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Mon, Feb 25, 08 at 15:18
| Hello -
I received a bonsai as a gift last month and I really need to start pruning! My birthday is next week and my in-laws have been fishing around about what to buy me. I'd really love to get a good set of essential tools - but I need to have DH send them a link to the exact ones to order/buy. Can anyone recommend (with links) either separate pieces or a start up kit that is decent quality and will be enough to maintain an established tree? Many thanks!
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Follow-Up Postings:
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| What do you mean you really need to start pruning? I ask because it seems that too many people have seen Karate Kid and think the purpose of bonsai is to prune the heck out of them - which is definitely not true at all. Of course it may need doing at some point, but with a point (good reason), not just 'because'. Is your tree (what kind??) overly bushy? Do you think it's the right time of year to be pruning that tree? Do you know how to keep it alive for a few months, never mind pruning? Because a well pruned dead tree isn't much good for anything :-). You don't need tools plural, all you need to get going is a concave cutter, which you can only get through a bonsai (dedicated) store or online (try www.Dallasbonsaigardens.com, www.bonsaimonk.com, www.evergreengardenworks.com) and go for an 8" one - not the cheapest, but not a lot more - they last forever anyhow. |
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| ....all you need to get going is a concave cutter.... And you may not even need that. Depending on what kind of tree you have, a small sharp scissors may be all you need - or just your fingers. What kind of tree do you have? |
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| OK - I got the tree in early January. The photo attached was taken right after it was unwrapped. It is a Chinese Elm (Ulmus Parvifolia). It has since been placed outside where it receives morning to midday sun and is partly sheltered from any wind (I live in coastal Los Angeles so it's a pretty temperate climate.) I feel that the location is fairly good according to what research I have done. I say I need to do some pruning because with all the rain and then sun we've had, it has thrown out new shoots and gotten very bushy. These shoots have grown longer than the original small branches and the leaves themselves are larger than anything that was on the tree before. The foliage part of the tree is perhaps almost twice the size as it is in this photo taken just 6 weeks ago. There are also some small branches that have appeared coming off the main trunk (in a perpendicular manner) and I know that these need to be removed to keep the balance of the tree. Tho I am a newbie to bonsai, I have been doing research since I got it and all signs seem to point that this guy needs a little tidying up. I will try to take an updated photo in the next day or so, so the experts here can see it and tell me if I'm crazy (but it's starting to look less like a bonsai tree and more like a shrub) OH! and the reason I say which toolS - is because tho I may only need a concave cutter right now, I would like to give them the names of a few different tools (so I don't end up with an ugly sweater or hat that I will have to wear every christmas from now to eternity) :)
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Here is a link that might be useful: my original posting
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| Wow, nice tree! Sure you can trim messiness at any time really, though mid-late summer is not the best time. I didn't know if you had a very small 1-3 branch tree and 2 leaves :-)! A good concave cutter is normally 8" long (if anyone's asked).I REALLY suggest though that they get you a gift certificate from the dealer, because it's so much better if you choose what will be your main tool for many years to come and can research what you want best. I'm a bit concerned about the size of the pot - if it's not wired in, you could try just lifting it carefully to see if it's rootbound or not, rather than just having a good small flattish pad of new feeder roots. You could always then place it (roots not messed with) into a larger pot and fill in all around with more good gritty soil. |
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