The “clearance plant, cheapo” thread

stu929

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Very true, and a good point.
For me these subjects serve as -more or less- a medium to see a challenge, a problem to work at creatively.
Survival is not all that important to me.
+ I would imagine many of plants would benefit from a degree of ‘neglect’ on my part. 😄
I also look at it as cheap material to learn on seeing as how I'm a noob. It also serves as something I wouldn't be as concerned about being aggressive with (cuts/bends etc) Unfortunately the amount of bonsai soil I will need to come up with will quickly get expensive, main reason I'm looking for an affordable alternative.
 

Eckhoffw

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I also look at it as cheap material to learn on seeing as how I'm a noob. It also serves as something I wouldn't be as concerned about being aggressive with (cuts/bends etc) Unfortunately the amount of bonsai soil I will need to come up with will quickly get expensive, main reason I'm looking for an affordable alternative.
Yep. Soil. If/when these cheapos get to repot time, they get my cheapo DE, calcined clay, & perlite mix. + tweaks. Very affordable.
 

stu929

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Yep. Soil. If/when these cheapos get to repot time, they get my cheapo DE, calcined clay, & perlite mix. + tweaks. Very affordable.
I got a bunch of pumice from black Friday sale. I still need to get DE to try.
 

Eckhoffw

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I got a bunch of pumice from black Friday sale. I still need to get DE to try.
Pumice is great! Always in the market for cheap pumice.
DE is good ..... for the price.
 

stu929

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Pumice is great! Always in the market for cheap pumice.
DE is good ..... for the price.
Amazon had it for a great price but could only get 3 bags. I know it sound silly but I need to find something else to mix in color wise 😜 and I need to find a good affordable sifter for the three bags I got
 

canoeguide

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My recent cheap find was this fat DAS for $19. Somehow it actually has good taper (only ~20" tall), a single trunk, and a nice base right at the soil line. The roots are probably a disaster in this small pot, so I foresee a year or more just getting it into a box or flat with good soil. It's not the best species but it passed the "only buy material that you can see a vision for" test.
 

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Eckhoffw

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My recent cheap find was this fat DAS for $19. Somehow it actually has good taper (only ~20" tall), a single trunk, and a nice base right at the soil line. The roots are probably a disaster in this small pot, so I foresee a year or more just getting it into a box or flat with good soil. It's not the best species but it passed the "only buy material that you can see a vision for" test.
Wow. 😳 Thats a sweet deal!
I would take that home any day!
That trunk is almost as big as the one on our 60$ Christmas tree!
 

Eckhoffw

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Eckhoffw

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Went in to Menards to get some drywall compound. Well... I got that..... and this. Marked down bonsai.
I looked at the tag to decipher what species it was. It said 6”bonsai. Ok.
I believe it to be a tiger bark ficus?
Anyways, here it be. 3751BE1F-88F7-4AF2-A0B6-AD147854ABE0.jpeg
I later found that it had a pot on the pot. 0A6D4A12-1E02-4581-8734-C55207CEA92F.jpeg
a quick repot and some bends. 808BE5D4-4514-4C6F-9317-F5FF0C431AA8.jpegF5E01D31-103A-4B2E-B2A0-6E62A87717A6.jpeg760D9259-61CD-47E5-8592-6DE47CB1CE7A.jpegC31FC44B-381D-4897-B0E5-98F0A043A439.jpegA10C9060-4DCD-43DA-9602-21B18A216671.jpegAC45042B-5664-46F2-8C64-0DD8717DE8FD.jpeg
Very fun. I hope it lives. Save big money.
 

Underdog

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IMG_20200101_122201574.jpgIMG_20201025_141116514_TOP.jpgIMG_20200101_173122137.jpgEverything I posted in the "A lot can happen in 5yrs" Thread was free or bartered material from 2016. I do have a friend/customer in the landscape biz with a greenhouse and growing fields full of trees. Going to scout those fields when the snow melts.
I repeatedly promise myself to step away from the nursery cans and a collect/buy better material.
I splurged 91 cents for this Alberta for the Lil Christmas Tree contest.
 

Eckhoffw

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Took my fist trip to the nursery this year.
really wanted to take home one of these,
6D531E62-AF13-490B-BB21-C1E013E43435.jpeg09D64758-D493-4669-AAC5-178D415604E1.jpeg
but couldn’t throw down 140$ today.
Instead I picked up this clearance ninebark. For 8$.
I guess it’s my 3rd Ninebark now.
As purchased. 80C46556-29CB-4345-AB76-72FED708B5CE.jpegA047652E-498A-4DED-AFE9-C2223C67B2C8.jpeg
 

Eckhoffw

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Put this Ninebark - I believe it is the Darts gold variety- not sure though. I did a pretty conservative root prune/ root ball reduction and put it in this wood box.3F5F6BB5-7B14-41DB-8A8A-9882230C5F75.jpeg5DF8109E-A1D5-4EC4-940F-DC2CC5F5FC4F.jpeg92775B16-3B3B-4402-82CC-C350232DF278.jpegE82A3890-9E8A-4CED-8CAB-A426554A806F.jpeg5B406686-3C20-41C4-954C-1D578232B33A.jpeg
Used calcined clay, red cedar mulch, perlite,+ some original soil.
If it thrives, I plan on cutting it back much harder later down the road. 😁
 

Cadillactaste

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Flowering quince from landscape stock. It's about finding the gem in among so many at the nursery. One told me once... Any species can become bonsai, not all should. I will never forget those words it helped me to be more selective...meaning leaving empty handed most times.
20210416_115433.jpg
 

Eckhoffw

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I think it’s slipping away. 0AF1B3C8-D75D-489D-8E55-F4535ABA75C2.jpeg40AADB42-B37E-4792-A753-137426A8D9BE.jpeg
From the top it looks better. 84AF6A60-0006-4CC4-8E56-A55641A125E8.jpeg
we will see. 🤷‍♂️
 
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