I want to turn this small seedling into a bonsai...Advice please

8 years ago

I found this growing in the ground under a leaky faucet. It is about 1.5 years old. I would like to try growing it as a bonsai, keeping it about this size but allowing the stem to thicken up to form a trunk. What is the next step? Should I prune it or transplant it to a small pot. Right now it is planted in fairly rich potting soil, the same soil I use for potting up my tomato seedlings.

My keys to show scale. Thank you for any advice you can give me.

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User
8 years ago
Hi - whatever you've got on the very top of the soil (1st pic), that small gravelly stuff... as long as it's not from e.g. the roadside (could be coated in motor oil, etc.) and as long as you can find lots of it, it would probably be a much better mix for the tree. Just as is... providing fast drainage, which is all important for trees in small pots stuck on a bench (or... railroad tie?). Trees are not tomatoes and 'rich' soil and bonsai don't usually mix. I could guess at the name of it, looks quite familiar, but being way NE of you, don't want to guess wrong and send you down the wrong path for care. Thin plastic pots however, are not such great ideas (tho' good size drain holes are) because they flex too easily and roots, etc. get disturbed... they're ok temporarily, but not otherwise. Now, the fact is, that the trunk will fatten fastest if you'd have left it in the ground for a couple of yrs, and of course you can always replant and just leave a marker in place so no one accidentally mows it down or something, but that's up to you. Seeing as you're in a hot and likely dry climate, and it was surviving under a leaky faucet, you'll want to watch that it doesn't get caught in drought conditions, more so of course in a pot than the ground.
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Original Author
8 years ago
I had a feeling the soil was too rich but that was all I had at the time. I noticed this seedling on the ground and watched it for several months, it had just two leaves and was tiny. It didn't grow and was in full shade, that is why I put it in a pot. It has been in this pot for about a year or maybe a little less. The white gravelly stuff is vermiculite or per lite which is part of the potting soil mix. I will work on the soil drainage and find a better pot. Planting it in the ground is not an option I have. Thank you for the information. Oh, my guess is it is some kind of maple.
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I'm not sure if your plants are salvageable or not, you may want to start another batch now, in case what you're nurturing fails. The Dyna-Gro is a good fertilizer w/o your addition of the dolomite & Fe chelate. It already has ample Ca and Mg, compared to the amount of N. The only thing I can say I don't care for is that it has much more P than is necessary, but that shouldn't be a problem for starting seeds. You could have started fertilizing right from the first signs of germination, or at least from the first set of true leaves. (see below) From what you said, it's not likely that it's sunburn unless you just took the plants outdoors and plopped them into the frame after starting them indoors, even though the symptoms may match. Let us know if there's any real reason you do suspect sunburn. I would stop the misting & just water the soil when it is nearly dry. To eliminate the chance of root issues, I would even risk allowing the plants to exhibit the first signs of wilt to get a good measure of how long you should go between waterings. If you water thoroughly each time you do water, you can fertilize at each watering at 1/4 recommended strength w/o worrying about over-fertilizing. Al
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Hi there, the roots look as if they've been kind of 'cut short' so yes, maybe they are indeed root mealies as suggested above. I'm not familiar with them (thank goodness!) but I'm sure Laura's treatment will work if that's what you have. I personally still think the pot is too large (maybe I'm an underpotter!) as the pot will hold a great deal of compost without any roots to draw out some of the water held in it. Until the plant recovers and grows a more extensive/healthy root system that's able to almost fill the pot, I would go for a smaller one...hoping someone else will chime in with their thoughts on this bit. Now you have shown the later pic, I think I can see what has also possibly happened....The 2 pics seem to have very different mixes in them....the mix in your first pic looks ideal, very open and free draining with big chunky bits. I read you have added cactus mix, in what proportion? Now look at the later pic where the top bit has been removed and the mix is a lot finer, it looks rather wetter too as each time you water the cactus mix has got washed down and now sits in the lower levels and around what roots the plant has. The top layer drains well so always appears dry so maybe you thought it needed watering, but the lower levels were still wet as they held the more water retentive cactus mix and that could have rotted the roots off. I think it could be a problem of three parts. #1 root mealy bugs...if that's what the white dots are #2 too large a pot with lots of un-occupied compost #3 overwatering a gritty mix that's got a bit too much added cactus formula. I would let it dry out a bit and then re-pot.....in a smaller pot if it were mine :) hoping to see some others opinions though. Gill UK
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User
8 years ago
Oh - perlite is not meant to be a 100% mix (didn't realize that's what I saw), and vermiculite would be worse (holds too much water). I do agree that it's probably a maple though. In any case, being that it's so hot where you are, you don't have to worry quite as much about overwatering problems as we do up here!
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I want to turn this small seedling into a bonsai...Advice please

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