Hey guys, absolute beginner here.
I apologize beforehand, just in case I will annoy anyone with my questions.
I watched Ryan’s videos a lot lately and I am trying to soak up all the information I can get, but some extremely basic knowledge is still missing from my mind, so I wanted to ask here.
I have a tree without any topdressing and whenever I am watering it, the soil is flushing away with the stream. I am already using very very low pressure and very slow movements - no help. How can I avoid it, since I read that topdressing will take months/even a year to form.
There are so many trees with so many different rules. Some species also have multiple differences in treatment it appears. Also I heard Ryan discuss slightly different timings in seasonal treatments like repotting and wiring?! I am wishing for a collected list or maybe a chart, that would help me to understand what each tree would need and when the best timing is for each of them. Could you point me to some source of kind for that?
Ryan doesnt seem to talk about seeding much, but I am interested in the process.
When should I cut it for the first time? Can I move and “wire” a tree even in the first months? I was thinking about getting some light yarn and gently hold the baby plant down to make more turns?
Watering. I watched the 3min clip about watering from mira. It is insanely beautiful, but I feel very uneducated when it comes to watering my own trees. I mostly put my finger in the soil and try to guess if it is moist or rather dry. Should I water always always?
I guess the water could run out of the container. Can I overwater my trees? Some users said they are watering their trees 2-3 times per day, but my trees stay very moist for days and I am a bit concerned about that.
Thanks for taking the time to read all that.
Happy growing.
Phil
Hi Phil,
Welcome to the Bonsai Mirai community and to the fascinating world of little trees.
Probably, I am not the most educated human to tell you all of that. However, I’ve also been in your shoes (we’ve all been) so hopefully, I can help and answer your questions.
It only takes a year to establish the moss itself. The topdressing as such starts to do its function immediately after being applied to the surface and wettened (I would suggest a spray bottle to do the initial wettening of the topdressing). And regarding the timeline… My topdressing has a nice soft lush green cover of a new moss after only two months. It extremely depends on the weather, what kind of moss you use and also if you use fresh green moss or if you dry it beforehand. When collecting the moss, I always try to find moss growing in a full sun location and on a concrete (that shouldn’t be a problem in an urban area). Keep in mind that mosses are a bit picky plants.
Yes, there are a lot of species of trees. But that is the beauty of it. When you are a beginner, I would suggest picking a few species of trees to begin with. Learn everything about it and then pick a new one. For example, you could only cultivate japanese maples, have a hundred trees and each and everyone could be different. There are tons of cultivars in each species. Look at the URLs at the end to find out which species you might be interested in and which you could be able to take care of.
Yes, that is true, Ryan does not have a lot of material on that subject. However, Youtube is a well full of knowledge. Try the channels Herons Bonsai of Peter Chan and Graham Potter of Kaizen Bonsai.
Watering is extremely dependant on the soil you are using. When using inorganic soil, it is correct that there is a very small chance of overwatering. However, the same cannot be told whan using organic soils.
When you 'll have a bit of spare time have a look at the following URLs.
http://bonsai4me.com/index.html - probably my second most favourite webpage. You can find information on a huge spectrum of species and techniques.
https://www.bonsaiempire.com/ - beginners go to webpage. Again, you can find guidelines on growing from cuttings, from seed… etc. Even some tree species are described. Might be helpful.
Welcome.
Balance of water and oxygen. A little time and patience.
It’s a journey. Enjoy the ride, and don’t be surprised when the flowers smell wonderful.
Pick your battles. My favorite trees take care of themselves. Find your own level of comfort, and then test yourself!
I am just relistening to the Talperion Farms podcast at the moment and they talk a little bit about growing from seedlings and when they do work like wiring for structure and root work etc. There is a link in the resource section of the forum about how to listen to the Mirai podcasts.
So when I experience this problem I remember the advice to always leave a border area below the pot level. I think of it as a gutter that allows the water to not run out of the pot, and also to keep from washing the lighter soil component, ( usually akadama and pumice in my situation) off the surface. So when brushing the light soil away with my little broom, I pay attention to leave the edge of the soil at least 1/4 to 1/2 inch, ( .5 to 1 cm) below the edge of the pot. The water I apply runs to the edge and down the INSIDE of the pot. This simple detail make watering more efficient and keeps the growing benches neat and tidy. I also water the benches and the surrounding wind protection slats or wooden surroundings. This increases the water vapor around the growing benches and reduces heat and evaporation in a micro climate that my trees love!
Keep on keeping on
. Ryan demonstrates wiring saplings or whips on the Nursery stock rock planting stream. https://live.bonsaimirai.com/library/video/nursery-stock-rock-planting
I am growing a number of whips in colanders with pumice as the soil mix. Interesting way to give lots of movement to little ones.
@Bonsai_bob that is really good to hear. Thank you very much. I will try to add that to my pot.
You say you also water your wood benches and surroundings. That sounds like a valuable idea. What kind of wood are you using? Something that can handle lots of water I suppose? Is it treated with any kind of oil or anything?
welcome. Regarding the watering. I switched to using one of those Japanese copper bonsai watering cans. The water is coming very gently out of those and this greatly helps reduce the washing away. There are also spray lances from Japan (Ichihana being one brand) which have a very gentle rain like spray pattern. Not really cheap (well, exactly the opposite unfortunately) but really helpful imo. If not one of those try to find a watering gun or lance which lets you fully control the pressure to all the way to cut off.
My grow benches are recycled ceiling grates from a hospital cafeteria. The fencing I use for wind protection are untreated pre-fab cedar with a lattice at the top. Both the benches and the surrounding cedar fence absorb water and keep the area cool in the heat of summer. The ground around the area is covered with sharp granite and peat moss that catch the water that runs off the pots and the benches. My goal is to create a micro-climate that reproduces the humidity of the pacific north west. I have to watch out for fungal disease due to the high humidity. The granite is red stone chicken grit purchased from a farm store. (I live in the country)
for the wood you can use KDI (you get that in every better building supplies store or wood trading business). If you want it nicer you can also opt for more oily hard woods and apply some OSMO product suitable for outdoor use. Depends on your budget /requirements.
“Normal” untreated wood (reclaimed pallets or such)will also work for quite a while. That is what i used for my secondary bench.
thank you antelion, I will purchase one of those watering cans. I wonder though is the copper important/has a purpouse?
as for the wood. thanks, thats great info. I think I will have to visit my local hardware store again ;D
hey bob, thanks for the info. that helps a lot. I will try concstruct something. I already have an ikea ladder, not trying to combine it with some wood. seems sturdy enough to hold my bonsais
Maybe other know more about the history of using copper for these kind of watering cans. Copper is the earliest metal available to men and thus has a very long tradition. In principle copper trace elements are important for any living organism. There are some companies even offering copper garden tools for that purpose and claiming additional benefits from the material (like non magnetism), though as with almost everything there is also the claim of snake oil to this. Besides it is non reactive with water (kind of helps if you are dealing with a water carrying vessel).
Welcome Philip, On the water run off issue, I would like to piggyback on what @Bonsai_bob said about leaving a border-gutter around the edge of the pot. I’ve done that a couple of times with great success! I also encountered run off when I freely used an organic fertilizer that came in the form of loose tea like fluff. After watering it caked on and in between my substrate’ creating a seal that not only sealed water from coming in but also kept the soil below wet. No water, no oxygen. My tree turned yellow within a week. I used Ryan’s vacum video to fix the problem and my tree immediately gained back it’s health! There are great rewards when you learn something and it works.
Thanks MB1 for the tip.
I am using the border pot technique in all of my trees already now and it really works much better. I am still on the lookout for good moss to generate some top layer. Everything I find at the moment is either too big or too brown for my taste
Look for air conditioner or evaporative coolers outside of buildings over brick or cobble stones. The short hardy green moss that lives on stone and brick make great top layer material. Be very careful not to use moss that grows on decaying wood or tree trunks. That is the stuff you do not want to introduce to your plants.
