Bonsai Tools

So, I am starting to realise that I need to get the right tools to take care of my bonsai. And while I would love something like these:

















Because right now I am just really needing the concave and knob cutters. I do dream of getting the larger sets but right now my kill/live ratio is telling me not to spend too much before I can keep the trees alive for a few years. I can't wait to see what survived this winter.

New Ficus Bonsai

This one is not dinky in the least. And that alone makes me very happy. It was also a very good deal so i think it might have been miss marked. But once I have more space I'll pick up some more to make up for it.

So! The enw one is pretty big. But the roots are so pot bound it's sad. there is one huge root that is wrapped around the whole inner edge of the pot. So when it finally warms up around here I'll have to either re-pot it or seriously trim back the roots. I hope the smaller tree isn't as bad.

Other then that It is loosely styled as a broom. While it looks nice right now, it has a lot of flaws. So I'm going to have to see how fast it grows to figure out how long to leave training wires on it. I might skip wire wrapping the branches for now and just start out with guy-wires. I think it's current training put has enugh of an edge that I can hook the wires to it.

Ficus Bonsai

I got one last weekend. It is very dinky. It will be a very long time before I can style it. I also am going to try and remove a knob from it's side that is causing reverse taper.

The seedling I also got is very dinky also. This one could turn out very interesting in 20 or so years.

Unfortunately neither are labeled very well. I am also committing the sin of sins in the bonsai world and keeping them in my room. I am afraid that I will over/under water them. I will have to try and keep a better watch of them. So far it looks like they are doing good.

English Ivy

I totally killed my English Ivy.

I was hopping that it dropped it's leafs due to the winter and not because of me. The internet said that it was supposed to be evergreen so that answered that. Apperntly they like to dry out a little and I kinda over watered it.

After the new years I'll try taking in one of the little pots with baby succulents in it. I have no idea what type they are but they seem to be hardy little things. I managed to grow the babes from planting their leafs. So there is hope.

I also got an orchid for a gift from one of my bosses. It is doing well. So far. It is tiny and cute and still has flowers. Here's hopping.

Weird Vine & Gourd

So I 'saved' a weird vine at work a few weeks ago and no it has thrown out roots. So far they seem to just be on one side of the plant. I think they are starting to show on the other but I won't hold my breath. I am going to keep it small. with luck more branches will pop out this spring/summer. that would be very nice


Now.. the gourd... is dead.

And by dead I mean almost rotten to the point of my nose running away. I think tonight I'll hit a craft store and get the right powder to dry it out. the only problem I foresee is cleaning them out so nothing rots again.

Traumatized Gourd

I am in the proses of traumatizing a hapless gourd.

Why?

My computer at work has been down for over a week. Monday was the last straw for my ADD and I started to poke one of my decorative gourds with a needle. I had wanted to take it home to hollow and dry but kept forgetting it.

Now it has salt and tissues in it. I blame my limited resources at work.

So... If this works I might be doing the same to the other five gourds on my desk. The office is very dry so the mold has been kept at bay. So I can wait to see what happens before I have to worry about the others.

Oi...

So, at my parents house we have several burning bushes. They are very nice and one had a smaller bush that was about 3 feet talk when I noticed it over the summer. I heard they back bud wonderfully. Even on old wood.

Imagine my surprise when I wander over to talk to my dad so he doesn't cut it. Only to see the guilty look and lo! It has been chopped in half. I think he forgot it was there when he was trimming the bigger bush. Which is fine since now it will be easier to dig up and handle. If only we could have one more good weekend to work out side prior to snow fall.

I don't want to style it as a broom but the trunk is strait as a pencil. Maybe after I get it out of the ground something will jump out at me?