Velodog2
Chumono
So here are my interpretations of portulacaria. I like these "trees" because they have no real natural style of their own (as far as I can tell from pics, unless "mess" is a style) so they are a blank canvas. And they respond well to pinching back. I tend to grow them like pines because they can make nice foliage pads.
Here is the mama tree
It was purchased on eBay an unknown number of years ago. I've been waiting to post it up as it's been recovering from spider mites over the winter, and recovery is slow because it needs repotting. So the foliage is not as dense as I would like. The root base is not ideal but I can live with it, and the foliage pads need work, work, work. I like the dry river bed pot from Dale Cochoy with it. Here is a much better quality pic from 2012.
It's mostly been pinch and grow, pinch and grow in the interim with ongoing branch selection.
Here is a small one that was created from the former first branch of the first tree. I like the foliage density here, but the branches need to elongate a bit more to get better pad definition. It would likely look better without the middle half-assed trunk, but I like it for now and will keep working it to see if I can make it work.
Here a completely different tree originally purchased from Meehan's.
This has undergone a number of style changes and had a few large branches removed in the process to get to this point. It is also notable for it being an experiment in how large a cutting can be made from these guys. The nebari was awful initially, so I simply sliced it off of the 1.5" trunk, let it dry for a week, and potted it up like I would with any cutting of this species. I haven't uncovered the new nebari yet, but it obviously survived.
I find that these plants have no aversion to water, as long as a fresh cut is not exposed to it. After drying cuttings I put the base of the them right down against the bottom of a pan with a couple of drainage holes, filled with fine chicken grit, then water well and often. The grit is soggy with water, the roots grow radially and flat against the bottom of the pan, and I have lots of plants to play with as a result. I will wire these up and give them as gifts to non-bonsai people who think they want to try the hobby. They are not valuable, have potential to be nice in the right hands, and have a better chance of surviving than a real tree.
Here is the mama tree
It was purchased on eBay an unknown number of years ago. I've been waiting to post it up as it's been recovering from spider mites over the winter, and recovery is slow because it needs repotting. So the foliage is not as dense as I would like. The root base is not ideal but I can live with it, and the foliage pads need work, work, work. I like the dry river bed pot from Dale Cochoy with it. Here is a much better quality pic from 2012.
It's mostly been pinch and grow, pinch and grow in the interim with ongoing branch selection.
Here is a small one that was created from the former first branch of the first tree. I like the foliage density here, but the branches need to elongate a bit more to get better pad definition. It would likely look better without the middle half-assed trunk, but I like it for now and will keep working it to see if I can make it work.
Here a completely different tree originally purchased from Meehan's.
This has undergone a number of style changes and had a few large branches removed in the process to get to this point. It is also notable for it being an experiment in how large a cutting can be made from these guys. The nebari was awful initially, so I simply sliced it off of the 1.5" trunk, let it dry for a week, and potted it up like I would with any cutting of this species. I haven't uncovered the new nebari yet, but it obviously survived.
I find that these plants have no aversion to water, as long as a fresh cut is not exposed to it. After drying cuttings I put the base of the them right down against the bottom of a pan with a couple of drainage holes, filled with fine chicken grit, then water well and often. The grit is soggy with water, the roots grow radially and flat against the bottom of the pan, and I have lots of plants to play with as a result. I will wire these up and give them as gifts to non-bonsai people who think they want to try the hobby. They are not valuable, have potential to be nice in the right hands, and have a better chance of surviving than a real tree.
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