I have three seedlings from last year that have grown pretty strong. I used a 2.5 or 3mm wire to give them movement. However, I feel like I put too much bend on them (like a spiral shape, almost). I realized after visiting Monterey that a majority of the native cypress trees are slanted, but not twisted. I am planting more seeds this Spring and will let them grow upright without too much interference.
It's impressive seing how fast they grow. One of the reasons I like them so much. I don't have one myself but have been kicking the tires so to speak on add8ng one to my colection. Thanks for the info on them.
Hey eric. Very much appreciate these videos looking at young trees (even younger too). Very litte info and advice on early early development of bonsai material, and I have such a variety of seedlings staring me down this fall!
Erik, I have a large one 4+” trunk I collected MC a year ago. I build a large 30”x30”x24” redwood box and planed it in 50/50 native soil and large perlite. The tree started actively growing this month (nov-Dec) 12 months after collecting. The tree is currently five feet tall despite have several feet of growth removed last year. I’m considering adding deadwood features. I’m guessing the next step would be to now determine the final height, remove bark and demarcate Jin and shari remove excess branches then attempt to repot to stepwise reduce the rootball. I’m happy the tree survived. It did take 12 months before it started growing but is now pushing pretty hard. At first I thought it would need another year to get established in the grow box. It’s put out 15” extensions in the last six weeks which tells me the tree is probably happy. You mentioned these trees don’t like the conversion stage so much. Do you think I should give it another year or can I cut branches reduce the tree now and repot in another month or two? I’m assuming it will take two repotting sessions a year apart to get this into a large bonsai pot. Thanks again for a great video. Mats H
I would think it could handle rough cutback now. You can also wire smaller branching to get it going horizontal and spread things out. The process of spreading out the branching combined with cutback and root reduction is what seems to slow them down. However, it's useful to keep them growing quickly for a while - as long as you can stay on top of utilizing the growth.
Eric, love your videos! I purchased a giant sequoia seedling on a trip to California. It’s now a foot tall and growing pretty fast. Any recommendation on when and how I should start preparing it to become a indoor bonsai?
Indoor? No. Unless you mean overwintering indoors and outdoors during summer. They are more cold tolerant than coast redwoods, but I've never seen a good bonsai from one. They're essentially like a super coarse juniper in habit so you'll have to make a pretty big tree to make the foliage work.
Great video! I have been looking for more info on these. A friend gave me about a dozen, being in Michigan I am wondering how to winter them. How would you go about wintering them in Michigan? Definitely will be on the lookout for more videos on these.
Hmm. Good question - but i think the same way you would overwinter most things - just keep it at 32-40F. They tolerate a freeze, but I don't know how cold they can go.
Have you ever worked on any of the other rare cypress species of coastal California ? Particularly the Tecate cypress from Southern California? It’s become available in the nursery trade and I’m always tempted to give it a try from nursery stock
I have worked with Pygmy, Sargeant, Monterey and Santa Cruz Cypress. McNab once. They do all seem to be pretty similar in growth habit but in looking at the Wiki article on Tecate I'm not sure that would also be the same. As for nursery stock - typically the trunks are not great and the roots can be worse. I'd recommend you start from seed if you can.
@@Bonsaify that’s helpful thanks. Out of curiosity why is it that nursery stock is lacking in trunk and root devolopment ? Is that something you have observed specifically in cypresses or is that true across the board? Something with commercial fertilizer regimens?
@@Bonsaify also while we are on the topic of California plants ,you ever tried with a manzanita ? I’d imagine they do not like having their roots disturbed , and I know from experience that pruning can be risky given their susceptibility to fungus , but their aesthetics are begging to be worked with
Thanks for quick, "down and dirty" rough cutback. Always look forward to updates on your trees.
I'll try to keep a couple alive this winter inside. 🤞
Thanks for working with this species, not many people do.
I have three seedlings from last year that have grown pretty strong. I used a 2.5 or 3mm wire to give them movement. However, I feel like I put too much bend on them (like a spiral shape, almost). I realized after visiting Monterey that a majority of the native cypress trees are slanted, but not twisted. I am planting more seeds this Spring and will let them grow upright without too much interference.
It's impressive seing how fast they grow. One of the reasons I like them so much. I don't have one myself but have been kicking the tires so to speak on add8ng one to my colection. Thanks for the info on them.
Hey eric. Very much appreciate these videos looking at young trees (even younger too). Very litte info and advice on early early development of bonsai material, and I have such a variety of seedlings staring me down this fall!
Erik,
I have a large one 4+” trunk I collected MC a year ago. I build a large 30”x30”x24” redwood box and planed it in 50/50 native soil and large perlite. The tree started actively growing this month (nov-Dec) 12 months after collecting. The tree is currently five feet tall despite have several feet of growth removed last year. I’m considering adding deadwood features. I’m guessing the next step would be to now determine the final height, remove bark and demarcate Jin and shari remove excess branches then attempt to repot to stepwise reduce the rootball. I’m happy the tree survived. It did take 12 months before it started growing but is now pushing pretty hard. At first I thought it would need another year to get established in the grow box. It’s put out 15” extensions in the last six weeks which tells me the tree is probably happy. You mentioned these trees don’t like the conversion stage so much. Do you think I should give it another year or can I cut branches reduce the tree now and repot in another month or two? I’m assuming it will take two repotting sessions a year apart to get this into a large bonsai pot.
Thanks again for a great video.
Mats H
I would think it could handle rough cutback now. You can also wire smaller branching to get it going horizontal and spread things out. The process of spreading out the branching combined with cutback and root reduction is what seems to slow them down. However, it's useful to keep them growing quickly for a while - as long as you can stay on top of utilizing the growth.
Fun trees 🎉
video tentang bonsai yang sangat.menarik untuk dilihat❤❤
Living in Toronto, I wonder how I should best winterize my Monterey cypress. Any help out there?
Eric, love your videos! I purchased a giant sequoia seedling on a trip to California. It’s now a foot tall and growing pretty fast. Any recommendation on when and how I should start preparing it to become a indoor bonsai?
Indoor? No. Unless you mean overwintering indoors and outdoors during summer. They are more cold tolerant than coast redwoods, but I've never seen a good bonsai from one. They're essentially like a super coarse juniper in habit so you'll have to make a pretty big tree to make the foliage work.
Great video! I have been looking for more info on these. A friend gave me about a dozen, being in Michigan I am wondering how to winter them. How would you go about wintering them in Michigan? Definitely will be on the lookout for more videos on these.
Hmm. Good question - but i think the same way you would overwinter most things - just keep it at 32-40F. They tolerate a freeze, but I don't know how cold they can go.
@@Bonsaify could I bring indoors? Do they need a cold stratification?
Have you ever worked on any of the other rare cypress species of coastal California ? Particularly the Tecate cypress from Southern California? It’s become available in the nursery trade and I’m always tempted to give it a try from nursery stock
I have worked with Pygmy, Sargeant, Monterey and Santa Cruz Cypress. McNab once. They do all seem to be pretty similar in growth habit but in looking at the Wiki article on Tecate I'm not sure that would also be the same. As for nursery stock - typically the trunks are not great and the roots can be worse. I'd recommend you start from seed if you can.
@@Bonsaify that’s helpful thanks. Out of curiosity why is it that nursery stock is lacking in trunk and root devolopment ? Is that something you have observed specifically in cypresses or is that true across the board? Something with commercial fertilizer regimens?
@@Bonsaify also while we are on the topic of California plants ,you ever tried with a manzanita ? I’d imagine they do not like having their roots disturbed , and I know from experience that pruning can be risky given their susceptibility to fungus , but their aesthetics are begging to be worked with
Eric, the video is not displaying in your UA-cam feed so must be set on “private”.
My helper set it to "Unlisted" for some reason. Will fix it in a bit. Thanks for the heads up.
👍👌🙂
Any chance of panning back to see the full tree before the cutback?
Lol, too late! But believe me if you've seen one 4-foot spike of cypress foliage you've seen em all.
@@Bonsaify LOL!! Understood. I'm gradually trusting myself to hard cutbacks.
Are you going to be selling any Monterey Cypress like these anytime soon?
Yes. But I only have about a dozen of them that are this size. Ping me an email if you want one.
@@Bonsaify thanks! A friend has been looking for Monterey cypress, I’ll pass the message along!
@@Bonsaifywhat email is best?