My first portulacaria cuttings just arrived, looking forward to growing them! Watching you prune is so relaxing, when you make a cut it seems like the branch was destined to be that way! Thanks for the videos Nigel!
Your Portulacaria afra forest is INCREDIBLE Nigel and it looks brilliant all pruned :-) thanks so much for sharing and sending you an abundance of love and heaps of plant power from right across the Emerald Isle for a wonderful day XXXXX
Dear Nigel This tree is called a Spekboom in SA and actually represent a brush belonging to the succulent family.They easily grow from any cutting/breaking off a couple of leaves-the dryer the more eager to regenerate.The have an amazing capacity for carbon absorption and are generally a source of reward for there role in diminishing a carbon trail.The are grown as bonsais on a mass basis by ngo helping to uplift unemployed people in the Phisantekraal area a farming community up our West Coast about 100km from Cape Town.They donot naturally grow in "forests' and as I said they are locally regarded as succulents.Are you familiar with wild olive trees as bonsais? I have a stash of about 1 million seeds and was wondering about the export market?
Thanks for the great information! Wild olive trees can make a really nice bonsai, you would have to check the import/export laws for your country and others with regards to your seeds.
coming along great. nice to see the progression. I recently acquired a local manzanita myself I'm excited to work with. I think as a species it posses great inherit potential.
I had never heard of the tree, so I looked it up. Wow amazing colour, I really like trees that have unique features. Good luck with it, I hope you send me photos some time! thekwbonsaisociety@gmail.com
Good morning Nigel, I hope all is well. I really love your library of videos, I find them very educational. When trimming the Afra, how do you grow the cuttings? Would you do a video on how you have a successful rooting percentage? Thank you! Victor
Thank you Victor, I let the cuttings dry out for a week or two and then plant them in dry soil. I lightly mist the cuttings every morning and when they start to grow again, you can increase the watering. I'll try and get a video on this.
How do u decide which limbs to trim !!! I cringed the whole time but it did look more like the vision u explained u had for the forest when u wr finished great vid thanks 👍
The forest is completely overgrown right now. I'm letting it grow to help thicken the trunks more, but I may have to prune it soon, as the branches are starting to weep with the weight of the leaves.
Great forest! So great, it actually has me wanting to chop my P afra. Could I take my plant and cut into several cuttings and root to make a type of forest setting? Also if I cut and leave only leafless stem/trunk sections, could these root and become future trunks? Thanks for all the advice and great videos!!
Severe chopping can give unpredictable results, I did loose some large branches that were cut back, but overall I was happy with the results! All the cuttings can be rooted to create a forest. This is what I did with this planting, it started as just one tree. Over the years I have gotten so many cuttings! I'm not sure how successful leafless rootless trunk cuttings would do, but I would imagine under the right conditions they would root and grow leaves. I would only do this operation in the middle of summer and keep the cuttings out of the rain, but they should be lightly misted each day.
Thanks Nigel, i have just potted mine up in a forest arrangement. its very early stages but every year its getting closer to looking as good as yours. I was hoping to send you a photo, anywhere i can do that?
Hi again @nigel sanders. You are great person who shares his great experience with people. thanks for that. And I have question I watch a lot of your videos and I couldnt find the answer so i want to ask it directly to you Mr Sanders. Can I make a forest with mixed bonsai types? And if yes what type of soil mixture i should use. thanks in advance
Yes you can make mixed forest plantings, it is not usually done for a couple of reasons. The trees in the forest should be of a similar type with regards to water requirements. You wouldn't want to mix a weeping willow with a Jade. One would be over watered, the other under watered. Every tree has a certain scale that the viewer sees the tree being. You imagine the tree as a full size tree but shrunken down in size. There are many factors that determine this perceived size in the tree, leaf size, bark texture, root spread etc. It is hard to find two trees of different species that have the same perceived scale size to them. That is why mixed forests are uncommon. I have seen many that do look really good, you just have to be careful matching up your trees.
Hey Nigel. Great videos. Have you got a video on how to propagate those cuttings that you took? I have been bonsai crazy for the last few years and would have a bunch more trees if I could figure how to grow the cuttings!
I don't have a video. I let the cuttings dry out for a week and then stick them into a pot with bonsai soil. I just mist the cuttings for another week and keep the soil dry. After that I begin to water the trees normally, letting the soil dry out between waterings. This method works on most succulent plants.
Nigel Saunders thanks! i would still love to see a video one of these days on rooting other types of cuttings but this is a good place to start. next i would love to root an umberella tree. every cutting i have taken has died
Jonathan Busuttil Those are probably best rooted in water. If you keep a clear plastic bag over the tree, with some vent holes in it, it will keep the humidity in until the cutting roots. This may take a month. Keep the cutting in a sunny window.
Jon, Portulacaria afra seem to be the easiest plants I have found to root. Drop a leaf on the soil surface, it will root. Take a cutting, it will root. They are hard to kill. Unless you expose them to temps below 40 degrees or let the roots rot.
sms 25 Thanks! i am definitely going to try and grow some. I had a tree die when i brought it in for the winter and am in need of a new project. I dont have much space or money but I now have a free pot and an excuse for a new tree
You're the man great video like always thanks so much for the info you provide it is truly inspiring to the bonsai novice like myself Merry Christmas I hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday
Hello Again thank you for your advice. I recently bought a potucalaria afra, but since it has lost all its leaves and now it is the branches that are drying out can you advise me for this tree? thank you in advance.
It can sometimes be difficult to get the root system established under less than ideal conditions. The plants need full sun and heat to really thrive. Keep in the best of conditions and hopefully it will make it to summer. Once the tree is established in the pot, it should survive indoors in the winter much better.
Hi Nigel. Love your channel. Question: I've heard P. afra grows sparse, stubby roots when the substrate is kept damp (like deciduous trees) and grows well-distributed, more vigorous roots when left to dry more. That said, what's your watering culture like with P. afra? And, more pressingly for the coming season, how does it change in the winter?
The amount of water I give it depends on the light and temperature. In the summer when it is warm and sunny, it gets watered and fertilized daily as it can dry the soil out in a day. In the winter, it can go up to 2 weeks without water if it is cool and cloudy. I always base my watering on the soil, if it's dry, I water it and if it is still damp, I leave it alone. I usually don't water it thoroughly in the winter because the amount of sun isn't dependable. If you give it a good soaking and then it stays cloudy for 2 weeks, the roots could start to rot. Most of my watering in winter is done with spray bottles or bottle cap water heads. I do have a video on winter watering that might help..... ua-cam.com/video/UagmuAwhYWE/v-deo.html In winter, definitively water less, but if you are going to get a nice couple of sunny days in a row, you can give it a good soaking. Keep your eye on the weather channel. I rely on natural light in the plant room, if you use artificial light, you may be able to be more consistent with watering.
Hi Nigel, when is the best time of the year to repot a mature, indoorly kept Portulacaria Afra? I've read several answers from 'February' to 'at the height of summer' and yet I miss your confidence and expertise.
If they go outside in the summer, then mid summer is best. The plants are really vigorous at this time of the year and will recover quickly from root pruning. If the plants are indoors all year round, then I find late February is the best time to re pot. The sun shines directly in the South facing windows and it is the brightest time of year indoors.
Amazing! Great to follow the development of your trees! I hope you can keep a nice climate in the plant-room in those temperatures you have at the moment! How do you do it (heating - isolation etc.)?
Hey, Nigel! I was perusing the internet trying to prepare for the portulacaria afra trunk chop, and I found myself on a thread that spoke to creating nebari on these beauties. The poster suggested that we cut the root ball completely off on the bottom, leaving only the radial roots at the base, comb that out and cover them very shallowly and just let them grow. after they get so long, cut to produce taper in the root and that makes it so you don't have "pipes". The poster showed his daughter's trees and the roots looked amazing. The taper was obvious and the trunk taper looked very much like it was going the right way.. I know you have been wondering how to increase the trunk taper and radial roots quicker. I thought I would post this and leave you the addy: www.bonsainut.com/threads/nebari-on-portulacaria-afra.7074/ . If you don't want this on your site here, just delete, I wonder if this treatment would work on my old ficus retusa, or the larches. hmmmm Cheers!
Hello, I have seen this article and it worked very well. I have also seen this operation where it only grew roots on the one side and the tree never did grow roots on that side ever again. I think this happened on one of Jim Smiths old trees.Here is an article he has written on the care of this species... ofbonsai.org/species-specific/tropical/portulacaria-afra I think with the right conditions and proper aftercare it would be a good technique to try!
Love your forest Nigel! One question I have is about cut paste. I have a little succulent bonsai that, when pruned, develops these horrible dried flaky scars - do you find the same with your portulacaria?
I scrap the scars back to green wood with my finger nail, just to smooth them out. After that they slowly become woody and blend in with the trunk. It takes many years before they begin to disappear, but they add some nice character to the trunk.
Hi again, is it typical for this plant to lose some leaves in colder weather? I have been careful not to overwater. I see new growth but a lot of the leaves have been falling.
If the plant is too cold, has low light or is under watered, it will lose it's leaves. It will loose some leaves as they get older, but normally the leaves should stay on.
I adore your videos, they are fantastic! How old are the trees in this video? I just brought some Portulacaria from Lanzarote and I am looking forward to make something out of them :)
The largest tree in the forest is about 20 years old now, all the other trees are cuttings off of the main tree. The large tree started out as a small cutting also!
Hey Nigel, I just received a few very large jade trees and was wondering if I could cut a fairly large, woody branch and make it a nice specimen tree on its own and how to go about the rooting process? I am afraid of cutting the branch, which would make a great bonsai, only to have it die. How do you propagate your jade cuttings and can you propagate older, "hardwood" cuttings?
Jade cuttings will root from almost any size. You need to leave the cutting on your bench for a week with no soil to let the cut dry out. Then you can plant the cutting in dry bonsai soil with no watering for another week. You can mist the leaves for this week, but keep the soil almost bone dry. In the third week you can give the tree a watering. Be sure to let the soil go right dry before watering again. Keep the cutting out of the rain to keep it from getting too wet. Planting the cutting should be done in the middle of summer when it's hot and sunny. You can prune the cutting before planting to get some of the weight off the top, and the cutting can be planted a little deeper than you want. It can be supported with stones around the base to hold the cutting in place while it roots. Good luck!
Basically, the longer you let your tree grow, the bigger the scars you will get from pruning the tree back. Frequent pruning will allow you shape your branches slowly and more carefully with less scars, but it takes a long time to get a larger tree.
Check out the playlist for this forest, you will find many tips in the series.... ua-cam.com/play/PLQouTWwmTQow3J1GeaAgURSTigAr_uWDK.html Also check out the Jade playlist...... ua-cam.com/play/PLQouTWwmTQoyFxAwlVL8L1aXNl_fJavtx.html
Hey Nigel! I bought a Jade today at a grocery store. Just happened to see it and grabbed it. My question is that mine is obviously very young, but it has HUGE "leaves" compared to these. It looks nothing like this. Are there different types of Jade that are more or less suitable? Or do I need to make the leaves smaller by pruning and training?
Hello Christopher, the trees in this video are not actually Jade plants, but are a different species from Africa that look like miniature Jades. Jades can be made into really impressive bonsai. Try google images and you'll see some amazing pics! The leaves will reduce in size with pruning, ramification and full sun. Be sure to slowly transition your Jade to full sun or the leaves might burn.
Hi Nigel, had a question. I'm doing some landscaping work to one of my bonsai. I have a rock and patches of Moss in the landscape. I placed some of my moss on the rock, while some on the soil, the method by which you instruct in your various videos. It has been two months since the application now, and the moss on the soil has flourished and greened up, whereas the patch on the rock has turned blackish green and brownish yellow in colour. So what are your suggestions to make the rock moss green?
I would just scrap off the moss that doesn't look good. The moss that surrounds the rocks will grow up on top of the rocks if the conditions are right. (cool and damp with lots of light). Usually something will grow on the rocks with the regular watering a bonsai landscape gets! It may be moss or sometimes lichen. Some years the rocks will grow thick with moss, other years growth will be sparse. All you can do is encourage growth with watering and misting, then let nature do the rest!
Hello Sona, I would size your tray so it looks a little big at first. As the Jades grow, the pot will seem the right size. Jades look best with lots of space around them and with a dry looking landscape.
My trees grow well in winter with the south facing windows in the plant room, so I am OK to prune now. If your tree is in less that ideal conditions, waiting for late spring may be the best option.
I usually wait a week before planting in dry soil.I then only mist the trees for another week, and then finally in the third week I give them the first watering. I let the soil dry out before watering again. Good luck!
It is just regular moss that I collect from sunny spots, driveways and sidewalk cracks mostly. It survives in my plant room because of the high humidity.
I use half perlite and half turface. I will also mix in 10 to 20 percent composted pine bark. All the materials are sifted to remove the fine particles. The trees need to be watered and fertilized frequently with this mix, as it will dry out quickly on a hot dry summer day. I usually need to water twice a day in summer. The drainage is excellent and it is very difficult to get root rot.
It is beautiful! Today, at a store, I checked out the flower section and there were two types small jade plants. I bought both of them (Here's a picture: imgur.com/a/4MaUO ) Are these both Portulacaria afra? Can the one with whiter leaves also be a bonsai? I would like to ask you about how fast do they grow? How long before the trunk starts to get woody? Thank you. I am sorry to have so many questions! But you're an expert! :)
They both look to be Portulacaria afra, the light coloured one is a variegated species (Portulacaria afra variegata) Both will make an excellent bonsai!
PhobosAnomaly Spekboom (or spekbos, depends on who you ask) or according to the wiki "Portulacaria afra" is a really amazing plant it is believed to be able to keep sucking up CO2 day and night
Nigel Saunders Yeah I picked up a few because of this video. I used to not like them until I saw what can actually be achieved. Mine are very young though so it'll take some time.
A quick question. If you would want to get some leafs started lower - under you last set of leafs, what can you do? I have a very young and thiny plant for now. I have two shoots very low on the trunk. I am planing to chop the main trunk for taper. But I am afraid that if I will wait too long for it, the leafs will die off and the remaining shoots will have leafs only at it's ends. Also, how do you know when the new growth needs to be pinched back? - I would just let it grow, but I've heard that then I will lose the lower leafs from which I plan to get some branches going. Here's the picture: imgur.com/a/g0pvW (yellow lines would be pinching.. white line a trunk chop in the future.. when?) Thanks
I think I would start by planning the design and size of the tree. If you envision the tree as a large bonsai, you may not need to prune that far back to get a nice tapered trunk. The root spread may do this for you at the base. If you want a small tree, then you might want get branches low down for movement and taper. I think the leaves near the bottom will turn into branches for for a long time. I would think you are safe for a couple of years at least before the trunk thickens to the point where it may affect the branch growth. I would try pruning to your yellow lines first and then see if the lower leaves turn into branches. If this doesn't work then try a trunk chop to the white line after the tree is growing well again. Maybe a month later (in summer)? With all these operations, you will have the best results pruning mid summer, but any time they are growing well will work. The cuttings you remove can be used to start new trees. You can try different techniques on these cuttings and find out what works well for your growing conditions. Some day you will end up with more trees than you know what to do with!
My first portulacaria cuttings just arrived, looking forward to growing them! Watching you prune is so relaxing, when you make a cut it seems like the branch was destined to be that way! Thanks for the videos Nigel!
Thank you Matthew, your cuttings will be trees in no time!
It's great to see a tiny forest develop over almost 3 years now. When is the next update coming for this one?
Very soon, I was just looking at it thinking, time to prune!
Always enjoy visiting this penjing...Thanks for sharing...
Your Portulacaria afra forest is INCREDIBLE Nigel and it looks brilliant all pruned :-) thanks so much for sharing and sending you an abundance of love and heaps of plant power from right across the Emerald Isle for a wonderful day XXXXX
Thanks Lyn!
I love what you and the trees have created with this arrangement, it looks beautiful.
Thank you Katherine, I'm working on the tree's canopies now, they are filling in nicely!
This group/forest is such a fantastical design. Beautiful work! 💮
Thank you!
Dear Nigel This tree is called a Spekboom in SA and actually represent a brush belonging to the succulent family.They easily grow from any cutting/breaking off a couple of leaves-the dryer the more eager to regenerate.The have an amazing capacity for carbon absorption and are generally a source of reward for there role in diminishing a carbon trail.The are grown as bonsais on a mass basis by ngo helping to uplift unemployed people in the Phisantekraal area a farming community up our West Coast about 100km from Cape Town.They donot naturally grow in "forests' and as I said they are locally regarded as succulents.Are you familiar with wild olive trees as bonsais? I have a stash of about 1 million seeds and was wondering about the export market?
Thanks for the great information! Wild olive trees can make a really nice bonsai, you would have to check the import/export laws for your country and others with regards to your seeds.
coming along great. nice to see the progression. I recently acquired a local manzanita myself I'm excited to work with. I think as a species it posses great inherit potential.
I had never heard of the tree, so I looked it up. Wow amazing colour, I really like trees that have unique features. Good luck with it, I hope you send me photos some time!
thekwbonsaisociety@gmail.com
Thanks Nigel for this nice update! Its looking great as it is already..!
Thanks Ben, I hate pruning it back so much, but for the long term, I think I'll be glad.
Какое творчество - чудо !!!!!!!!! Спасибо за видео !
and always a pleasure to see him work my friend ... big hug
Thanks Felix, all the best over the holidays!
Nice Forrest Sir, I love them..
Beautiful forest. I love these little trees very much. Thanks for the video. I hope someday I, too, will have one.
Thanks Anita!
Good morning Nigel,
I hope all is well. I really love your library of videos, I find them very educational. When trimming the Afra, how do you grow the cuttings? Would you do a video on how you have a successful rooting percentage? Thank you! Victor
Thank you Victor, I let the cuttings dry out for a week or two and then plant them in dry soil. I lightly mist the cuttings every morning and when they start to grow again, you can increase the watering. I'll try and get a video on this.
Your forest settings are amazing.
Thank you Josh!
Wow they look so nice mine never get that big and always take forever to grow but those are amazing ❤️
Also I have one that's growing but it's more like a vine
They will do that, it just needs some hard pruning.
This is amazing! One day I will do something like this. How wonderful xx
Thank you Bev! You can do it!
How do u decide which limbs to trim !!! I cringed the whole time but it did look more like the vision u explained u had for the forest when u wr finished great vid thanks 👍
The forest is completely overgrown right now. I'm letting it grow to help thicken the trunks more, but I may have to prune it soon, as the branches are starting to weep with the weight of the leaves.
this is really beautiful..I really enjoy this one. thnx for sharing
Your very welcome! Thanks.
Never saw the beauty of this species, but now I do!
Thanks Bart!
Great forest! So great, it actually has me wanting to chop my P afra. Could I take my plant and cut into several cuttings and root to make a type of forest setting? Also if I cut and leave only leafless stem/trunk sections, could these root and become future trunks?
Thanks for all the advice and great videos!!
Severe chopping can give unpredictable results, I did loose some large branches that were cut back, but overall I was happy with the results! All the cuttings can be rooted to create a forest. This is what I did with this planting, it started as just one tree. Over the years I have gotten so many cuttings! I'm not sure how successful leafless rootless trunk cuttings would do, but I would imagine under the right conditions they would root and grow leaves. I would only do this operation in the middle of summer and keep the cuttings out of the rain, but they should be lightly misted each day.
Thanks Nigel, i have just potted mine up in a forest arrangement. its very early stages but every year its getting closer to looking as good as yours. I was hoping to send you a photo, anywhere i can do that?
I love to see it, you can send them to....
thekwbonsaisociety@gmail.com
Hi again @nigel sanders. You are great person who shares his great experience with people. thanks for that. And I have question I watch a lot of your videos and I couldnt find the answer so i want to ask it directly to you Mr Sanders. Can I make a forest with mixed bonsai types? And if yes what type of soil mixture i should use. thanks in advance
Yes you can make mixed forest plantings, it is not usually done for a couple of reasons. The trees in the forest should be of a similar type with regards to water requirements. You wouldn't want to mix a weeping willow with a Jade. One would be over watered, the other under watered. Every tree has a certain scale that the viewer sees the tree being. You imagine the tree as a full size tree but shrunken down in size. There are many factors that determine this perceived size in the tree, leaf size, bark texture, root spread etc. It is hard to find two trees of different species that have the same perceived scale size to them. That is why mixed forests are uncommon. I have seen many that do look really good, you just have to be careful matching up your trees.
Mr Saunders thanks for sperig time to answer. and it was very explanatory answer thanks again. I will keep watching you good effort
Hey Nigel. Great videos. Have you got a video on how to propagate those cuttings that you took? I have been bonsai crazy for the last few years and would have a bunch more trees if I could figure how to grow the cuttings!
I don't have a video. I let the cuttings dry out for a week and then stick them into a pot with bonsai soil. I just mist the cuttings for another week and keep the soil dry. After that I begin to water the trees normally, letting the soil dry out between waterings. This method works on most succulent plants.
Nigel Saunders thanks! i would still love to see a video one of these days on rooting other types of cuttings but this is a good place to start. next i would love to root an umberella tree. every cutting i have taken has died
Jonathan Busuttil Those are probably best rooted in water. If you keep a clear plastic bag over the tree, with some vent holes in it, it will keep the humidity in until the cutting roots. This may take a month. Keep the cutting in a sunny window.
Jon,
Portulacaria afra seem to be the easiest plants I have found to root. Drop a leaf on the soil surface, it will root. Take a cutting, it will root. They are hard to kill. Unless you expose them to temps below 40 degrees or let the roots rot.
sms 25 Thanks! i am definitely going to try and grow some. I had a tree die when i brought it in for the winter and am in need of a new project. I dont have much space or money but I now have a free pot and an excuse for a new tree
Very nice Nigel, thank you for sharing your expertise. My lemon tree is doing great. :))
Good to hear, I always look forward to pruning the Lemon trees, they smell so nice!
You're the man
great video like always
thanks so much for the info you provide it is truly inspiring to the bonsai novice like myself
Merry Christmas I hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday
hoping to get one someday, but a tall order for it to be a weeping style, but have seen them. I think they are a weeping variety?
They will begin to weep if left to grow long. In Africa the grow into tall thickets.
ua-cam.com/video/rffaXNbK9XI/v-deo.html
love what you have done. Working on something similar just not forest
Hello
Again thank you for your advice.
I recently bought a potucalaria afra, but since it has lost all its leaves and now it is the branches that are drying out can you advise me for this tree?
thank you in advance.
It can sometimes be difficult to get the root system established under less than ideal conditions. The plants need full sun and heat to really thrive. Keep in the best of conditions and hopefully it will make it to summer. Once the tree is established in the pot, it should survive indoors in the winter much better.
Hi Nigel. Love your channel.
Question: I've heard P. afra grows sparse, stubby roots when the substrate is kept damp (like deciduous trees) and grows well-distributed, more vigorous roots when left to dry more. That said, what's your watering culture like with P. afra? And, more pressingly for the coming season, how does it change in the winter?
The amount of water I give it depends on the light and temperature. In the summer when it is warm and sunny, it gets watered and fertilized daily as it can dry the soil out in a day. In the winter, it can go up to 2 weeks without water if it is cool and cloudy. I always base my watering on the soil, if it's dry, I water it and if it is still damp, I leave it alone. I usually don't water it thoroughly in the winter because the amount of sun isn't dependable. If you give it a good soaking and then it stays cloudy for 2 weeks, the roots could start to rot. Most of my watering in winter is done with spray bottles or bottle cap water heads. I do have a video on winter watering that might help.....
ua-cam.com/video/UagmuAwhYWE/v-deo.html
In winter, definitively water less, but if you are going to get a nice couple of sunny days in a row, you can give it a good soaking. Keep your eye on the weather channel. I rely on natural light in the plant room, if you use artificial light, you may be able to be more consistent with watering.
Hi Nigel, when is the best time of the year to repot a mature, indoorly kept Portulacaria Afra? I've read several answers from 'February' to 'at the height of summer' and yet I miss your confidence and expertise.
If they go outside in the summer, then mid summer is best. The plants are really vigorous at this time of the year and will recover quickly from root pruning. If the plants are indoors all year round, then I find late February is the best time to re pot. The sun shines directly in the South facing windows and it is the brightest time of year indoors.
@@TheBonsaiZone Thanks Nigel, much appreciated.
Amazing! Great to follow the development of your trees! I hope you can keep a nice climate in the plant-room in those temperatures you have at the moment! How do you do it (heating - isolation etc.)?
I have an electric heater and a fan to circulate the air. I have insulated the room better and it holds the heat nicely now. Thanks Terje.
M really inspired from as i have scarcity of water here i think its best to go for dwarf jade forest bonsai tq sir for posting video of it
They are excellent trees for dry areas! Happy growing!
Hey, Nigel! I was perusing the internet trying to prepare for the portulacaria afra trunk chop, and I found myself on a thread that spoke to creating nebari on these beauties. The poster suggested that we cut the root ball completely off on the bottom, leaving only the radial roots at the base, comb that out and cover them very shallowly and just let them grow. after they get so long, cut to produce taper in the root and that makes it so you don't have "pipes". The poster showed his daughter's trees and the roots looked amazing. The taper was obvious and the trunk taper looked very much like it was going the right way.. I know you have been wondering how to increase the trunk taper and radial roots quicker. I thought I would post this and leave you the addy: www.bonsainut.com/threads/nebari-on-portulacaria-afra.7074/ . If you don't want this on your site here, just delete,
I wonder if this treatment would work on my old ficus retusa, or the larches. hmmmm
Cheers!
Hello, I have seen this article and it worked very well. I have also seen this operation where it only grew roots on the one side and the tree never did grow roots on that side ever again. I think this happened on one of Jim Smiths old trees.Here is an article he has written on the care of this species...
ofbonsai.org/species-specific/tropical/portulacaria-afra
I think with the right conditions and proper aftercare it would be a good technique to try!
Love your forest Nigel! One question I have is about cut paste. I have a little succulent bonsai that, when pruned, develops these horrible dried flaky scars - do you find the same with your portulacaria?
I scrap the scars back to green wood with my finger nail, just to smooth them out. After that they slowly become woody and blend in with the trunk. It takes many years before they begin to disappear, but they add some nice character to the trunk.
Hi again, is it typical for this plant to lose some leaves in colder weather? I have been careful not to overwater. I see new growth but a lot of the leaves have been falling.
If the plant is too cold, has low light or is under watered, it will lose it's leaves. It will loose some leaves as they get older, but normally the leaves should stay on.
love you videos. are you still planing to make one on sharpening tools?
Yes, it will be coming up in a club meeting this winter, I'll be sure to record it!
I adore your videos, they are fantastic!
How old are the trees in this video?
I just brought some Portulacaria from Lanzarote and I am looking forward to make something out of them :)
The largest tree in the forest is about 20 years old now, all the other trees are cuttings off of the main tree. The large tree started out as a small cutting also!
I called my project "2045", so there is enough time, to realize a landscape with 20 year old trees ;-)
where did you get that pot?very beautiful forest.thanks
Hey Nigel, I just received a few very large jade trees and was wondering if I could cut a fairly large, woody branch and make it a nice specimen tree on its own and how to go about the rooting process? I am afraid of cutting the branch, which would make a great bonsai, only to have it die. How do you propagate your jade cuttings and can you propagate older, "hardwood" cuttings?
Jade cuttings will root from almost any size. You need to leave the cutting on your bench for a week with no soil to let the cut dry out. Then you can plant the cutting in dry bonsai soil with no watering for another week. You can mist the leaves for this week, but keep the soil almost bone dry. In the third week you can give the tree a watering. Be sure to let the soil go right dry before watering again. Keep the cutting out of the rain to keep it from getting too wet. Planting the cutting should be done in the middle of summer when it's hot and sunny. You can prune the cutting before planting to get some of the weight off the top, and the cutting can be planted a little deeper than you want. It can be supported with stones around the base to hold the cutting in place while it roots.
Good luck!
Thanks so much!
This is exactly like painting a 3D Forest. I'd like to see them from top angle, if possible.?
I should have included that. The next video I'll show more. Thanks!
:-) :-) :-) thank you!
Hi Nigel, just to be sure, you let the tree grow for a long time, and then cut them back to get a thick trunk, right?
Basically, the longer you let your tree grow, the bigger the scars you will get from pruning the tree back. Frequent pruning will allow you shape your branches slowly and more carefully with less scars, but it takes a long time to get a larger tree.
Nigel Saunders thank you for your answer
I recently bought a p afra shoot at ikea. Any tips on how to start the process into a bonsai? I have no idea what steps to take. Thanks!!
Check out the playlist for this forest, you will find many tips in the series....
ua-cam.com/play/PLQouTWwmTQow3J1GeaAgURSTigAr_uWDK.html
Also check out the Jade playlist......
ua-cam.com/play/PLQouTWwmTQoyFxAwlVL8L1aXNl_fJavtx.html
Hey Nigel! I bought a Jade today at a grocery store. Just happened to see it and grabbed it. My question is that mine is obviously very young, but it has HUGE "leaves" compared to these. It looks nothing like this. Are there different types of Jade that are more or less suitable? Or do I need to make the leaves smaller by pruning and training?
Hello Christopher, the trees in this video are not actually Jade plants, but are a different species from Africa that look like miniature Jades. Jades can be made into really impressive bonsai. Try google images and you'll see some amazing pics! The leaves will reduce in size with pruning, ramification and full sun. Be sure to slowly transition your Jade to full sun or the leaves might burn.
Hi Nigel, had a question. I'm doing some landscaping work to one of my bonsai. I have a rock and patches of Moss in the landscape. I placed some of my moss on the rock, while some on the soil, the method by which you instruct in your various videos. It has been two months since the application now, and the moss on the soil has flourished and greened up, whereas the patch on the rock has turned blackish green and brownish yellow in colour. So what are your suggestions to make the rock moss green?
I would just scrap off the moss that doesn't look good. The moss that surrounds the rocks will grow up on top of the rocks if the conditions are right. (cool and damp with lots of light). Usually something will grow on the rocks with the regular watering a bonsai landscape gets! It may be moss or sometimes lichen. Some years the rocks will grow thick with moss, other years growth will be sparse. All you can do is encourage growth with watering and misting, then let nature do the rest!
+Nigel Saunders Thanks!
How many inches tray should I take fr forest bonsai. I'll make jade forest of 7 plants
Hello Sona, I would size your tray so it looks a little big at first. As the Jades grow, the pot will seem the right size. Jades look best with lots of space around them and with a dry looking landscape.
Looks really great!
Thanks Aldo!
Would you advise hard pruning of this species in winter , or wait till spring when they can be moved outdoors for the season ?
My trees grow well in winter with the south facing windows in the plant room, so I am OK to prune now. If your tree is in less that ideal conditions, waiting for late spring may be the best option.
Thanks for the response!
nice job i was thinking to make one from crassula a while ago but never got to it :)
Thank you, Jades can make an excellent bonsai. They just keep getting better the older they get!
woah, is an amazing work Nigel! thanks for show us this :)
No prob, thanks Yniguezovich!
Nigel Saunders
I love the pot you have these in. Is it a mica or clay pot? Where can I get one?
It is in a mica pot, you can order them from....
www.bonsaiboy.com/catalog/product634.html
Thank you sir. Can always count on a prompt response from you.
I recently started by getting cuttings of this plant. how long should i wait before planting, do you ever root prune on this bonsai?
I usually wait a week before planting in dry soil.I then only mist the trees for another week, and then finally in the third week I give them the first watering. I let the soil dry out before watering again. Good luck!
When you pot the cuttings, how long/tall do you let them grow before you start to work them?
I usually let them grow for a year or two, then re pot and prune.
But how many inches as I am going to buy
Are Portulacaria related to Crassula in any way? Cause they kinda look the same.
They look very similar, but are a different species. They can be cared for and pruned in the same way.
Great news! Just started a small Crassula bonsai and got suspicious.
What are you using as the ground cover?
It is just regular moss that I collect from sunny spots, driveways and sidewalk cracks mostly. It survives in my plant room because of the high humidity.
What soil mix do you recommend?
I use half perlite and half turface. I will also mix in 10 to 20 percent composted pine bark. All the materials are sifted to remove the fine particles. The trees need to be watered and fertilized frequently with this mix, as it will dry out quickly on a hot dry summer day. I usually need to water twice a day in summer. The drainage is excellent and it is very difficult to get root rot.
It is beautiful! Today, at a store, I checked out the flower section and there were two types small jade plants. I bought both of them (Here's a picture: imgur.com/a/4MaUO ) Are these both Portulacaria afra? Can the one with whiter leaves also be a bonsai? I would like to ask you about how fast do they grow? How long before the trunk starts to get woody? Thank you. I am sorry to have so many questions! But you're an expert! :)
They both look to be Portulacaria afra, the light coloured one is a variegated species (Portulacaria afra variegata)
Both will make an excellent bonsai!
PhobosAnomaly
Spekboom (or spekbos, depends on who you ask) or according to the wiki "Portulacaria afra" is a really amazing plant
it is believed to be able to keep sucking up CO2 day and night
Yes! I just watered mine.
I'm glad you have one. They are not a traditional bonsai species, but they are one of my favorites!
Nigel Saunders Yeah I picked up a few because of this video. I used to not like them until I saw what can actually be achieved. Mine are very young though so it'll take some time.
A quick question. If you would want to get some leafs started lower - under you last set of leafs, what can you do? I have a very young and thiny plant for now. I have two shoots very low on the trunk. I am planing to chop the main trunk for taper. But I am afraid that if I will wait too long for it, the leafs will die off and the remaining shoots will have leafs only at it's ends.
Also, how do you know when the new growth needs to be pinched back? - I would just let it grow, but I've heard that then I will lose the lower leafs from which I plan to get some branches going.
Here's the picture: imgur.com/a/g0pvW (yellow lines would be pinching.. white line a trunk chop in the future.. when?)
Thanks
I think I would start by planning the design and size of the tree. If you envision the tree as a large bonsai, you may not need to prune that far back to get a nice tapered trunk. The root spread may do this for you at the base. If you want a small tree, then you might want get branches low down for movement and taper. I think the leaves near the bottom will turn into branches for for a long time. I would think you are safe for a couple of years at least before the trunk thickens to the point where it may affect the branch growth. I would try pruning to your yellow lines first and then see if the lower leaves turn into branches. If this doesn't work then try a trunk chop to the white line after the tree is growing well again. Maybe a month later (in summer)? With all these operations, you will have the best results pruning mid summer, but any time they are growing well will work. The cuttings you remove can be used to start new trees. You can try different techniques on these cuttings and find out what works well for your growing conditions. Some day you will end up with more trees than you know what to do with!
Yes, I want to have small tree. :) Thanks :D You are right, I will have a lot of cuttings to experiment with in the future.
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