Bonsai (盆栽)

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Bonsai is a Japanese art form which utilizes cultivation techniques to produce, in containers, small trees that mimic the shape and scale of full size trees. Similar practices exist in other cultures, including the Chinese tradition of penzai or penjing from which the art originated, and the miniature living landscapes of Vietnamese Hòn non bộ. The Japanese tradition dates back over a thousand years.

We also have a Matrix room: #bonsai:matrix.org

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.poundncashdown.com/post/132323

An ambitious project for me. It was a lot of fun to figure out. I'm hopeful that it'll grow in and cling to the rock in the future. Getting rid of that wire would be nice.

Once it puts out some growth and shows that it's established, I'll do some semi hard pruning to refine the shape a bit.

The pot is one I formed by hand with a mix of portland cement and perlite dust.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.poundncashdown.com/post/90603

This is a follow up to my previous post linked here.

I’m trying to encourage the trunk to thicken while slowly figuring out which branches to make the main ones and how to balance the overall shape.

I try to let this tree grow out thick and dense with little to no trimming, then chop it back to a state that will let light through to the lower foliage while building the shape. That usually means clipping off upward growing new shoots to push growth into lateral or more downward growing shoots. Rinse and repeat that a couple times a year and we’re here.

I usually propagate most of the cuttings by throwing them in water under a grow light elsewhere.

I'm still lacking some solid, low growing, main branches. Stay tuned for more shenanigans.

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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.poundncashdown.com/post/79872

This is one of too many Benjaminas. They propagate far too easy for my lizard brain's good.

This tree needs a reduction in foliage and upward growing branches in the upper section. That should help balance out the growth between top and bottom, push some back budding to occur, and let the lower foliage get some proper light.