Proposal: CE Mallsai / Cheap as chips Contest

[El Duderino]

No problem. I bought it from Brussel's on Amazon. Here is the link: Brussel's Live Chinese Elm Outdoor Bonsai Tree - 5 Years Old; 6" to 8" Tall with Decorative Container. They have small, medium, and extra large available. So make sure you have the right size selected. Mine was ~$28 for the small size. Let me know if this link doesn't work for some reason. Good luck.

 

[Katie0317]

No problem. I bought it from Brussel's on Amazon. Here is the link: Brussel's Live Chinese Elm Outdoor Bonsai Tree - 5 Years Old; 6" to 8" Tall with Decorative Container. They have small, medium, and extra large available. So make sure you have the right size selected. Mine was ~$28 for the small size. Let me know if this link doesn't work for some reason. Good luck.

Thank you. I'm thinking of it for the cheap as chips contest...Just for fun and to experiment with. I like that you got a straight trunk. I just bought one at a bonsai nursery with an S shaped trunk so would like to try the straight trunk. Thanks again,Katie

 

[El Duderino]

Thanks for reminding me about this contest @Katie0317! It's been a month since I got my little tree. I trimmed it the day I got it and have been letting it grow out since. Man, these things grow fast! Here's the tree on 8/4:



The plan is to repot this in March. When I do, I will get the roots completely flat and screw the trunk onto a little cedar board and plant in an Anderson flat. My end goal is to have a formal broom with great nebari. I wonder if I can cut the tree back hard at the same time I repot. This would help me to sort the branches out before the thing grows wildly out of control next year. Would love anyone's thoughts on whether or not this is advisable. Thanks for reading!

 

[Katie0317]

It looks really healthy! Did you repot it or leave it what I'm guessing is dirt? What are you feeding it?

I didn't know what an Anderson flat was and I found this on another bonsai forum, (I didn't know there was another bonsai forum)...Anyway, this may or may not be interesting to you. https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/locating-an-anderson-flat/3922

 

[BobbyLane]

20 euro ulmus, first pic when bought april 2021 , second pic after some work, oh and btw it came in a traditional tiny blue glazed pot.
View attachment 390560View attachment 390559a

good start with the nebari on this one. well picked

 

[El Duderino]

It looks really healthy! Did you repot it or leave it what I'm guessing is dirt? What are you feeding it?

I didn't know what an Anderson flat was and I found this on another bonsai forum, (I didn't know there was another bonsai forum)...Anyway, this may or may not be interesting to you. https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/locating-an-anderson-flat/3922

I didn't repot because I bought it in July. The soil is okay but there's a good bit of potting soil in there. The moss is from my yard. There were a bunch of exposed fibrous surface roots that I needed to protect. Will probably add some to the other side as well to cover the unseemly wire.

The Anderson flat is well known on this forum. It's a training container suited well for bonsai development as the entire bottom allows drainage and it is wide and shallow. But they are expensive to ship and really only good if you buy many at once. I have one and hope to buy a bunch off of @JoeR before late winter (if he can find them ). If you just search the term on this site, you'll easily find an image. A google search can lead you to a reputable supplier.

Oh, yeah, I fertilize most of my trees with Osmocote plus. It's a good high nitrogen fertilizer you can get at any big box garden center. Hope this helps.

 

[TinyArt]

Thank you. I'm thinking of it for the cheap as chips contest...Just for fun and to experiment with. I like that you got a straight trunk. I just bought one at a bonsai nursery with an S shaped trunk so would like to try the straight trunk. Thanks again,Katie

Just be aware that the styles may vary -- it's the luck of the draw when you order from Amazon, so you might get either.

 

[ConorDash]

Just be aware that the styles may vary -- it's the luck of the draw when you order from Amazon, so you might get either.

Part of the fun right, luck of the draw .

Yeah sod it, more the merrier. If you have a piece of material which is alike these, matching other criteria posted in previous pages, all good. Can start work after the start date stated.

Ill have to go buy 1 or 2 myself.

I think the main part of this is working with what you have. Seeing what can be done over a number of years, with usually bad material with little potential. Also collaboration. If in 2 years time, its going badly; why not post here and say that? You should have a number of other people in similar or exact same situations and they may have deal with it better, and you can, for lack of a better word "copy" them. Even if it you consider this cheating or it was not all "your work", you learn something.

 

[TinyArt]

@Chinese Elm come on in, the water's fine!

 

[Maiden69]

Well, I ordered a tree from the Amazon link. Ordered a Chinese elm, since I don't have a regular elm among my trees. I do have a Seiju that was bought December last year from Brent. I wanted the Dawn Redwood but they only have the XL size... which is way out the $60 limit per tree.

 

[Njyamadori]

I made a thread called “ Possibly a Connifer/Deciduous Shohin Contest from Seedlings” that is talking about starting a contest where people make Shohin from Seedlings !

 

[JoeR]

I didn't repot because I bought it in July. The soil is okay but there's a good bit of potting soil in there. The moss is from my yard. There were a bunch of exposed fibrous surface roots that I needed to protect. Will probably add some to the other side as well to cover the unseemly wire.

The Anderson flat is well known on this forum. It's a training container suited well for bonsai development as the entire bottom allows drainage and it is wide and shallow. But they are expensive to ship and really only good if you buy many at once. I have one and hope to buy a bunch off of @JoeR before late winter (if he can find them ). If you just search the term on this site, you'll easily find an image. A google search can lead you to a reputable supplier.

Oh, yeah, I fertilize most of my trees with Osmocote plus. It's a good high nitrogen fertilizer you can get at any big box garden center. Hope this helps.

I have at least 30, and they come in these big ol tall boxes, yet I still managed to misplace them

 

[Maiden69]

Got the tree yesterday, what a challenge! After seeing most trees received here I was expecting something slightly straight. But the tree is in the excessive "S" shape. around 5 sharp curves with all the ramification going front and back instead of to the sides. I think the one that started that tree at Brussels was high or just a new guy. You can tell where branches were cut that were growing on the right location... it is pushing a new flush of leaves now as I think they continually prune them close to the box size for quick turn arounds.

It is also pot bound... as no water percolates down the bottom, but slowly drips out. I don't think I can bareroot this now, but I am going to try to take it out of the pot, tease out the outer roots and repot. The soil they use is a combination of what looks like pumice, lava and peat.

I took some pictures but after looking at them now they are too dark to see what's going on. I'll post some later when I get home.

 

[leatherback]

think the one that started that tree at Brussels

thats the point, which I also made somewhere else. these trees are not made because of art or skill. Some poor sap in china whips these up by the thousands. after a year or two on a field the top is cut. a new cutting to put in the ground. Plant in a pot and off to the rest of the world as a valueless consumption good. No aim to amount to more than a junk corner in your local hardware store.

It was not produced at brussels, being the main point

 

[TinyArt]

Got the tree yesterday, what a challenge! After seeing most trees received here I was expecting something slightly straight. But the tree is in the excessive "S" shape. around 5 sharp curves with all the ramification going front and back instead of to the sides. I think the one that started that tree at Brussels was high or just a new guy. You can tell where branches were cut that were growing on the right location... it is pushing a new flush of leaves now as I think they continually prune them close to the box size for quick turn arounds.

It is also pot bound... as no water percolates down the bottom, but slowly drips out. I don't think I can bareroot this now, but I am going to try to take it out of the pot, tease out the outer roots and repot. The soil they use is a combination of what looks like pumice, lava and peat.

I took some pictures but after looking at them now they are too dark to see what's going on. I'll post some later when I get home.

I may be jealous, we'll see ...because it sounds like a raft candidate

 

[Eckhoffw]

Do you mind sharing the Amazon site your bought this tree from? I don't see a site with trees like this. Thank you, Katie

Think this would work. https://www.amazon.com/Brussels-Bon...nsai&qid=1629470342&sprefix=brussels+&sr=8-18
No blue pot though

 

[Maiden69]

I may be jealous, we'll see ...because it sounds like a raft candidate

Not at all... think about it as an "S" with random sticks going front and back.

It was not produced at brussels, being the main point

Well, the entire point of the contest is using a "mallsai", and here in the SA area there are not that many places that sell them other than HD and Lowes. The ficus I have was from Lowes, only had 2 curves which I liked. I wish there was a place I could go and look at a few trees to pick from for $25. If it wasn't a mallsai thing I would had just ordered a Chinese Elm from a nursery and chop/air-layer what I needed.

 

[El Duderino]

Not at all... think about it as an "S" with random sticks going front and back.


Well, the entire point of the contest is using a "mallsai", and here in the SA area there are not that many places that sell them other than HD and Lowes. The ficus I have was from Lowes, only had 2 curves which I liked. I wish there was a place I could go and look at a few trees to pick from for $25. If it wasn't a mallsai thing I would had just ordered a Chinese Elm from a nursery and chop/air-layer what I needed.

Here is a link to the $27 one on Amazon. If you notice, they also have a medium size. Hope this helps: Small Chinese Elm for Sale.

 

[Apex37]

Think this would work. https://www.amazon.com/Brussels-Bonsai-Live-Chinese-Elm/dp/B07GK4BKDC/ref=mp_s_a_1_18?dchild=1&keywords=brussel's+bonsai&qid=1629470342&sprefix=brussels+&sr=8-18
No blue pot though

I'm ordering a medium one of these today, hopefully get it here in a couple days. From the pictures in the reviews, they look pretty nice starting out. Looks like with these more money goes into the tree, rather than the blue pot.

 

[Maiden69]

they have a 2 day UPS delivery... I don't know if they would deliver Sunday, so the tree may spend the weekend in a warehouse