. Most bonsai the "front" changes several times in the "life span" of the bonsai.

68964d71-4927-4ce4-8492-fd1bd22ab5a3-jpeg.285845
 

Japonicus

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Just potted up it's not too late to redo it to avoid headaches down the road.
It appears there are no holes around the perimeter or within 3 or 4" of.

1582934368342.png 1582934440145.png 1582934467371.png
Here's 3 thumbnail of the last box I made. Only 5 drainage holes
but they're large enough not to foul, and the bottom is reinforced
which supports the weight of the bottom longer after the plywood begins to fail/rot.
 

Tulsabonsigh

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OK I expect this is straight pumice? Hopefully sieved, but over time these 0.125" holes will foul.
Quicker if not sieved, and quicker with akadama, and organics in the soil make up.
I edited the fence side into my 1st reply. Sorry

Yeah I should have done bigger holes and a window screen but live and learn. Yeah it’s that Napa floor dry stuff. It’s the cheapest bonsai soil option I’ve found and I’m on a budget.
 

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Great job on that box! A lot to learn! This time next year maybe I’ll rebox it!
 

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Yeah it’s 8822 DE. I’m sure they will fail I completely believe you. Is the DE being alkaline bad for the crepe myrtle?
 

Japonicus

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Yeah it’s 8822 DE. I’m sure they will fail I completely believe you. Is the DE being alkaline bad for the crepe myrtle?
pH of DE is typically 8+ I would say they like what rhododendron or azalea like, but I've never kept any such plants
save for our state flower the rhododendron which loves rich acidic forest soil, but adapt to neutral in landscapes fine.
So I personally don't know from experience what Myrtle likes to call home.
 

KiwiPlantGuy

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Hi,
I have attached a couple of photos of my boxes, copied from others here. Insect mesh (1mm) has been used with all soil sieved to achieve 2-5mm size. Couple of years into this gig and no problems so far.
8B04DB05-6AB8-47DC-8509-B2E3A8A30945.jpegDA46EE0D-3171-4066-B3B9-E2529E2288E2.jpeg
I think you will have to repot this Crape Myrtle now before it grows, or last resort is next Spring. Most trees apart from Swamp Cypress (BC) don’t like poorly drained soils.
Charles
 

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Hi,
I have attached a couple of photos of my boxes, copied from others here. Insect mesh (1mm) has been used with all soil sieved to achieve 2-5mm size. Couple of years into this gig and no problems so far.
View attachment 285856View attachment 285857
I think you will have to repot this Crape Myrtle now before it grows, or last resort is next Spring. Most trees apart from Swamp Cypress (BC) don’t like poorly drained soils.
Charles
These are awesome! Thanks so much. There’s no way my box retains water! I couldn’t build a water tight box if my life depended on it! Yours are way better but I am going to chance my luck on mine being good enough for drainage for this year. My crepe myrtle is exactly show stock to begin with.
 

TN_Jim

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Yeah it’s 8822 DE. I’m sure they will fail I completely believe you. Is the DE being alkaline bad for the crepe myrtle?
May have missed this, but did you wire the tree into the box? If so, when you have the time just water it, prop it, & drill them holes bigger w/o punching through the screen -that’s doable right?

8822. All my CM are in 100% napa and honestly grow too fast with not a single noticeable problem -not saying I recommend this (100%) with other species, or even that it’s best for any tree, but it’s completely fine in my experience/conditions.

Here’s example at different levels, beneath that winter top-dress is all floor dry
1A090640-573F-4F50-970B-FE79BD0B2C55.jpeg
 

Tulsabonsigh

Shohin
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May have missed this, but did you wire the tree into the box? If so, when you have the time just water it, prop it, & drill them holes bigger w/o punching through the screen -that’s doable right?

8822. All my CM are in 100% napa and honestly grow too fast with not a single noticeable problem -not saying I recommend this (100%) with other species, or even that it’s best for any tree, but it’s completely fine in my experience/conditions.

Here’s example at different levels, beneath that winter top-dress is all floor dry
View attachment 285859

awesome!!! Thanks so much! Do you fertilizer them? If so, what? And how soon?
And yes it’s screwed to the bottom board with deck screws
 

TN_Jim

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pH of DE is typically 8+ I would say they like what rhododendron or azalea like, but I've never kept any such plants
save for our state flower the rhododendron which loves rich acidic forest soil, but adapt to neutral in landscapes fine.
So I personally don't know from experience what Myrtle likes to call home.
pH of DE in other forms may be or is ~8. Having come from diatoms this makes sense. The SDS sheet on 8822 (fired/treated(?)) says it’s a pH of 7. Just thoughts, maybe the napa folks break it down to more of a raw/purer silicate form than other products.

007BD155-C12A-473E-B95D-63D0AE7219DC.jpeg
 

Japonicus

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pH of DE in other forms may be or is ~8. Having come from diatoms this makes sense. The SDS sheet on 8822 (fired/treated(?)) says it’s a pH of 7. Just thoughts, maybe the napa folks break it down to more of a raw/purer silicate form than other products.

View attachment 285860
Awesome! Thank you for the clarification. I have 8822 only checked typical DE pH on the net.
 
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