GLEN

Hi all,

Havn't visited for a while, but the bonsai bug is back.

I now own 3 Procumbens Bonsai, and for the life of me I have no idea how to style the foliage.
Is it just me or are they a messier looking tree than say -a Pingii etc.

Can they be foliage plucked like a Pingii and have puffy full pads ?

Or do they look better as a pinched back - foliage lacking bonsai ? as mine are now.

Hope you can understand what I'm trying to say here, any help on the best way to style the foliage of one of these puppies would be hugely appreciated.


Cheers Glen.

GLEN

Thought I should post a pic to give a better idea of what I'm trying to describe.

treebeard55

Nice bunjin!

Your tree's foliage looks about as "messy" as that of most J. procumbens that I've seen; nothing unusual about it to me.

Does anyone else know a technique to make procumbens foliage look a bit more tidy?

I'm afraid I don't know what a "pingi" is; care to translate?

__________________
Treebeard 55

The most important bonsai tool is your brain.

GLEN

Thanks Treebeard55,

I used Pingii as an example as most nursaries around my area use them, but I did find this on good old google:

Juniperus pingii 'Pygmaea' - Formerly Juniperus squamata 'Pygmaea'. Flattish with upward and outward facing branches ultimately leaning towards the ground. Small and neat. One of the smallest of the squamata family. It has a place in any rockery. A squat, dense little bush. 45 cm high x 1 metres wide in 10 years in our Nursery/Garden. Zone 7.

I guess I mean the variety that have nice full pads of tight foliage rather than scraggly looking growth. Like this one of mine :

Pup

G, day Glenn glad you did not suffer to greatly in the fires.I prefer procumbens to squamata.
With procumbens it is a matter of picking of the dead needles before it get to the leggy stage. Thinning about once every three years. Then building up the pads.There is one of mine here in the trees for critique. After this site came back on line.
What I have found is that they are susceptible to a fungal attack called Phoma. It will not kill the tree but will weaken it. So it is then attacked by insect pests. to get rid of it use Mancozeb + or a copper sulphide spray.
It shows up by distorting the new growth tips, it looks like you have cut the new growth all the time.
I have found they do form the pads you desire as easily as squamata.
They are a little sharper to the touch. Nana is the better of the two.
I hope this helps you in some way. Pup

__________________
G, day I live in western Australia I have been trying for the last 20+ years with some success to grow Bonsai. I am a perpetual learner and an advanced beginner

GLEN

Thanks Mate,

So let it grow for 3 years and then attack it again.

Cheers For the advice.

jjbacoomba

Wow, Nice tree there Glenn! I agree with the waiting to attack it again.You've got a great start there. Nice lines, just needs to thicken up alittle more. You can do some pinching back , but try not to over do it.Keep us posted.

Michel

Hi,

I know of only 1 method, I'm affraid: "Pinching till 'yer fingers ache !"

Good growing food + steady pinching creates lots of new buds
and foliage, thus creating and filling up the foliage pads.
Mind You, every now and again pinching must go deeper
and be accompanied by thinning out the foliage as well, in order
to keep the pads nicely flat and not to end up with real
thick ("high") and almost round foliage pads.

The second picture shows a very nice tree indeed, but nevertheless
it's slowly heading towards that problem, especially in the top . . .

__________________
Greetz,

Michel

Tom

Glen, of the trees shown, your first one does it for me. As a bunjin it should have less foliage and branching. Which would do two things...#1 help the image as a bunjin/literati and #2 help with your query about keeping it tidy and manageable.

A quick down and dirty virt which hopefully will get across my thought. Not sure if the bottom right branch is necessary

Anyway nice piece and if it becomes to much pinching drop me a line.... I'll relieve you of that stress

Attached Images

Bonsais21March2009003.jpg (54.9 KB, 6 views)

__________________
Cheers, Tom

The Behr Bonsai Scholarship

North Star Bonsai