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Fri, Jan 18, 08 at 19:30
| Lucy (and all):
Some time ago I posted a design question regarding a young bougainvilla with an odd branch that curls. I will begin my considerations for pruning this year (it may be fall before I act) but the curly branch is a puzzlement. I'd hate to lose such a distinctive feature yet it falls completely outside conventional design. I've posted a picture on the gallery. Your thoughts are appreciated. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Hi Lilly, I do remember, but never saw the picture then. I wonder if you have thought about where you want to go with the whole thing. By the way, if those pebbles are a glued-on layer, they should have been removed (pried off) the day you brought the tree home - makes it very hard to judge dryness, encourages nasties to grow underneath, and generally is a big no-no. Unless you really want your 'tree' to just be a bunch of straggly long and formless branches, you need to (maybe wait a month though for a better 'seasonal' time) cut them all back down to just above their lowest buds, then wait for new and more branches to grow, then do it again (once they've grown a few inches). Then you'll have something to work with, options for selection of main branches, etc. Bonsai is about training structure into trees, shaping them to be attractive and giving the illusion of the 'real' thing, not some contrived oddity. That curly branch you worried about is irrelevant really, and will come off with all the others - it was just a natural oddity and nothing to bother about. I think you need to start reading books on bonsai so you get to see what good ones look like, and you need to learn how to prune properly for shape and what not to do. I also suggest you get the rootball out of the pot and check if roots are strangling each other - a larger pot and knowledgable root pruning may well be in order. Small pots are for displaying trained bonsai, and your tree won't grow properly to the mature specimen you want, if left in there. You need to learn about soil mixes and lighting, and humidity etc. and finding a local club would be a great way to start learning. Also look at www.bonsaihunk.us/cultural.html (all about 'indoor' bonsai), and www.bonsai4me.com for general info. Good luck! |
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| Lucy: Deepest thanks! You are always a wealth of insight and advice! |
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