Bonsai, another hobby of mine

[Joe Pelonio]

Actually I have too many hobbies and not enough time for any of them. This is a coast live oak that I grew from an acorn, it's now 14 years old
and about 16" high, the trunk at the base is 1-1/4" diameter. The other one is my Interlaken grape bonsai, planted from a cutting that I rooted
11 years ago, it's about a foot high with a 1" trunk. Any other bonsai
fans here? And no, you turners cannot have the oak for crooked pencils!

[Martin Shupe]

Actually I have too many hobbies and not enough time for any of them. This is a coast live oak that I grew from an acorn, it's now 14 years old
and about 16" high, the trunk at the base is 1-1/4" diameter. The other one is my Interlaken grape bonsai, planted from a cutting that I rooted
11 years ago, it's about a foot high with a 1" trunk. Any other bonsai
fans here? And no, you turners cannot have the oak for crooked pencils!

I don't do Bonsai, but I have always been fascinated by it. It looks like you are a master. I especially like the oak tree. Very impressive.

How often do you have to prune the roots? I'll bet you have to water it every day with the pot so small!

[Joe Pelonio]

Thanks Martin, but I'm a long way from a master. The roots get pruned 1-2 times a year, depends on how fast they grow (I have 16 trees currently). I have them on tiered wooden rack with a drip system on a timer that I adjust for the time of year. Now they are at once a day but by August it will be 2-3 times a day, just 2-3 minutes at a time.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Very nice Joe, I see them all over the place here, I tried my hand at it, but in the summer when it is so hot, you got to water them, or mist them several times a day, and I would forget, so in the best intrest of other Bonsai trees, I don't do this anymore.

I'll try to find some local ones and take some pics.

VERY nice!

Cheers!

[John Hart]

Very nice Joe. Yup. I'm a big fan. When I lived in Hawaii, I got started and had 6 growing and doing well. They died when I moved back to the continental US. Since that time...and moving around, just didn't seem to get back into it. When we get our new house, we'll have a nice atrium where I'll get back into it.

By the way...The Live Oak is my favorite tree because they look like giant bonsai naturally. I think it is so cool that you actually put a Live Oak in a tray. Excellent!!!:)

[Joe Pelonio]

John,

Too bad about your 6, in Hawaii you can do a lot of trees that won't grow on the mainland unless you're in Florida. I lost some of mine moving from CA to WA back in '93.

I have 6-8 India Banyan trees that I grew from seed, just a few inches high that I plan to bonsai and keep inside as tropical indoor bonsais.

[Jim Becker]

Those are very nice, Joe!

[Don Baer]

And no, you turners cannot have the oak for crooked pencils!

Joe,
I was thinking of all of the miniature bowl blanks I could get from it.:D

Those are very nice. I thought about getting into Bonsai, even went so far as getting a few books on the subject but I've never had the time to get started.