My soil arrived and I have managed to get my first bonsai planted, a juniper virginiana. It is still a seedling and there are probably better ways to do this. It seems to have been raining ever since I got it into the pot and I am kicking myself for not taking pictures of the potting process. I did get some of the final results.The picture to the right is of the soil used, it is very large grained, like a fine gravel with a mix of pine bark, river gravel and turface. The one below is of the final product, or rather the first stage of the final product, it still has a long way to go till it is a real bonsai.
The hardest part for me this potting was getting the wire staples to hold the mesh that goes over the pots drainage holes in place. It took a few practice attempts but eventually I got things looking decent and somewhat securely in place. Also when I got the plant out of its soil, just normal potting soil my dad uses, it had more roots but not what I was expecting. That's why the wire is wrapped around the base like that in the pictures. The wire both holds the tree in place and helps push that part of the trunk up, which was originally part of the tap root. I am going to leave the rest of the tree un-wired for now as I think the trunk might be taking on a nice shape and will see how it grows out. However I will have to check it often to make sure the wires on it are not biting into it. Under the soil they do not twist at all around the plant so I can inspect every part that is in any danger of wire damage. Hopefully when the time comes around to cut the top wire the roots will have grown enough to keep the plant securely wired in, as of right now without the wire wrap it isn't secure at all. If the root mass doesn't grow enough I'll have to get more wire and re-secure it.
The hardest part for me this potting was getting the wire staples to hold the mesh that goes over the pots drainage holes in place. It took a few practice attempts but eventually I got things looking decent and somewhat securely in place. Also when I got the plant out of its soil, just normal potting soil my dad uses, it had more roots but not what I was expecting. That's why the wire is wrapped around the base like that in the pictures. The wire both holds the tree in place and helps push that part of the trunk up, which was originally part of the tap root. I am going to leave the rest of the tree un-wired for now as I think the trunk might be taking on a nice shape and will see how it grows out. However I will have to check it often to make sure the wires on it are not biting into it. Under the soil they do not twist at all around the plant so I can inspect every part that is in any danger of wire damage. Hopefully when the time comes around to cut the top wire the roots will have grown enough to keep the plant securely wired in, as of right now without the wire wrap it isn't secure at all. If the root mass doesn't grow enough I'll have to get more wire and re-secure it.
