Show Us Your Bonsai Benches

CWTurner

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Okay, this one is actually a bench so it agrees with the title, this time.
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A couple pieces of granite scrounged from the cemetery dump pile and 10 minutes with a chainsaw. I wish the bark would stay on but it's already peeling off.
CW
 

AZbonsai

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Added 32 square feet of bench space today. Put some of my heavyweights on it. Nice to get them up a bit higher. They have some storage space underneath as well.
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SU2

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@AZbonsai nice stuff man!! What kind of ficus is that on the left in pic#2? Almost looks like a ficus b that was trunk chopped, though as far as I know they don't tolerate that...great stuff throughout man thanks for posting!!

[edit- the link in your sig goes to a dead landing page]
 

AZbonsai

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Thanks @SU2 that ficus was about 7 feet tall. I chopped it and Sam Aidena (sp?) took it a little lower! Growing back really nicely. I have been giving it free reign to rebuild strength. Thanks about the link headsup! That is @milehigh_7 online venture. I think he is doing some work on it.
 
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SU2

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Thanks @SU2 that ficus was about 7 feet tall. I chopped it and Sam Aidena (sp?) took it a little lower! Growing back really nicely. I have been giving it free reign to rebuild strength. Thanks about the link headsup! That is @milehigh_7 online venture. I think he is doing some work on it.
Niccce!! How long would you give something like that free reign? During that time do you do *anything*? I so commonly hear it said "don't touch it" while at the same time see people going and actively removing un-wanted branches, positioning wanted branches etc etc, I manipulate developing-canopies (most of my trees were stumps at the start) in many cases though I think I'm pretty conservative about it, in fact I just grew-out two BC's to bushes before realizing I was late to prune-off unwanted branches and am now playing catch-up with pruning!

Very very cool to hear about MH's venture, will be keeping an eye out for sure!!
 

SU2

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Still? GRRR well I'm about done with inventory so I will take some web dev into my own hands...

Do you have an off-site web developer managing it for you? Good luck with that, if you're able to get it in your own hands you'll probably be better off (provided you're proficient of course), I was surprised how easy it was to setup a server for a site using free software and just paying for domain name services! Can't wait to check it out, have been browsing places for a while in hopes of finding the perfect specimen that I can't find/collect in my area!!
 

AZbonsai

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!! How long would you give something like that free reign?
Much more time than 99.9% of people on this site I am sure :) Almost 2 years. I am just not in a big hurry and do not feel the need to push the trees to the brink. I pretty much leave them alone!
 

milehigh_7

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Do you have an off-site web developer managing it for you? Good luck with that, if you're able to get it in your own hands you'll probably be better off (provided you're proficient of course), I was surprised how easy it was to setup a server for a site using free software and just paying for domain name services! Can't wait to check it out, have been browsing places for a while in hopes of finding the perfect specimen that I can't find/collect in my area!!

I don't deal much in specimen trees. Surprisingly low return on investment. In whatever I do I have a few SOPs 1) keep debt low, 2) high ROI, 2) fast inventory turnover.

First, my life is so chaotic that I never have time to dig/develop really nice things. Second it would be pretty risky to have a bunch of valuable trees with my current growing environment. I am currently trying to get ready for the real blast furnace that is coming in a week or 2.
 
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SU2

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Much more time than 99.9% of people on this site I am sure :) Almost 2 years. I am just not in a big hurry and do not feel the need to push the trees to the brink. I pretty much leave them alone!

Good stuff :) During those 2yrs I'm sure you do minor interventions, am curious what though like if you're removing obviously-unnecessary branches, or wiring here&there, or pruning something that's taking-off at a disproportionate rate, etc etc?(or, 'all of the above'?) Am interpreting your approach as basically letting the primaries grow 2yrs w/o being hard-pruned back (and taking care of the aforementioned issues so you aren't left w/ crappy primaries, or way too-many primaries, etc!) Sorry for grilling you for specifics lol it's just that I'm in a similar position with some specimen (though I won't be waiting 2yrs, I am pushing them and they're fast-growers) so curious how you go about it! With bougies' developing branches I'm constantly manipulating them upward, with crapes' branches I'm often guy-wiring them downward, in either instance I'm trying to picture how it'd come out if just left alone, the new primaries could be rubbing/crossing and all other sorts of undesirable things...in fact with material I am controlling I still occasionally run into issues where two primaries are getting too-close (situations where I can't just remove one, due to them being from different veins and being the only or predominant growth on that vein)
 

SU2

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I don't deal much in specimen trees. Surprisingly low return on investment. In whatever I do I have a few SOPs 1) keep debt low, 2) high ROI, 2) fast inventory turnover.

First, my life is so chaotic that I never have time to dig/develop really nice things. Second it would be pretty risky to have a bunch of valuable trees with my current growing environment. I am currently trying to get ready for the real blast furnace that is coming in a week or 2.
So you'd be selling stock/pre-bonsai then right? Honestly that's all I'd really be interested in, I like the idea of developing the style/direction of something myself :) Gotta say I'm not surprised at the low return on investment, considering how much time & effort goes into a tree over such a long period! I was blown-away when I saw what people asked for certain materials though, for instance this site with >$1k bougies that are hardly developed, though I found that site a while ago and it still seems to have all the same specimen trees available so that'd blow requisite #3 out of the water!!

(and...blast furnace? What do you do? Good luck on receipt&installation!!)
 

AZbonsai

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and taking care of the aforementioned issues so you aren't left w/ crappy primaries, or way too-many primaries, etc
Spot on.
I do try to keep the canopies open to promote healthy interior growth. I have to be careful in the summer time here especially with this ficus. It sits out in full sun so if I trim to much the leaves under burn to a crisp.
Heat advisory here today going to be a hot one!
 
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Stormwater

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Spot on.
I do try to keep the canopies open to promote healthy interior growth. I have to be careful in the summer time here especially with this ficus. It sits out in full sun so if I trim to much the leaves under burn to a crisp.
Heat advisory here today going to be a hot one!
Benches people, benches. I’d share mine, but you’ve all seen the ground.
 

W3rk

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Soon to be benches. Scored this undersized pallet at work. The cool thing is it has 2 supporting beams off center of the middle, perfect for cutting right down the middle for 2 ready to go bench tops. Just need to assemble/attach legs.

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