P. afra Newbie

[Impatient_growth11]

Hello Everyone!

I recently obtained a little P. afra pre-bonsai from an online shop. I have attached pictures of all angles. I'm having difficulty on what to decide to do with it. I'm hoping for a nice formal upright style, but I think on of those first branches are going to have to go. Any advice before I make any cuts? Thank you!

 

[Michael P]

I agree, but you might want to wait until the trunk thickens more. Is the rest of the trunk straight enough for a formal upright?

You probably already know this, but every pruned branch will root, no matter how small. If you want, you can have many cuttings to work on.

 

[just.wing.it]

Little Spekboom... then and now.

Little Spekboom 2015: Little Spekboom 2016: Little Spekboom Today:

www.bonsainut.com

I started with a similar, but honestly more lame specimen.
Formal upright may be an option for the distant future. The first thing I did was to remove bar branches...where there are 3 from a single node.
I would also repot it into a drier soil mix.
I use lava and pumice....but any succulent mix will probably hold less water than what its currently living in.

They like it on the dry side, water carefully.....too wet can rot them to death.

Picture of mine from yesterday.

 

[AZ Newb]

One lesson I learned the hard way is to NOT cut any branches flush with the trunk. Here’s some results of my flush cuts:

 

[just.wing.it]

One lesson I learned the hard way is to NOT cut any branches flush with the trunk. Here’s some results of my flush cuts:

That's a good point.
I always leave a stub. The stub will dry out and then you can usually break it off by hand pretty easily.

 

[canoeguide]

As others have said, look at every junction where branches exit the trunk, or where branches divide -- you'll want to limit the number at any junction to two and remove the other(s). But which do you remove? Critically study the junctions with 3 or more and picture it with each removed and how that will make the tree look. Removing the extras is the first step that will make this look instantly less like a bush or a houseplant.

Now, with the extra branches out of the way and the structure improved, if you desire a thicker trunk, there is no substitute for letting this grow wild and chopping it back hard 2 or 3 times a year. You want it to get crazy long shoots and look out of control before pruning it back. If you keep it pruned tightly so that it looks like a perfect little tree year-round, it will thicken and develop much, much slower.

Here's one of mine in development showing what I mean by letting it grow: https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/p-afra-hasnt-grown-much.50638/#post-874386 The second picture there is right before it was pruned back hard to look almost like the first photo again (except thicker, and with more branch selection and development).

 

[It's Kev]

they're native to Africa, if you don't cut them at all they will shape themselves like their home continent, that's what mine did at least

 

[Potawatomi13]

Now, with the extra branches out of the way and the structure improved, if you desire a thicker trunk, there is no substitute for letting this grow wild and chopping it back hard 2 or 3 times a year. You want it to get crazy long shoots and look out of control before pruning it back.

As a succulent crazy long shoots will not happen even once a year if talking about even 1' (or longer). Advice is good except this growth takes much longer in personal experience.

 

[Fidur]

My personal experience is that this is all weather related. I took a piece of a neighbours P. afra 2 months ago.
Repoted it and this is how it looks today (all the growth is new)

 

[canoeguide]

As a succulent crazy long shoots will not happen even once a year if talking about even 1' (or longer). Advice is good except this growth takes much longer in personal experience.

I get two large growth cycles a year in 6a, Pennsylvania. This ain't Florida, but it's doable, even without supplemental lighting in winter - I don't use any. I wonder what factors are preventing others from seeing such growth?

P. Afra hasn't grown much

My P. afra hasn't grown very much in a year. Could it be a lack of food? I kept forgetting to feed it when I had it inside over the winter, and now it keeps raining and I don't want to add more water. Should I buy a dry fertilizer? This is how it has progressed over the past year. Last fall I...

www.bonsainut.com

 

[Forsoothe!]

Gladzookes, I hate chopping, especially on species that don't hide stumps well. Just applying the standard pruning regime can make these into nice little trees, like these two in a few years...



I also hate addressing growth at any level above "normal" in the conditions where the tree is. If you want better growth, go live in the tropics where the growing season is long. Goosing growth always shows up as unrefined form, the Anti-Bonsai. People who are impatient should take up basketball or hockey.

 

[just.wing.it]

Both of mine grow non stop year round, basically. Maybe a slight break sometime during winter, but I keep them at a constant 60f, with bright lights for 16 hours /day over winter.....so they grow for me.

 

[Eckhoffw]

they're native to Africa, if you don't cut them at all they will shape themselves like their home continent, that's what mine did at least
View attachment 385960

Will you continue to prune to shape/fill in the orange?

 

[It's Kev]

Will you continue to prune to shape/fill in the orange?

yeh, may the force be with me to fill in that Madagascar bit