名媛直播

Hello everyone.I'm very inexperienced in the world of 名媛直播 but eager to learn. I have one Chinese Elm which I repotted 3 weeks ago and it's still alive...Bonus! and I have 2 3 year old Japanese Black Pines in pond baskets, in the ground and they seem to be doing very well. I have also done the same with 2 Judas Trees and one of them looks very healthy.Anyway, I've read a lot about Cotoneasters being good for beginners due to their resiliance etc so I bought one from my local garden centre a few days ago. I live in South Wales, UK.I have no idea what I want to achieve with it yet but that's a problem for another time. The trunk is only about 2cm in diameter at the base so I really want to thicken this up before anything else so my question is this. Do I simply leave it in its pot untouched? Do I repot it into different/better soil? Do I stick it in the ground for a couple of years? With any of those options, should I cut back all the long crazy growth or just leave it alone?

Thank you

Paul

Your question is the same questions we all ask ourselfs. There are no right or wrong. The more you oush hrowth the more big cuts there are on the tree which takes till to heal. On the other hand If you do not push growth there will be less big ugly scars, but development is soo slow. This consideration needs to be done on every tree independantly taking into account the final vision for the tree. If you aim for a bigger tree option one is normally the best choice, for small trees option 2 may fit the best.

Thanks. I don't really want a tall tree. I think 20cms or so. It's just that I think I'd like the base of the trunk to be thicker.

So, based on your response, you would not put it in the ground? I'm a bit apprehensive to repot with different soil now as we are coming to the end of spring or do you think it would still be ok?

Thanks

Paul

As a general guideline (not a rule) a 20 cm tall tree should have 2-4 cm thick trunk. What is it today? 1,5 cm? In that case I would not bother puting it in the ground. Actually I think I would start to identify the future trunk line now and plan for execution come next spring. After all hearing and growth can happen at the same time. Some people may decide to do it now. It is not to late, but not the best time. Repotting into a shallow bonsai pot is something I tend to wait doing until I am happy with the trunk size.

Again, thank you. I'm not sure what you mean by:
"After all hearing and growth can happen at the same time." I'm assuming it's a typo but I can't work out what you mean.

So, it seems your advice is to leave it in its current pot until next spring. Would you prune it now or just leave it?

Thanks

Paul

Healing, not hearing. Autocorrect fooled me again. .

I always spend at least one full year with newly purshased trees before I start to work on them. I still have trees in big pots that I got 5 years ago. During this time the priority is to learn the species and the specimen and get as much growth out of it as possible. But also to study the tree and think about different design options.

This tree would not be any difference to me. I know this approach is very frustrating for beginners. It was for me the first years as well. I solved that by getting a couple of more mature pre-bonsai. That way I had something to work on while the garden center materials matured. But I still get new trees every year from garden center authum sale. Some of them will not start its bonsai journey in a long time.

That is what has worked for me and my goals. Some people may do different.

So I'll take your advice and just leave it until next spring. I'll water and feed but I'll leave it in the pot. I have identified one thick lower branch that I want to get rid of so I decided to (after battling with an army of ants) have a go at Air Layering. That's something else that I've never done! In for a penny.


Cheers

Paul