Yew Bonsai From Hedge - First Time
Travis (Central WI 4a-5b)
7 years ago
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years agotropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
7 years agoRelated Discussions
First-time bonsai owner--help!
Comments (6)larke: I live in SE Pennsylvania. The plant is currently on a windowsill (I live in an apartment), but I'm hoping once May rolls around I'll be able to keep it outside. And the moss is gone. (That's exactly what I was talking about; I got at least three different answers as to whether or not it should stay when I was researching on my own.) Thank you. :) Bob: Wow. Um...how am I even supposed to respond to this. Could it be that, perhaps, simply Googling turned up amateur sites I didn't know if I could trust, and academic searches turned up information too advanced for me to understand? I never claimed to be a botanist. I can admit when I know too little, and ask for help--which is why I came here in the first place, only to be mocked by a miserable human being who gets his jollies teasing a stranger over nothing. Wonderful....See MoreHicks Yew Hedge Question
Comments (9)Thanks Ron, Unfortunately, in our area, a certain amount of fill is necessary because of the rocks. For example, in the first 100' of the fence we removed about 5 tons of rocks and boulders. Enough to make a rock wall 3'high and wide, and about about 20' long. Small price for living in paradise I guess. The burlap came off. We slit the bottoms as they went in and then just pulled up on the burlap. Ours had rope, not the wire cage that would have made it much more difficult. Personally, I don't consider root stimulator a fertilizer, but I guess it is. The HollyTone is pretty aggressive as well, and for the local conditions, a pretty good idea. Could you suggest a maintenance program for this plant/hedge? Do you have alot of experience with it? I seems, due to its natural shape, to require very little pruning or shearing. TIA, TimO...See MoreHelp please, first time bonsai owner!!
Comments (8)First, let me say that understanding how water behaves in soils and the impact too much or too little water has on your ability to keep plants healthy is a primary requirement for proficiency, so I heartily recommend you gain a good understanding of the concept explained in this thread (click me). An appropriate soil is one you can water to beyond the point of saturation, so you're flushing the soil of accumulating salts when you water, w/o having to worry your soil will remain saturated long enough that it imposes limitations by inhibiting root function or compromising root health. There are lots of ways to combine ingredients, but essentially the concept centers on particle size and the individual particles ability to hold water internally. Air in the rhizosphere (root zone) is as important as water, so the higher the quality of your soils, the easier it is to maintain plants in good health - all other factors being equal. I use this as the basis for all my bonsai plantings: It's equal parts (by volume) of screened fir or pine bark, screened Turface, and screened crushed granite or cherrystone (quartzite). You should water on an 'as needed' basis, not on a schedule. Buy a 1/4 0r 5/16" wooden dowel rod, cut it in half, and sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener. Insert it into your soil to check for moisture content. Water only when it first comes out clean, dry, and not cold on the inside of your wrist. Over-watering and poor soils are both limiting; together, they are deadly, so learn to avoid over-watering. "Should I gather additional materials to substitute sunlight??" I'm unsure what you mean. There is no substitute for sunlight, but some high quality light sources can come close. I use Dyna-Gro's Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 for almost everything I grow, including my trees. I use it because I've conceptualized the ultimate goal for fertilizing plants in containers and that fertilizer offers the best chance I've found to realize the goal. Simply put, our focus in supplying supplemental nutrition to our plants should be on ensuring all the nutrients plants normally assimilate from the soil are A) IN the soil and available for uptake at all times, B) in the soil in a favorable ratio - that is to say in a ratio that closely mimics the ratio at which the plant actually uses the nutrient, C) at a concentration high enough to ensure no nutritional deficiencies, yet still low enough to ensure the plant's ability to take up water, and the nutrients dissolved in that water won't be impeded (by a high concentration of solubles in the soil solution). Most fertilizers ensure this goal is unreachable. The FP 9-3-6 puts it within grasping distance; grasping distance because I tend to believe there are so many variables associated with "the perfect nutrient supplementation program" that it's doubtful anything would be perfect for any length of time. There is only one degree of 'dead', so removing wouldn't cause any physiological issues, and it doesn't appear the plant's appearance would suffer if the dead trunk was removed, so do as you choose about that point. You asked about supplemental reading. The info in the second link is probably the most important concept a container gardener can gain an understanding of, but please consider the first link as a primer and read that first. Once you get a good understanding of how to produce productive soils, half the battle is won. IOW - it's very important. But again, do read the first link offered first. A basic overview of growing in containers. This one contains info that will help you maintain healthy root systems, which are critically important (prerequisite, actually) to a healthy plant. This one is a discussion About Fertilizing Plants in Containers. Al...See MoreYew hedge - rootballed vs pot-grown?
Comments (7)Just the usual taxus baccata, Tsuga - not especially fastigiate. I had worried it was still too sparse since it is recommended at 3 per metre for that size - I have only ever done much smaller, 30cm plants at 7 p.m (in a staggered double row). Anyway, going for rootballed as they are using their own field grown stock (and not the ubiquitous dutch suppliers) - the price difference (now we are getting into the later part of the rootball/bare-root season) saves almost $500....See Moretapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agotropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
7 years agoTravis (Central WI 4a-5b)
7 years agoTravis (Central WI 4a-5b)
7 years agotropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
7 years agoTravis (Central WI 4a-5b)
7 years agotropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
7 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years agoTravis (Central WI 4a-5b)
7 years agotropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
7 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years agoTravis (Central WI 4a-5b)
7 years agoPaul MI
7 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoTravis (Central WI 4a-5b)
7 years agoTravis (Central WI 4a-5b)
6 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
6 years agoTravis (Central WI 4a-5b)
6 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
6 years agotropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
6 years agotropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
6 years agomblan13
6 years agotropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
6 years agoTravis (Central WI 4a-5b)
6 years agotropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
6 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
6 years agoTravis (Central WI 4a-5b)
6 years agoTravis (Central WI 4a-5b)
6 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
6 years agotropicofcancer (6b SW-PA)
6 years agoTravis (Central WI 4a-5b)
6 years agoTravis (Central WI 4a-5b)
6 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
6 years agoTravis (Central WI 4a-5b)
6 years agoTravis (Central WI 4a-5b)
6 years agotapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
6 years agoTravis (Central WI 4a-5b)
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
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tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)