What do I do with this Crimson Queen?

Cajunrider

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
6,540
Reaction score
12,894
Location
Louisiana
USDA Zone
9A
I picked up this JM on a lark this afternoon. It's 6 ft tall and 1 inch trunk at the base. What's next?

I was thinking about putting it a grow box and chop it next year if it is too late to chop this year. Either that or air layer it.

20190319_182250.jpg20190319_182258.jpg
 
Last edited:

Cajunrider

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
6,540
Reaction score
12,894
Location
Louisiana
USDA Zone
9A
On a more careful look, like all nursery JM, there is a graft pretty high up. So it appears I will have to air layer to get the Crimson Queen above. There is no telling what the root base is. After getting the top I will put the base on a board and develop the nebari.
 

cbroad

Omono
Messages
1,685
Reaction score
1,970
Location
Richmond, VA
USDA Zone
7a
You are much better off with what you have, but it sucks you were lied to; maybe they were misinformed?
 

Cajunrider

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
6,540
Reaction score
12,894
Location
Louisiana
USDA Zone
9A
You are much better off with what you have, but it sucks you were lied to; maybe they were misinformed?
Perhaps they were misinformed. Normally I would look things up before I buy but this was an impulse one. Oh well. It's not much money and I have another thing to play with.
 

Smoke

Ignore-Amus
Messages
11,668
Reaction score
20,724
Location
Fresno, CA
USDA Zone
9
I now know your an old guy, like me. I also know that you are more recent to the bonsai game.

I also know you don't take kindly being talked to with any kind of authority, so I will word this as delicately as this old guy can.

Lately, no for most of my time on forums, (22years) I see these threads come up with people going out and buying material which I can only speculate is going to be for bonsai ( or why post it here), and then ask the forum to figure out what to do with it.

Do you purchase homes like this?
Did you choose your mate like this?
Do you purchase cars like this?

Why not lay down the cheddar for something already heading in the bonsai direction? This yard tree is not the way to start. There are any number of good reputable bonsai sellers that have really good stuff to really head you down a better path.

Just wondering what goes thru the head of some people.
 

Cajunrider

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
6,540
Reaction score
12,894
Location
Louisiana
USDA Zone
9A
Not to worry. You got lucky!
Is it dissectum or palmate?
Maybe you just got a mis-marked root stock - now that would be great!
It is palmate to me. There aren't the deep cuts of the dissectum.
 

Cajunrider

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
6,540
Reaction score
12,894
Location
Louisiana
USDA Zone
9A
I now know your an old guy, like me. I also know that you are more recent to the bonsai game.

I also know you don't take kindly being talked to with any kind of authority, so I will word this as delicately as this old guy can.

Lately, no for most of my time on forums, (22years) I see these threads come up with people going out and buying material which I can only speculate is going to be for bonsai ( or why post it here), and then ask the forum to figure out what to do with it.

Do you purchase homes like this?
Did you choose your mate like this?
Do you purchase cars like this?

Why not lay down the cheddar for something already heading in the bonsai direction? This yard tree is not the way to start. There are any number of good reputable bonsai sellers that have really good stuff to really head you down a better path.

Just wondering what goes thru the head of some people.
I'm ok with being spoken to with authority. I dish that out daily so I learn to take it as well.

I approach life with a serious side where everything is researched and analyzed. The majority of my making a living is on being the analyst and the innovator in my field.

Then there is a part of my life where I allow myself to let off some steam, to go wherever things may. I plan to have a few serious bonsai soon. Until those arrive, trees like this are just for me to toy with plant material to see how far I can push things. Tinker toys they are to me.

Same things go with cars and houses. I've got serious cars that are well cared for and a beater truck that I want to see how far I can push it. I've got a home and then a camp to tinker.

I've read many of your posts and have seen some innovative approach to bonsai development. You are pushing the envelope but then tell others to stay conventional in the learning approach. Why? My goal in bonsai is not to reach bonsai master status or to have great bonsai. It is to put a smile on my face when I see my trees. Laughing at my self is also good.
 
Last edited:

Forsoothe!

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
6,878
Reaction score
9,248
Location
Michigan
USDA Zone
6b
There are as many kinds of bonsai as there are kinds of people. In America, anyway. People who are newer to the sport see the price tags of pre-bonsai but fail to see the correlation between the number of years someone, ~a skilled someone, has had to trim and re-trim stock to keep it small and compact through field and bench growing to arrive at a better candidate size. When you're young and anxious to get to work and in the frame of mind to, "do it my way", and are short on cash, the landscaper's stock looks pretty good. Collecting large stock, as differentiated from yamadori, where it will take forever to hide scars of stubs 2" in diameter is part and parcel of that kind of thinking. When you're older and have less time left and more money, paying someone else to do the preliminaries so you can get down to business with a really good candidate is the order of the day. But not always. When you get really old, you want something you can pick up without your grandchildren carrying it around for you. Then you can buy young landscaper's stock in good conscience because you're making small trees. Mame if you're tethered to home, or just small if you have a life and occasionally go away for a long weekend.
 

0soyoung

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
7,496
Reaction score
12,832
Location
Anacortes, WA (AHS heat zone 1)
USDA Zone
8b
My goal in bonsai is not to reach bonsai master status or to have great bonsai. It is to put a smile on my face when I see my trees. Laughing at my self is also good.
Bravo!
There may be a reason to like you after all. :D

It is clear that you're most interested in the adventure.
???

It is palmate to me. There aren't the deep cuts of the dissectum.
Excellent stuff for adventuring. Grows vigorously, air layers easily. Maybe the very best acer palmatum for bonsai-ish purposes if your climate is right for it. Mine happens to be. @Gustavo Martins grows them in zone 11, so maybe ...
 

Smoke

Ignore-Amus
Messages
11,668
Reaction score
20,724
Location
Fresno, CA
USDA Zone
9
My goal in bonsai is not to reach bonsai master status or to have great bonsai. It is to put a smile on my face when I see my trees. Laughing at my self is also good.

To put it another way, when you take your pistol out to shoot, your happy with hitting the target once and a while rather than becoming a marksman? Would that be a fair statement?

If that is your goal why do you come to a BONSAI forum and share your trees? If the goal is you alone why share stuff that has little future in your life and expect the forum to design it for you?
 

Colorado

Masterpiece
Messages
3,106
Reaction score
8,231
Location
Golden, Colorado
USDA Zone
5b
To put it another way, when you take your pistol out to shoot, your happy with hitting the target once and a while rather than becoming a marksman? Would that be a fair statement?

If that is your goal why do you come to a BONSAI forum and share your trees? If the goal is you alone why share stuff that has little future in your life and expect the forum to design it for you?

I’m just impressed that you can reach the keyboard, from way up there on your high horse.

??
 

Adair M

Pinus Envy
Messages
14,402
Reaction score
34,874
Location
NEGeorgia
USDA Zone
7a
To put it another way, when you take your pistol out to shoot, your happy with hitting the target once and a while rather than becoming a marksman? Would that be a fair statement?

If that is your goal why do you come to a BONSAI forum and share your trees? If the goal is you alone why share stuff that has little future in your life and expect the forum to design it for you?
Smoke, you and I disagree on some things, but we both agree that starting with good stock is one of the keys to success in bonsai. Unfortunately, for those new to the hobby, developing an eye for good material requires experience. So, it’s a Catch-22, isn’t it?

I agree with your advice to pay for stock that has been started with bonsai as the ultimate goal, rather than landscape material.
 
Top Bottom