Bonsai
Presenter: Melissa King
Episode: 26 (3rd November 2007)
A few weeks ago Melissa visited the Bonsai Farm to inspire Garden Gurus viewers into the ancient art of bonsai. For those who took up the challenge, Mel spoke to Lindsay from the Bonsai Farm to get some tips on ongoing maintenance.
Mel
“Lindsay, last time we were here we looked at wiring a young tree, but it obviously gets to a point where the wiring almost starts to dig in. What do you do at this point?”
Lindsay
“Well you have to take it off because once you leave it on for a little while and the tree grows a little bit, it will hold that shape. You can take the wire off and reuse it. Then there are other parts where the wire is starting to dig into the plant a little bit so take your cutters and you can actually segment it a little bit.”
Mel
“What about pruning of the canopy, do you need to do anything there?”
Lindsay:
“Yeah, I think so. What happens with a tree is the vigor goes to the apex, always right to the top. So you need to find a nice new leader and the tree becomes more balanced.”
Mel
“Is there a particular time of year when you should be doing all of this?”
Lindsay
“We pretty much do it all year round. For the novice it is good to do it in winter because the tree is in dormancy, therefore you can be more radical and get away a lot more and it is not as risky.”
Mel
“What about those bonsai with an over enthusiastic root system?”
Lindsay
“Sometimes the root system will actually push the bonsai up out of its pot. If you have a look at the base you will see that there is an indent where the roots have actually pushed what was originally the base of the tree a few centimetres. If you get your root hook in and give it a good yank at it there is just layers and layers of root-system.”
Mel:
“How often would you need to do this?”
Lindsay:
“Every three to four years. This one hasn’t been done for three or four years, but it is well and truly ready for it.”
Mel
“Is the fungal growth a good or a bad thing?”
Lindsay
“It’s a great thing, and the pines must have it to be vigorous and healthy and to have a long life. I really promote this by adding lots of dolomite to the potting mix. You need to see the dolomite, if you can’t see the dolomite its not there. That’s my rule of thumb.”
Episode: 26 (3rd November 2007)
A few weeks ago Melissa visited the Bonsai Farm to inspire Garden Gurus viewers into the ancient art of bonsai. For those who took up the challenge, Mel spoke to Lindsay from the Bonsai Farm to get some tips on ongoing maintenance.
Mel
“Lindsay, last time we were here we looked at wiring a young tree, but it obviously gets to a point where the wiring almost starts to dig in. What do you do at this point?”
Lindsay
“Well you have to take it off because once you leave it on for a little while and the tree grows a little bit, it will hold that shape. You can take the wire off and reuse it. Then there are other parts where the wire is starting to dig into the plant a little bit so take your cutters and you can actually segment it a little bit.”
Mel
“What about pruning of the canopy, do you need to do anything there?”
Lindsay:
“Yeah, I think so. What happens with a tree is the vigor goes to the apex, always right to the top. So you need to find a nice new leader and the tree becomes more balanced.”
Mel
“Is there a particular time of year when you should be doing all of this?”
Lindsay
“We pretty much do it all year round. For the novice it is good to do it in winter because the tree is in dormancy, therefore you can be more radical and get away a lot more and it is not as risky.”
Mel
“What about those bonsai with an over enthusiastic root system?”
Lindsay
“Sometimes the root system will actually push the bonsai up out of its pot. If you have a look at the base you will see that there is an indent where the roots have actually pushed what was originally the base of the tree a few centimetres. If you get your root hook in and give it a good yank at it there is just layers and layers of root-system.”
Mel:
“How often would you need to do this?”
Lindsay:
“Every three to four years. This one hasn’t been done for three or four years, but it is well and truly ready for it.”
Mel
“Is the fungal growth a good or a bad thing?”
Lindsay
“It’s a great thing, and the pines must have it to be vigorous and healthy and to have a long life. I really promote this by adding lots of dolomite to the potting mix. You need to see the dolomite, if you can’t see the dolomite its not there. That’s my rule of thumb.”
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