Cool topic, Nicole.

First, no, I have never seen a Madrone bonsai. Madrone do grow out here, but they are lanky when young, and have lengthy internodes. Also, the leaves don't seem to reduce well. Come to think of it, I've never even seen a potted Madrone....although they must exist. I suppose if you found a seedling small enough and could get enough of the root-mass, you could probably containerize it. I went through a "Yamadori" period where I wanted to dig up Manzanita and Buckbrush (Ceanothus), et cetera, but these proved to be sensitive to disturbance....so I settled for collecting Incense Cedar (Calocredrus) instead :-)

My first bonsai was a gift from my sister and her boyfriend. It was a Japanese "cedar," Cryptomeria japonica 'Tansu.' I still have the tree, but I'm growing it in a nursery pot now to put on size.

Josh

Thank you for your response, Josh! Was your gift already a bonsai? Did you train it yourself and wire it? Or did you use the prune and grow method (if that's not the right term, please correct me)? Would you mind posting a picture?

I have done a bit of reading on Madrones and I think it will be a challenge and not an easy one. I'm thinking of getting one from a nursery instead of wild because it's already used to being in a pot and transplanting it to it's final pot as they don't take to transplanting too well. I am still researching and this may be something I decide to tackle when I have more experience. It would probably just end up a small tree instead of a true bonsai. But I have read people have made them into bonsai. Just tracking a person down to get advise is going to be my first obstacle.

I plan on blogging all of my efforts whether they are good or bad and hopefully it will help someone in the future. I have no one to talk bonsai with so I'm counting on people here to talk about this with me. I am planning on joining my local club too. I am no longer as excited to get a tree in a bonsai pot, I think I'll just enjoy the pre bonsai stuff and be patient, or try at least! I hope to hear from more people about their experiences. Good and bad. I really want to learn everything I can and I really enjoy the photos and hearing how people do. I'm also hoping for any links to good information and blogs and such.

Nicole

When I received the 'Tansu,' it was semi-styled already...but really just a small conifer in a bonsai pot. I mostly did tip-pruning the first couple years, then decided it needed to put on trunk caliper before I messed with the canopy any further.

Let me check the archives for a pic :-)

Josh

Not the best pic....but you get the idea ;-)

Thank you, Josh, for sharing your photos and answering my questions. Is tip pruning just pruning the ends of the branches? Sorry, I haven't heard this term yet.

Yes, that's what it is...removing small amounts of foliage, rather than hard pruning.

Josh

Well, I found a few items today and the one I was the most excited about I came home and read it was one of the hardest to use in Bonsai. Mostly everything needs to grow a bit. My husband and I have had fairly good luck in gardening so far, so we're repotting in regular soil for now as I feel my way through this new endeavor. Going with what I know for right now, basically.

That's the other thing I need, a good pruning article that explains where to prune to achieve specific results.

Your Tansu look similar to my Blue Feathers.

Nicole

What is a Blue Feathers?

Josh

It is a Chamaecyparis Obtusa. The tag said Cham O' Blue Feathers. This is the one they said is very difficult to use as Bonsai. My husband got a Picea Mariana Ericoides and it looks like it will be a great one. He's playing with it. I don't know how into it he will get.

If I was new to training I might choose trees that have some natural virtues (short needles etc) Oh, a few picea glehnnii, a mulberry or elm or two, definately a couple Texas ebony.

Thank you for the suggestions! I will look those up!

I'm not sure how this site is set up now. I will participate if I find a good reason to. One of my projects from last summer I am looking forward to finishing. Just now peeking its head above the snow. Mugo Pine

Coppice, I didn't thank you for your first reply, I'm sorry. Thank you for participating. I love maples. Our bloodgood died when we had an unusually harsh winter 2 winters ago. Lost a lot of expensive plants including my chocolate mimosa tree that I absolutely loved! We have a Crimson Queen and 5 other decorative type maples. Two grafted Japanese maples we got that we saw on sale for $10 each last year and 3 decorative maples that I don't know the names of. They don't get huge like a regular Maple, but suitable for a suburban landscape. I don't know how you find Japanses Maples that aren't grafts, except I do have seeds coming, of which I'm completely not counting on a high survival rate!

Nicole

Vancewood, I love it! Did you start this in the pre bonsai phase? Or a seedling? Or as a plant in your yard. I hope you don't mind my questions. I have no one at home to talk Bonsai to and ask questions to. Thank you for sharing!

Does anyone participate in Bonsai shows?

Nicole

I started this from a garden center 3 gallon tree/bush. I participate in a couple but at least one local here in Michigan. Here is a picture of the tree after about five years in one of my training planters. Obviously the tree had to be reduced down quite a bit.

Vance, terrific trunk on that Mugo!
Great work.

Josh

Thank you for replying and posting. Very nice tree. At what point would you need a training planter? I haven't found any shows in my area. If there are, they would probably be in Portland, but just googling "Bonsai show Eugene, OR" did not work. I am thinking of joining the local club. I'm really enjoying everyone's photos.

Nicole

You are certainly in the right part of the country for bonsai. Ryan Neil lives out that way and is considered one of the best bonsai masters in the country. There should be bonsai clubs all over the place. As to the planter: what you see is my invention but you can use colanders or pond baskets. You can use a training planter any time. It is a method for developing a fine root system that is more conducive to bonsai culture.

The trunk on this tree was a found item. There are many arguments that Mugos do not have decent trunks. This is not true; they do you just have to know how to locate them and be able to see with your hands. If you trust in your eyes you will miss them every time.

My first bonsai was actually a pepper plant.
Actually, my current bonsai projects are peppers as well. Mostly. Got a couple of Rosemary bonsai going as well.

Got a blog for my pepper bonsai if you're interested.
http://livingdeathbonchi.blogspot.com/

Interesting but if you are going to do bonsai why don't you get into something that will last more than a couple of years. The Mugo Pine photoed above has been a work in progress for about twenty five years, more or less.

To my knowledge, we don't actually know how long a pepper can live since most of them are culled after about 5 years when production starts going down. I've seen reports of pepper plants living well over a decade though.

They grow fast, are very resistant to physical damage (so you can chop them aggressively), wire easily, they produce a larger array of visually distinct elements, the fruit they produce has it's own intrinsic value, they live a long time, and if you do manage to kill one, they are easy to replace.

I personally don't see the point in spending 10+ years just to find out that the tree you've been growing isn't going to work out for what you wanted it for. I can get good looking results out of a pepper in a single season that just keep getting better with age.

I think thats the key difference for me. I'm interested in making visually interesting pieces of living artwork. I'm not in it for zen relaxation or searching for the meaning of life one bud clip at a time. This is sculpture to me, and I'd rather not spend a quarter of my life on one piece.

Thank you for your reply Ed! This is interesting and I love seeing what everyone is doing and their interest. Your blog was interesting as well. Do you have any pictures of ones that are finished bonsai? Ones that you wired?

I actually decided to grow peppers just to see how long I could keep one alive. As far as I know, 8 - 12 years is about the maximum for *most* cultivated species. There are some wild forms that I've heard will grow 20 - 40 years, but these figures are unverified.

My Hungarian Wax is now 7 years old and doing well. But I didn't get it large enough its first year, and now it will never have a trunk worthy of true bonchi.

Josh

Nope, I lost most of my bonchi that I had done before due to an unexpected cold snap last year. Its one reason I'm starting so many new ones now.

I'm sorry am I on the wrong forum? What is a bonchi?

It looks like it's a Bonsai Chile from what I gathered when I googled and what they said here. I'm sorry you lost yours. I know how that goes. Lost my favorite tree (chocolate mimosa) in an unusually cold winter, along with several of my other favorite plants. But those weren't things we'd worked on for years and years.

Nicole

Vance, bonsai is a style of miniaturization. You can bonsai pretty much anything with a woody trunk/stem. Peppers, herbs (like rosemary), even woody vines like grapes can all be turned into bonsai. Its not limited to just trees.

Bonchi is specifically bonsai chili peppers.

Gee I didn't know that.

Sorry, Vance, that was a bit of pepper jargon....bonsai chiles have been dubbed 'bonchi' in the past few years. Marijuan-sai is a similar term that has also picked up here in California :-)

Josh