Bonsaify | Two Key Steps to Shrinking Your Mini Bonsai

Mame fun! Eric demonstrates two key steps to make your bonsai a lot smaller, using Cotoneaster as the example.
0:54 Potting down two mame into smaller containers. One pot is from our friend Pitoon (of PIT-EKA www.pit-eka.com/).
1:39 Eric talks through two methods for tying mame into small pots. Both methods keep the screen from moving too much (and the soil will keep it in place the rest of the way).
2:07 1. for one hole pots, Eric creates an anchor.
3:10 2. Eric uses a staple for tiedown.
4:03 ASMR mame repotting and trim (do you feel the zen?)
6:03 A few months after repotting down, Eric talks through how he'd style of a few of the mame.
6:55 Eric works on a cascade style mame. The tree needs a trim and also a clean-up from some scale. Moth! Spider! Ants! Oh my this was a buggy little trim. :-)
8:44 This is a major cutback to focus on a beautiful red berry. The pot is from our friend Bob Potts (of Rough Cut Pottery / _bob_potts_ . Eric talks through his styling decisions, in detail.
12:51 What do you think of Eric's design decision? Let us know in the comments, below!
We are having our first ever Black Friday - Cyber Monday offer right now! During our "Season of Giving" sale, from Nov 23 - Dec 3, we're giving 10% off everything PLUS we're donating 10% of all sales to One Tree Planted (onetreeplanted.org/). We have cotoneaster starters and mame pots available, plus bonsai gift bundles (and a lot more!)
Please like this video, share it with your friends, and subscribe to our channel. Thank you!
Music by Bensound.com

[@TheBonsaiZone]

How can you not watch the video with a thumbnail like that!! The trees look great, a nice transformation with the last one.

[@Bonsaify]

Thanks Nigel! 🤣 I had fun making that one.

[@BillyBobJoeSnr]

More mame videos please, many people don't realise that it is just the same process as the large ones. I am very much going smaller as I've had more time over summer. Keep 'em coming.

[@Chercher4848]

Well that’s just stinkin cute! 😍

[@bernardmarquillero538]

Whoaaa, I thought it was big trunk chop 🤣 😂 , it's a cascade.....gratifying...bonsaifying....thanks for sharing. Lovely work.

[@liverocks62]

Your laugh after you cut that big branch at 11:49 😂. You’re right it looks more in proportion and it’s so cute 🥰

[@Bonsaify]

An honest laugh of delight that it looked so good!

[@davidmorgan3508]

Aussie Dave here, wow so delicate work 😄. But I'm 60 years old and my eyes aren't good enough to play with something that small....hahaha enjoyed the video. 👍

[@ddhqj2023]

Delightful tiny 'trees'. They're so darn cute!

[@sidvicioux]

I can see the headline, "The Berry Fell Off!!" :) Well done! Never done Mame. Gonna make a pot and give it a whirl!!

[@augusteightyfour1112]

really love your tiny trees. thanks for sharing.

[@irmarosales2521]

I loved. ❤

[@PumpkinBecki]

Oh my goodness, that last cascade is absolutely adorable! What an amazing transformation, thank you so much for sharing it. I have two small privets that I have in mind to develop into Mame, I'm very excited about exploring this even smaller world :) xx

[@Bonsaify]

Thank you. Have Fun! 👏

[@carolholt416]

Absolutely beautiful!!

[@bartstellink307]

Whahaha, shrinking bonsai sounds wrong, somehow... Epic Title! Really loved what you did with the last tree.

[@BONSAIenCORTO]

Love the last one. Thanks.

[@jyudy7dytcjux]

The last tree is precious. I didn’t think that I would be able to keep mame until I saw someone grow them in their tiny pots in a larger tray of pumice in the summer. That has worked perfectly!

[@PatriciaOConnorBonsaiBalcony]

Looking pretty small! Happy Holidays Eric!

[@Bonsaify]

Thanks! It's gonna be tough to go smaller. But, I had a lot of fun watching a former San Francisco club member fit things into smaller containers than this one.

[@shawnkiesel5349]

Love your channel.. Always great content...

[@stephencreswell229]

My favorite bonsai channel on KZbin! I'd love to see some content on Oaks. Us East coast guys could use some tips.

[@Bonsaify]

Thanks Stephen - Actually, I was just thinking of some oak videos. Will work on it. (although the east coast oaks are different than the ones I've worked with.)

[@stephencreswell229]

@@Bonsaify Im in N.C zone 7b and am working on a Suber and Agrifolia. This is my first year with these Oaks and hope everything goes well through the colder months.

[@Bonsaify]

Ha, well I do have both of those species. And we're gonna have a few suber starters for sale in spring I believe. Just about to do some transplanting of the suber seedlings. Agrifolia grows natively at my growing grounds and there was a bumper crop of acorns this year, which the birds and squirrels proceeded to plant in every container meticulously. I wish I could get the crows to wire the trees when they sprout.

[@HelmBiru]

Amazing collection👍👍👍

[@SmoothBear]

Fantastic! So informative! I learned so much

[@ryantzmusic9139]

beautiful.... like mini bonsai so much.... thanks for sharing

[@BostonBonsaiIdiot]

I love how even on a tiny little tree, a little animal community can't help but establish itself.

[@meenashah2311]

Amazing enjoyed your video getting so hooked on the mame bonsai 😍

[@GjaP_242]

12:13!

[@bonsaymas4547]

Excelentes trabajos. Dan muchas ideas para copiar. Gracias!

[@SilverF0XX]

Enjoyed it

[@MrAcokgitra]

Looking great ser.

[@conspiraterry7393]

Hows the little one berry bonsai doing today I wonder. What a sweetie! Thanks for your awesome videos, you keeping me somewhat sane

[@shades.of.lyf.21billion]

Wow it's so beautiful ❤️😊

[@PIT-EKA]

Great video!

[@Bonsaify]

Thanks Pitoon!

[@edinborogh]

Awesome video.

[@Bonsaify]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@slametsetiadi4293]

What amazing bonsai mame,i'm very like to wacth the tutorial,thank you very much.Mr Eric.

[@ulapatdahon9973]

Thanks...

[@bastiv7806]

There are even smaller variaties of cotoneaster out there. Check them out!

[@S-series1977]

Nice 🙂👍👍👍 video

[@waterlover]

Want to try it out too see if my cuttings would make good bonsai

[@aflatminor]

These smallies looks to be Shito size rather than Mame, What a fabulous tree it's going to make!!👍😎 I have a few really small pots but daren't use them as I feel sure they will dry too quickly and perish!!☺ - Keep up the great work!!

[@joshlakenan3676]

Beautiful! You've inspired me to start working with cotoneaster bonsai. Do you do heavy pruning work like this late in the year often? I see you posted this in November, and I'm contemplating doing some hard pruning on some nursery stock I picked up just now. 😁

[@Bonsaify]

Interesting question - I think you could do pruning pretty much any time. You'll get a faster response in mid-spring through summer, but I think now would be fine.

[@vopeter8399]

Gotta say love ur channel i learn alot thank

[@vickikay54]

Great content, very inspiring. Is that perlite or small gravel in the potting mix? 🙂

[@Bonsaify]

We use perlite in some cases, but in bonsai pots normally it is an akadama-pumice-lava mixture. We frequently use Aoki shohin mix.

[@dudesjir74]

💖💖💖💖💖

[@kevinphan9321]

Hello! What kinds of trees did you use in the video? You’re a natural at making bonsais!!

[@Bonsaify]

Most of those are cotoneaster microphyllus.

[@denersevero2094]

Hoje que decidi ver Mame, foi colocado o vídeo.

[@Brujobonsai]

Me parecen maravillosos tus "pequeñitos" yo soy aficionado a los mames, me generan mas satisfacción incluso que los bonsáis grandes. Así que comprendo tu trabajo y la dificultad. Vivo en un clima con escasez de agua y calor , ¿Cómo solventas tu el problema de riego ? Los pequeñitos se quedan antes sin agua. Muchas Gracias

[@user-wx9yp7kt1i]

我喜歡他作的盆栽

[@pjaphethvelilla1286]

I love mame/shito bonsai in the philippines in use premna material for bonsai its easy grow... but here in california i use jade for a new starter i cannot see premna plant here in the plant store. Right now im growing jade plant for mame bonsai i hope it will grow.. im a new viewer and i already sub to your chanel.. im looking right now to your post to look and learn some techinks how to grow good mame here in california..

[@mrshorts376]

👌🏽💚💚

[@zonnig46]

Hallo Eric, thanks for this nice video. I have a question. Do you have these cotoneasters as indoor plants ?

[@Bonsaify]

These are outdoors in San Francisco. You can grow cotoneaster indoors, but not as well in my experience.

[@Yurup]

Any tips on growing thicker trunks on contoneaster specifically or are they just the same as any other tree? I have a ton of cuttings currently that need to ticken up as fast as possible.

[@Bonsaify]

Honestly, they're slow. Slower than pine, maybe more like juniper. But the key to more girth on any plant is to put it in a larger container and let it grow wild. then cut off all the large branches and make tiny ones. That's bonsai in a nutshell.

[@Yurup]

@@Bonsaify I figured that was it. Well lots of fertilizer and plenty of time it is then. Thanks for the reponse!

[@jollysn9393]

What was that white rock in potting mixture?

[@craighunter3273]

Enjoyed the music…

[@crktgrrl]

So cool! Would you root any of the cuttings you took? If so, in which medium? Thanks!

[@Yurup]

Contoneaster roots great in water. did a lot of smaller cuttings this year and atleast 80% of them survived. Just be sure to change the water every couple of days (4-5). But I've also heard just sticking them in a pot with any soil works great as well. They are pretty easy to root.

[@Bonsaify]

In this case I did not, but I have many of the cuttings growing already. 80%perlite / 20% coco coir is my standard rooting and growing mix.

[@Bonsaify]

Ha - yeah they root very easily! So easily in fact that branches that touch the ground root easily, it's a ground cover type plant.

[@dragaumchineis5070]

Bom dia, Flor do dia!

[@denvernow7294]

I love mame bonsai. My only concern is when shrinking, you initially have a lot of root in a small pot. Would this mean you have to unpot it more frequently to reduce the roots before it becomes root bound?

[@Bonsaify]

Yes, they need to be repotted at least once every couple years. We'll actually be doing some of the ones shown in this video this coming winter and I'll make a video about it.

[@legoking97]

hey eric! do these cotoneasters grow inside or do you just bring them in for the work you do to them?

[@Bonsaify]

Hi There - these are all grown outdoors, or in a greenhouse as young plants. But, I think you could try this species indoors, just keep an eye out for aphids, scale and mealy bugs since there are fewer natural predators indoors.

[@paulkinnear2472]

I do like this aspect to bonsai, can you tell me what your soul mix is cheers

[@Bonsaify]

With these guys, you can take the fines you would normally discard from regular bonsai soil, or just akadama. I think in the video I'm using shohin size aoki mix. But sifting the coarse-sand-size particles from the fines of akadama is a good mame soil.

[@arnoldmmbb]

There are still people that beleive all bonsais are genetic modified plants to be dwarf 😂

Like

[@Ryanj427]

What soil substrate do you use for these trees?

[@Bonsaify]

for growing out 80%perlite and 20% coco (by volume, so 4 scoops to 1 scoop) and then for tiny containers I use a 60% akadama mix that is premixed from Japan (Aoki.)

[@gwynnethguerriero6365]

I have tried 4 times to grow those tiny cotoneasters. died died died died. Do they need a lot of sun? You make it look so easy. Also can they stay out in NY winter?

[@Bonsaify]

Lots of sun, they don't like to dry out either. They will go deciduous when it's colder, which is fine, they pop back out and flower more reliably. But I'm not a cold expert. I suggest you buy a plant, then start by propagating from it - you'll learn a lot more if you have 20 of them. They are very easy to root - they even root themselves where branches contact the soil.

[@fruitlessbeast]

You: snip snip chuckle Me: Whoa! Sharp intake of breath After a moment- Oh, well, yeah

[@mariakellner5429]

With the ants do you treat the pot to rid of ants ,tfs your process

[@Bonsaify]

The ants are normally just the farmers, so I go after the crop instead. In this case there are a few scale. The big black scale are easy to get rid of, but the tiny ones are harder. Soap slows them down.

[@sunitaashtana8090]

Berty is so cute.which plantvis it

[@Bonsaify]

cotoneaster microphyllus

[@user-le4lm6xk6i]

🙏🙏🙏🤝🤝🤝👍👍👍

[@muskansunuwar4792]

Please give the name of some plants that can be converted into mame bonsai.

[@Bonsaify]

Kishu Chinese Juniper, Cotoneaster microphyllus, 'Seiju' Chinese elm, Premna species, some olive varieties, miniature Japanese maple cultivars. Dwarf Quince (chojubai)...or anything else you can get tiny leave on !

[@giangianni503]

how often should I water a mame in a so small pot? I mean, in summer it will dry in 3 hours O_O (they are soooo cute!)

[@Bonsaify]

As often as they need it! Lol. But, depending on your conditions, you should have a tray under them for sure and possibly 40% shade cloth above/around them to mitigate heat and evaporation during the summer. If you live in a hot/dry climate it's gonna be tough. One of my customers said it's like the "Extreme sports" version of bonsai in his climate.

[@giangianni503]

@@Bonsaify thank you so much!

[@maximumchicken4518]

Is it living of liquid fertiliser?

[@Bonsaify]

combination of liquid and sometimes a BioGold pellet pinned onto the edge of the pot.

[@maximumchicken4518]

@@Bonsaify Wow thank you

[@Micack592]

Hi nice plants Which.......

[@Josef_R]

You gotta water these hourly?

[@Bonsaify]

Check the "Mame Trick" video in our feed - you should use a tray of sand or lava to reduce swings in conditions.

[@user-vq1br6nw7g]

What Is this plant's name ?

[@Bonsaify]

Cotoneaster microphyllus is the latin name. One of the common names is "Rockspray Cotoneaster"

[@briansmith9734]

Update?

[@Bonsaify]

Hi Brian - we will be doing a release of Cotoneasters for sale next month! Some of the trees in the video will be for sale. It's interesting - here in SF, they don't grow outdoors during winter, but they also don't drop leaves, the leaves get a bit discolored and hang on, then green up again in spring. In our greenhouse, they grow like crazy straight through winter though!

[@rajdeepborah1519]

Can you name the plant please......

[@Bonsaify]

Cotoneaster microphyllus. It's a member of the rose family. (although so are apples and so many other things.)

[@ongbettas6941]

For the last tiny one ...i would have cut off the berry ..to save the energy for the plant

[@walterwjr947]

Thank you.... A laugh for you.... I hate ants, they hate me.... I am watching the video(on my phone) and ants are calling on my hand,,,, not really, but I shook my hand and looked,,,, I was really into the video.... What happened to the berry?....

[@ssomani1015]

Plant id

[@mydiarymystory3477]

Love your tiny trees. Thanks for sharing

[@Bonsaify]

You're welcome. And thanks for watching!