Showing posts with label Rhododendron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rhododendron. Show all posts

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Purple Gem Rhododendron Bonsai Experimentation

Because experimentation sounds better then 'brutalizing with no idea where to start'.

So, I picked up these little guys to experiment with. At $3 a pop from the post bloom rack I thought it could be fun to practice working on my re-poting techniques. Unfortunately the chipmunk apocalypse happened (everything was eaten or dug into) and everything was moved into the florida room until the end of the war. I also found that I have no more available pots and my in ground choice is is right at the chipmunks door stop.



I held off on doing anything and now they look like this because I got brave with a pair of nippers.







I hope they will back bud. i would like to make them as compact as possible or encourage them into something that looks like a bonsai. Their trunks are far too small to be a real bonsai. Aside from the fact that one looks like it lost a fight with a chainsaw... And if you ignore the paperclips pretending to be guide wires... they are kinda cute.




 

I have no idea what the root structure looks like. I plan to repot them next year into the same pots but better soil.