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Sunday, September 14, 2008

Portulacaria afra bonsai

OK, I got my nerve up this morning, bright and early before it had time to get hot outside...and went to the tires and pulled out the big overgrown portulacaria afra to bonsai. Here it is in the tires.

Voila...it's out and about to be placed in a pot.

First I had to cut the roots, or so says my new bonsai book! SOOO...I did.

OK...in a pot, and I had to place big rocks around it to help support it until it got trimmed. I also had to use this Pothos to help me also, since no one else was around to.

I started cutting, following the guide in my book, while trying to maintain a balanced look. It is cut now to a beginning state, where it can start to branch a bit, and I can continue cutting to make a bushier tree. This should be fun!
Here is the pile of plant cuttings which I took back out and re-stuck into my tires...hey...free material for future bonsais!!

Here is the finished product, for now!

And a turtle added, for good luck!

10 comments:

Teri said...

What a great explanation! I could even do it :) It already looks so good.

My Little Family: said...

It looks FABULOUS! I've been in Bonsai shops and I believe it looks as good as an professional job. Great work! Vickie

walk2write said...

What a beautiful plant! I thought that Portulaca was just a hardy annual, aka moss rose. I have some in my one of my flower beds, and they never fail to bloom. The leaves look succulent, and they are not waterhogs. I love those kinds of plants because we do not have an irrigation system in our yard.

Ashraf sharif said...

very nice ,but i think this plant need high light, in grow in low light Drop leaves.

soulbrush said...

i got a bonsai this summer, and am scared to trim it...eeek...what do i do/ just look at it and then cut off some of the longer branches?...this has given me some inspiration....eeeekkkk
there's an award for you on my blog to cheer you up. hugs.

Julie said...

Thanks everyone! Of course it will be bushier in time. I was so scared to start cutting, but just sort of did it...it is a fun experiment. I will have to keep it in a sunny spot for sure...it is used to full sun out in the tires. I will show it to you later after it has had a few more trimmings and gets bushier.

Pudgeduck said...

Good job! Everyone that I ever bought died. I think I'll try this on a plant I already have. Thanks!

Kat said...

Wow great job! And I love the turtle.

Aiyana said...

You make it look easy!
Aiyana

kesslerdee said...

How very cool! I saw one of these plants at the nursery the other day and thought they were very neat. I'd love to try this!
Love your blog!