A Tropical Mimosa Bonsai StoryIn the beginning, I called the tropical mimosa bonsai little toys. I knew they were fast bonsai from seeds (and fun to "play" with).However, I didn’t really see much future in them as “good” bonsai. Over time as some of my “little toys” developed, I realized, indeed they did have a future. After I closed the Bonsai Bench nursery, I found I had way too many tropical mimosa bonsai. From time to time, I would put one in the local club auction. This is a story of what happened next to just one of them. Ben Liss, a member of the Gold Coast Bonsai Society, Ft. Lauderdale, FL took one of those auction mimosa bonsai home. When I saw what he had accomplished, I asked him to share his story and photos with us. In Ben's Words and Photos"I first acquired this tree at the Miami Bonsai Society Auction, December 2007. No major cutting, just some trimming/cut back has been done in this early photo:
I knew it had some problems and I continued to study it.
I thought maybe a change of pot would help. I repotted the mimosa bonsai into this dragon pot in the spring of 2008. The leaves are closed up in this picture ... photo taken at night. But I decided to remove the rock and address the actual problems. I cut a ring around the trunk at the fattest part of the reverse taper and removed the bark with a sharp grafting knife. I wanted to be sure so, I waited another few weeks before I took the plastic off, and made the cut.
I potted the newly shaped mimosa bonsai in a mica training pot and let the roots continue to develop.
Spring 2010, I repotted the tree again into a ceramic bonsai pot:
What a difference! Ben has promised to keep us updated as his tropical mimosa bonsai matures. I'm looking forward to the next photo! Top of Page
|
