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bonsai mums

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HiKing808

Member
hi guys im a hydro guy, but due to the recent scare in seedbanks i will be trying to grow some bonsai mums in soil could you guys help me pick out a soil nute that would be best for this. preferable organic, preferably one part, i have so many hydro bottles lying around if i could use a one part fert it would save space.

one of my main concerns is due to the weak feading schedule required to keep mums "bonsai small" i am afraid of any deficencies i might encounter. im not sure if using a one part fert is such a good idea, but give me your opnion.

thanks any help would be appreciated
 
D

dan kay

Member
yeah fox farm grow big is good 6-4-4 . just don't do what i did with my last mom and let her get overly rootbound where she chokes herself out. periodically you'll need to pop her outta the pot and trim the roots out then repot her back into the pot. no need to up pot her though just cut the roots back and replace any soil you removed while trimming roots.
 
G

Guest

HiKing808 said:
hi guys im a hydro guy, but due to the recent scare in seedbanks i will be trying to grow some bonsai mums in soil could you guys help me pick out a soil nute that would be best for this. preferable organic, preferably one part, i have so many hydro bottles lying around if i could use a one part fert it would save space.

one of my main concerns is due to the weak feading schedule required to keep mums "bonsai small" i am afraid of any deficencies i might encounter. im not sure if using a one part fert is such a good idea, but give me your opnion.

thanks any help would be appreciated
Click to expand...

I can help ya on this one for sure.


fox farm ocean forest soil w/ 50% perlite for the medium.
fox farm "marine cuisine" for the nutrients. (I use it as a top dressing as needed)
thats pretty much it.....it has kept my bonsai moms around for years. (if that doesn't work then your problems are elsewhere)

re-pot them frequently (4 times a year for me)....and a good root trim at re-potting keeps the roots un-bound.
 
grundig

grundig

Member
Keep a collection of mothers in a small space.

Keep a collection of mothers in a small space.

:wave: Bonsai nutes?
1. use organic .. you donty whant as much salt buid up. any veg grow formula.
2. Start from clone and get three main branches going in the shape of a cup or a tripod. Just trim all the others away except three strong shoots.
3.Let these grow to form the three main branches.
4. keek them compact width wise and grow them however tall you like.
5. feed only when needed with organic nutes. use water in between.
6. The soil ...any thats got a good wetting agent ,vermiculite, and slow re -leasing ferts.
7. you must repot at 6 months or so more or less ,depends on container size wich should be around 4" square. when you take out the bonsai mother trim , yes trim the roots all the way around all five sides of the root ball.Trim enough away just to leave a third of the root ball.
8. transplant with fresh potting soil into same container .Dont go to bigger container to maintain size.
9. Dont over feed. use any organics. LABEL THEM.
Thats about it , I will post some of my pics in a sec.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3
step 4
 
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H

HiKing808

Member
uh jj and dan, you both recommended ff nutes, but you guys gave me different npk readings, isn't ff a one part nute? if so how do i get different readings without adding other parts?

also for everyone, what is the average height of your bonsai, im looking to keep them on a bookshelf with cfls i thought it might look kinda cool, like a terainium. but i'm afraid they might get too big. whats the smallest you guys keep them? i have already read the article by oldtimer, where he states they take up an 8x8 inch space, but how high?
thanks for all the help
 
G

Guest

you can pretty much manipulate them to be whatever size you need to keep them at.

I keep mine a little over a foot tall...they become super bushy though. (i'd say 9 inches is probably the smallest you could keep a "healthy" bonsai...but generally its gonna be a bit over a foot or more if u have the room for that)

one other key to keeping the bonsai is to prune very frequently, but try not to do too much at once.

some people take frequent cuttings and they practice cloning wether they need the clones or not...or to pass on clones to friends if you dont have room for more plants.

I throw allmost all my cuttings out since I dont have anyone around that grows to gift them to, and I have plenty of practice cloning.

good advice BTW "Grundig"
 
G

Guest

...also I dont know if u guys do this or not...but I root my clones while they are still on the mom....by simply wrapping the section I want to root w/ gauze.

then I dont have any downtime while trying to root the clones in soil.
 
aeric

aeric

Active member
Veteran
Yukon: I've been keeping bonsai moms for years and your method sounds really nice, because of the ability to just add water, also really like that u use 50% perlite as that's what I always recommend.

Questions: how many watts/sq.ft.? How much/how often do u topdress? Can u get away with plain pH 7 tapwater in that mix or do u pH down? Thanks ahead of time.
 
H

HiKing808

Member
yukon, how big are the pots that you use? also i am assuming that you mean 12" from the dirt and not including the pot's height.
thanks for the help guys
 
Suby

Suby

**AWD** Aficianado
Veteran
AdmiraL
Basically you get a clone to root while it's still tied to the mother plant, pretty cool huh.
You can soak a peat pellet in plain water the cut through it halfwat from top to bottom along 1 side with a sharp knife.
Wrap it arounf the stem where you would like roots and wrap a gauze or cheese cloth around the peat pellet and secure that with some plastic wrap.
The stem will go soft and when roots start poking through just snip the stem below the rooted pellet and plant.
You can brush some cloning gel on the stem before, it can help spped things up.

Yukon good advice in general man. :joint:
 
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H

HiKing808

Member
i got an idea hows about everyone post pics of your fav bonsai. that way everyone can see and get some ideas and stuff.
thanks
 
Mr GreenJeans

Mr GreenJeans

Sat Cat
Veteran
yukon said:
but I root my clones while they are still on the mom....by simply wrapping the section I want to root w/ gauze. then I dont have any downtime while trying to root the clones in soil.
Click to expand...

yukon,
:yes: :yes: and a :headbange for ya!!! That's called air layering and is a pretty sophisticated rooting technique. I haven't used it with my girls yet but I do use it to propagate my outside garden plants. What do you soak the gauze in, do you wrap it with plastic? How long does it take to show roots through the gauze?

Thanks! :wave:
 
Mr GreenJeans

Mr GreenJeans

Sat Cat
Veteran
The big advantage is the branch you are rooting is never without a root system. The branch is kept alive and nourished while roots are forming. Also you can air layer roots on a branch that is too big or woody to root from a cutting, giving you a larger plant to start with if you want. Takes a bit longer than rooting from cuttings though IME....
 
Suby

Suby

**AWD** Aficianado
Veteran
.canine. said:
What is the advantage of air layering over just rooting a cutting?
Click to expand...

None, a precut clone stuck in a peat pellet soaked in plain water and stuffed in a clear tupperware container under fluros will root just the same.
For woody cuttings you can scrape the side of the stem going in the soil.
Some peeps strip the outside layer of stem when they air layer clones.

Subs
 
G

Guest

[canine flips a coin to figure out who to believe.] LOL

MGJ- are you the same fella responsible for Cherry Bomb? Sorry to be OT.
 
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