My Bonsai

New pot for the rowan

This small rowan has been standing in the same pot for two years now. It has showed tremendous growth as can be seen in earlier posts.

From having close to no root system at all when it was picked from a branchjoin high up on a beech, to almost bursting its pot in just two years. Yay!

New pot from Walsall Studios, may be a bit in the smallest league, but why rush the size? Bring on the major leagues anytime, but I like small trees as well, especially this.

Hi, to whom it may concern.

First of all I would like to say "HAPPY NEW BONSAI SEASON" to all you bonsaifreaks out there, who use all vacant time staring at trees, thinking of trees, dreaming about trees and living your treedreams to the fullest. It is a satisfying lifestyle, and this is our season.

After a long hard winter it is finally spring here in Stavanger and this day turned out to be "repotting day 2010". All trees has been repotted according to the spring agenda, and will be blogged with pictures and stories following days/week.

May nothing but peacefulness and harmony come in your way.

Ganbatte!

5 steps to avoid damping off your seedlings

Two austrian pines are now dead, just like that. Over-night. By a fungus, called "Damping Off". Once again a horticular selfmade mistake. But I love it. More things to learn. More articles to read.

Worst thing about it is that once you get the fungus it will most likely kill all your seedlings as its almost impossible to get rid of.

5 steps to avoid damping off your seedlings

Use sterile soil mix. Bake it in the oven even, but use a sterile soil mix.
Keep your seedlings in a ventilated environment, use a table fan to get that air circulating.
Use antifungal agents.

Hydrogen Peroxide 3% per quart of water
Strong brew of Camomille Tea, 2 ounces per quart of water

Use a top soil layer of Perlite, Spaghnum, Grit, Sand or grit.
Use a one time dusting of cinnamon or powdered charcoal on the surface.

The next following days I will most certainly apply all these steps to avoid more pines dying.

A good article about damping off: http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/277/

Malus Seeling.

Home made green house with regulative growlight.

Pinus Nigra seedlings.

3 Zelkova seedlings with a cold stratification period approach has germinated out of 7 sown.

Rowan pics

A lot more opportunities this year than last.

Dead Wood

My first attempt at creating deadwood made the akward larch a little less akward. If it seems vigourous when spring arrives repotting into a new handmade drum-pot by Walsall Ceramics will be next step.

Repotting the seedlings, an alternative

Austrian Pine taking the lead

The Pinus Nigra species has germinated in all three approaches. All the seeds were checked and put into the fridge this evening. I saw that several of the 18 Pinus Nigra had germinated and the rest of them looked swollen, so a cold strat is not needed. According to the seed packet this species should stay for up to 3 months in the fridge before germinating, so I guess they just got lucky after the initial soaking and a week of warm strat. Not only has the Austrian Pines in the bag germinated but also 5-6 of the seeds that were sent directly from soaking into the big/little seed trays has erected.

It was time to prepare a new seed tray with 84 pots in it. All the seeds that are up for cold strat will sooner or later earn their place there, but for now only the Austrian Pine seedlings are inhabiting. I filled up the tray with a soil mix consisting of 80 % seed starter mix and 20 % moler and then soaked it from underneath. The, on top of that, the mixture in the bag consisting of Vermicullite and the Pine seeds.