Pinus Latifolia, around 200 years old. Collected fall of 2009. This is its first year in a pot. Perhaps one cannot tell from the photos, but it has a rather elegant sort of movement to it, almost animistic. Its root system is excellent, with strands of mycelium everywhere, and its foliage is riddled with stong buds, both apically and in the lower branches. Overall it has good potential as a Bonsai tree, and its styling will begin as of spring/summer of 2011.
Congrats for finding such a stunning shore pine! :) I´m just asking myself ... Why didn´t you pot the pine into more porous substrate?
ReplyDeleteGreetings from Austria,
Igor
Hi there, thanks for posting. The soil mixture is various parts composted fish mulch, composted fir & pine bark, lava rock, crushed and washed granite, and forestry sand. In my experience thus far i have had great results with this soil mix. Organic matter is high, drainage is good, and i water and feed less than with a drier mix. And most importantly, this mix seems to produce the most prolific amount of mycelium of any other mix i have tried.
ReplyDeleteCheers from Canada!
PS Im jealous of those Austrian Black Pines...
Thank you for the prompt reply! The substrate doesn´t look that porous on the pictures ... That´s why I was wondering ;-) Anyway, your mixture sounds good!
ReplyDeleteFew weeks ago, I spoke with Wolfgang Putz about substrates for yamadori pines. He told me to used pure gravel because it´s easy and low in price. By the way, he´s the owner of some gorgeous Austrian black pine bonsais- and yamadoris :)
It´s nice to got in contact with a bonsai-mate from Canada :)
Cheers,
Igor
Yes for sure, i also have a pine growing in nearly all gravel, and its quite happy too. It requires a lot of watering in the hot season though. I think it is best to try and replicate the soil a tree would have in the wild with the addition of the requirements for a bonsai. But there are many different techniques...
ReplyDeleteAlso, Marco Invernizzi will be hosting a workshop at my club next weekend, so be sure to check out the pictures i post, they should be great.
Cheers,
Peter
Thank you Peter! I´m looking forward :)
ReplyDelete