Is there enough interest in tropical bonsai to have a section on the forum set aside for such discussion?
Barry
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Always! I have had tropical bonsai in my collection since I started working with trees 22 years ago. Through it out there. I have several ficus. Both indoors and outdoors.
I’ve been growing ficus benjamina, arbecola and bougenvilla indoors for 35 years. We have flowering in Dec Jan in NYC !
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I’m certain there’s enough interest, but is there enough space? Whoever it is that designed this site just LOVES negative space. Personally, I think their margins need to be at least twice as thick.
I also have several Bougainvillea outside. Can you put up some pictures of them on the Forum? All of us would love to see them.
I would hope so. Wish I had more room for tropicals. I have a boggie, a couple of tiger bark ficus and a brazilian rain tree.
Big fan of tropicals over here. Gmelina, Albizia, Schefflera, Brazilian Rain Tree, portulacaria, several ficus, fukien tea, serissa, Campeche, Lantana, , Natal Plum… Planning to build outdoor collection this year of hardy stuff but I would love to see us dive more into them!
Yes. I’m in southwest Florida. So, yes@
I think the best thing to do to get specialized forums like “Evergreens, Pines, Deciduous, Broadleaf Evergreens, Tropicals” is to promote the forum. Create a topic that is of interest to you and share it out there in the world. Find a topic you like and share that as well.
The forum is going to be a place of much interest. The deciding factor is the price of membership. People who are willing to pay for access to the wonderful videos and opportunities on this site, are people who are passionate about bonsai. The participants will include serious artists and nursery owners. Conversations here are going to be educational and civil.
I can think of a certain bonsai discussion group that has a well-earned reputation as being a no-holds-barred uncivil zoo. Who wants to pay for a Mirai subscription and come here and post cruel or obscene posts? Not the trolls. You won’t find them here.
So the more we promote this site, the more we let the world know what we already know: This is a great bonsai site. The more that happens, the more people will sign up. And the more people who will be on the forums. Until the forums get over-crowded and those running the site will be forced to increase the number of discussion categories. Want more? More is coming. It’s up to us to help.
Now let’s all hold hands and sing “Come Bonsai”. I think you know the melody…
"Come bonsai my friends, Come Bonsai,
Come bonsai my friends, Come Bonsai,
Come bonsai my friends, Come Bonsai,
My friends, Come Bonsai
Someone’s wiring, Come Bonsai,
Someone’s wiring, Come Bonsai,
Someone’s wiring, Come Bonsai,
My friends, Come Bonsai
{verse text for further singing}
Friends are trimming trees, Come Bonsai
…
Someone’s watering, Come Bonsai
…
Feed the trees, my friends, Come Bonsai
…
Join the forums, friends, Come Bonsai
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Living where I do, tropicals are mostly what I keep! I’ve got some bougies, a Norfolk, several ficus, several jades, and a fukien tea tree.
I’d love to see more information on these different species, but I know Mirai specializes on conifers. I’m sure I’ve said this before, but the bougie video was a godsend for me, and I would love to see guests lecturing on trees they specialize in.
Bougies! Well, sure. If you have trouble finding out how to keep azaleas alive and thriving, you should really look into bougainvilleas. See if you can find a landscaper who is getting ready to rip out some old ones. Some people get tired of the thorns and end up redoing their landscape. That’s free to us!
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For those of you who watched the Juan ANDRADE webcasts, he mentioned the use of an organic fertilizer that included microbio elements that enriched the soil with nutrients and essential microbial elements. However he didn’t provide a reference to a specific product. Does anyone have his contact information so that I can reach out and ask him what that product is?
Thanks
Barry
I have long wondered what are the common bonsai design elements, if any, between tropical and all non-tropical species? Perhaps this is a question for our mentors… Ryan and Juan, to answer. This gives consideration to the most basic principles of design that arch over the widest range of tree types.
Curious to know anyone’s thoughts on this question
Barry
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I’ve got four bougies! Two red ones, a dark pink one, and a white one. The red ones are the healthiest, and the white one is the weakest, but I LOVE the color on the white one! Finally did some root work on it this year, and it’s budding like crazy right now. Hopefully I can get it’s vigor up, and really make it take off this year.
@BarryGrayson I think that, if you are trying to represent the species’ natural characteristics in your design, the common design elements between both types are very similar. We would find the best basic qualities of the tree, being the best base, best movement in the trunk, and the best use of branching and negative space to display those characteristics.
If you’re like me, and you have a 1.75" diameter trunk on a bougainvillea that’s less than 12" tall, then maybe you skip the natural characteristics of the species, and you use the same basic foundations, but the tree takes on a formal upright design, or a literati design, or a design that is not indicative of the species. Sure, you may end up with a literati ficus, which sounds like a strange idea for such a strong growing species, but if it works for that particular material, it works.
I believe that we use the same, basic foundations on all our designs, regardless of the species. I also believe that we choose if the material will be representative of the species, or of an idea in our head. We then might make concessions on some of those foundations or preconceptions of what the species should be, if it will grant us a better result in the end.
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Curuious about what soil mix the peeps are using for tropicals, like ficus, bougainvilla, etc.
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Ive stumbled upon a new species of bougainvillea “Blueberry Ice”. Anyone have experience with this cultivar? i have several pink pixies but these looked especially suited for Shohin. surprisingly thick trunks for young plants, shockingly good root spread and short node length. i couldn’t resist and bought 9 of the 15 the nursery had. already repotted 3 and cant wait to see the bracts this summer. ill post some pics soon!
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@Zencalc I’ve been using a 1:1:1:1 of DE, lava, pumice and bark nuggets. I also only give them morning sun once the temps start going over the 90’s. The bark does great at holding extra moisture in the heat, and you’ll likely be repotting before it begins to really break down.
A generous top dressing helps, too.
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Necro-post. This is the forecast. 43 and 41 the next couple of nights and then it bounces back up. Would you bring your tropicals in or let them ride?
All 5 of my tropicals came in at below 45F… three weeks ago.
But, then, it was about 12 F at night several times here the last two weeks…
.
Do you have any real winter down there?
Does anyone have experience with Jacaranda?
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