lieuz
Chumono
I recently visited Meehan's Miniatures in Boonsboro MD and man does this place have a collection of tropical trees. I found this portuclacaria afra hidden between two shefflera arboricolas. It was funny because my original intent for going was to find a few shefflera trees. I studied the p.afra for quite a while, because I wasn't sure if I'd want another p.afra. The price really did sweeten the deal because I thought it was a steal for being $60 bucks. My one reason for not wanting another one was mainly due to the fact the club I belong to don't really see these plants being traditional bonsai material. I want help with it in the future but I definitely get the negative vibe towards p.afras from the more senior members.
I came home with it anyway. I got one member who praised me for putting the time and effort into something weird and strange. So I guess that's a compliment! I'll take it! I placed the tree by my growing window on a turn table and I think for a month I couldn't do anything to it because I wanted it to get acclimated. I have a very bright window and even with the intense brightness, it can't compare to the green house it originally came from. So it did lose a bit of foliage but it wasn't significant. It's a mood swing, it'll get over it. When I noticed the p.afra pushing new growth was when I figured it was time I get working on it.
This is what it looked like after its mood swing subsided and it started pushing new growth. I placed it into a large pot to stabilize it, and in a span of about 3 days, I gave this p.afra its first initial styling. Here is the end result, light and camera action at the ready.
At this point, I'd like to get it into a pot because I'm satisfied with the tree's size and I'm ready to refine the tree. However, after the intense restyling, I decided to take my time before moving to the next phase. I currently don't have any large enough pots that will work with this tree. The good thing is, while I took my time, we had a raffle at the club and for 20 bucks I got 6 pots and one of them seemed to have some potential! I did have another pot but it was very shallow, I would say 1-2 inches at most in depth. I was very concerned that if I had forced this p.afra into the shallow pot, it'd possibly die a slow painful death. But I was assured by the seller and from most growers, this thing can take a beating. I was always trained to take it gradual so IF I were to put it into a shallower pot, it's going to be in the future.
Here is the deep pot I got at the raffle.
Here is the shallow pot I had on hand.
I ultimately ended up with the deeper pot. Last weekend, I prepped the pot and bonsai mix for this tree and I added a bit of orchid small sifted coconut husks into the mix. This is a recipe of 60% of Akadama 25% of pumice, 10% of lava, and 5% of the orchid coconut husks.
Cardinal sin staring right in front of you, crossing roots. I DIDN'T GET RID OF IT. Shame on me...
Wedging the rootball into place, checking the front next.
Checking the front, and wire into place. Note the new growth after a month of waiting. I trimmed the new growth off afterwards.
And here is the p.afra in its new home! I will say, that the eyes will tend to show the slightest of differences in size and yes I do believe this pot may be a bit too big for the tree. I put a lot of patience into this plant/tree/succulent whatever you call it. I really like what came out of it.
Any thoughts and comments are appreciated!
I came home with it anyway. I got one member who praised me for putting the time and effort into something weird and strange. So I guess that's a compliment! I'll take it! I placed the tree by my growing window on a turn table and I think for a month I couldn't do anything to it because I wanted it to get acclimated. I have a very bright window and even with the intense brightness, it can't compare to the green house it originally came from. So it did lose a bit of foliage but it wasn't significant. It's a mood swing, it'll get over it. When I noticed the p.afra pushing new growth was when I figured it was time I get working on it.
This is what it looked like after its mood swing subsided and it started pushing new growth. I placed it into a large pot to stabilize it, and in a span of about 3 days, I gave this p.afra its first initial styling. Here is the end result, light and camera action at the ready.
At this point, I'd like to get it into a pot because I'm satisfied with the tree's size and I'm ready to refine the tree. However, after the intense restyling, I decided to take my time before moving to the next phase. I currently don't have any large enough pots that will work with this tree. The good thing is, while I took my time, we had a raffle at the club and for 20 bucks I got 6 pots and one of them seemed to have some potential! I did have another pot but it was very shallow, I would say 1-2 inches at most in depth. I was very concerned that if I had forced this p.afra into the shallow pot, it'd possibly die a slow painful death. But I was assured by the seller and from most growers, this thing can take a beating. I was always trained to take it gradual so IF I were to put it into a shallower pot, it's going to be in the future.
Here is the deep pot I got at the raffle.
Here is the shallow pot I had on hand.
I ultimately ended up with the deeper pot. Last weekend, I prepped the pot and bonsai mix for this tree and I added a bit of orchid small sifted coconut husks into the mix. This is a recipe of 60% of Akadama 25% of pumice, 10% of lava, and 5% of the orchid coconut husks.
Cardinal sin staring right in front of you, crossing roots. I DIDN'T GET RID OF IT. Shame on me...
Wedging the rootball into place, checking the front next.
Checking the front, and wire into place. Note the new growth after a month of waiting. I trimmed the new growth off afterwards.
And here is the p.afra in its new home! I will say, that the eyes will tend to show the slightest of differences in size and yes I do believe this pot may be a bit too big for the tree. I put a lot of patience into this plant/tree/succulent whatever you call it. I really like what came out of it.
Any thoughts and comments are appreciated!
