sairaj

An easy way to paint green color to foliage is to spray Magnesium sulphate ( 3 gram in one liter water and spray on foliage). When new leaves appear they will be dark green. Try this? Advice: always use organic food instead of chemical and wait for long instead of easy tricks.

nhamood

I repotted my carmona today as I took u guys advice, my carmona was in 100% peat when I got it. I used the following ratio 6:2:2 of Akadama, Pumice and Chipped/Composted Bark respectively. However I did not brush out the root ball, is this ok? Is the ratio mixture alright also?

On another note I also began attempting to grow japanese red maples, =), I am currently soaking 10 seeds for 2 days and then keeping them warm and moist for 2 months, after that I'm going to place them in the fridge for 2 months before placing them in peat pelets. I'm begining to treat these plants like children =D.

nhamood

hey arty,

thanx for that, I didnt realise the numbering factors antil i purchased mine and I was lucky that mine came as 4 - 6 - 6, after my purchase I became more aware and thanx to ur post I became more clarified. =)

treebeard55

That mix should work fine.

I would have done so, gently. Was the remaining peat clinging to itself in a ball, or was it fairly broken up, so your new mix could be worked into it? If the first, you'll want to keep an extra-close eye on your tree for signs of root rot. But unless you see such signs, I wouldn't repot again for a year.

You're hooked!

__________________
Treebeard 55
Steve Moore
http://hoosierbonsai.blogspot.com

The most important bonsai tool is your brain.

nhamood

treebeard55,
the peat was clinging onto my root ball but I did wash off as much as i could without causing much damage to the roots. On average does this tend to be a real issue? If so would it be that I repeat the process and this time brush out the roots?

treebeard55

Sounds to me like you did well enough. You can remove the rest of the old peat at future repottings. Your tree should be fine.

A real issue? Usually, only if the old soil is poor, or if there is a major difference in composition and texture (and therefore in water retention and aeration) between the old and the new.

No, I would not repot your tree again now. It should be OK for at least 6 months, probably more, and it needs to recover from the repotting just done. Baby it now, and enjoy it.

__________________
Treebeard 55
Steve Moore
http://hoosierbonsai.blogspot.com

The most important bonsai tool is your brain.

nhamood

I was wondering if when putting my seeds in a bag and placing the in the fridge for stratisficatioin, if instead of peat and other soil mix if it would be ok to just use Vermiculite on its own with the seeds and just moisten the Vermiculite?
The seeds are japanese red maples.

treebeard55

I understand that vermiculite is a standard medium for seed-starting. Should work just fine!

__________________
Treebeard 55
Steve Moore
http://hoosierbonsai.blogspot.com

The most important bonsai tool is your brain.

nhamood

hey all, I'm using a propogator to germinate japanese acers (the red ones) and I was wondering should I keep the ventilation shaft closed and keep it humid? I'm doing this before going to the stratification stage in the fridge for another 2 months.