roberthu
Chumono
Thank you. I missed this year’s window then. Just got one from online and it can use some pruning.
Stewartia Monadelpha
- Thread starter Brian Van Fleet
- Start date
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- Tags
- bvf progression stewartia
roberthu
Chumono
Did you make a thread on that JBP?Thanks, I am very happy with how it is coming along. I paid $75.00...wait til you see the $150 JBP I pulled that day too...
I went to Dave's place and I was amazed about the materials and prices... I put down deposit for three trees but I am sure I will be digging way more next spring...
One thing worries me is Dave said the soil is mostly clay and usually very loose. So when the trees are dug out, the soil just fall apart. I am not sure how the JBP especially the big ones are going to handle that. How did yours go?
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
Congrats! Kinda fun place.
No thread on the JBP yet. I actually bare-rooted it, and washed the soil clean off the roots with a hose. It didn’t skip a beat. It’s going strong now, planted in almost 100% lava rock, with a couple approach grafts taking hold. The thing is an absolute monster at 50+” tall, in a 24” wide pot; I have to make it smaller.
roberthu
Chumono
Glad it is doing well for you. This is relieving for sure. The 25+ year JBP he has are absolutely amazing. I am going to get a couple more next spring when I am there digging. Now I need to find some big pots.
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
If I went back, I would probably build cheap wooden boxes to plant them in. They are much bigger potted than they look in the field.
roberthu
Chumono
You are probably right. Wood box is so much cheaper.
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
A little fall color starting to show up...
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
After minimal pruning and just a little wire. Trying to keep this as “natural” as possible, but still need to move the apex a bit to the right. Not bad for 2 growing seasons out of the ground..
. 
PeaceLoveBonsai
Chumono
That looks great Brian! I might have to go out there and pick one up myself!
bwaynef
Masterpiece
I'm really impressed by the development you've been able to get on this tree in such a short time out of the field. Do you foresee needing to edit the lower left branch where it congests with the branch above it? That seems to be the only place where the branches don't get out of each others' way. (It could very well be a depth-perception issue and viewing in person doesn't present it as an issue.)
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
Thanks, that’s the photo. Those branches are on different planes, with the first branch actually behind the one above it. But as branches get crowded, they’ll get pruned.
Here’s a shot with the apex pulled over just a touch to the right.
bwaynef
Masterpiece
Did you pull the leaves or did they drop? Mine's still got every leaf except for on the lowest branch. When I tugged on them they didn't budge and the second leaf that I carefully pulled backwards away from the bud came off w/ a little strip of what passes for bark on Stewartia.
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
Most of them dropped on their own. We went down to 25f, and had high winds that hastened it along. These are just before and after the freeze, before work.
roberthu
Chumono
Any updates? I went to Dave’s place and dug 3 trees out a week 10 days ago: 1 stewwartia, 1 Japanese maple and 1 JBP. Fingers crossed
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
It’s just starting to break bud. Start a thread and show your haul from Dave’s. I’m eager to see what you dug.
My JBP is strong, and I haven’t done much with it yet, except a couple grafts to put branches back in close to the trunk.
atlarsenal
Omono
I went to Dave’s last Wednesday and got a couple of stewartia and cork elm. @Brian Van Fleet do you have yours in kanuma?
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
No, I used akadama and lava last year.
roberthu
Chumono
Yeah I need to do that. Planting that pine by myself almost killed me. That pine probably weighs 75 pounds even without soil... $2 per pound is likely the cheapest price for any JBP.
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
Yep, they’re big and need a ton of work...but cheap for sure. I bare-rooted mine, and hosed out all the Georgia red clay, then planted it in a 24” wide mica pot in straight lava rock. It never missed a beat, and I’m hoping to avoid repotting it for another 3 years!
roberthu
Chumono
Yeah I pretty much did the same thing. Except I couldn't get it done on the same day because by the time I got back, it was already dark and potting up the stewartia and JM took about 4 hours. And I was having pain from kidney stones (went to the ER the following day). I did cover the roots with wet cloth and potted it up the very next morning before 7AM. Hope it survives. It will be a real shame to see this one die. The pot is a Chinese Yixing pot measures 28" long and 20" wide I believe.
So far the buds are still extending slowly and the needles are still hard to the touch. Soil is 8 gallons of Boon mix. Glad I had 2 buckets ready before I dug the tree out.
Didn't look that big in the ground.
Then potted up:
