Repotting My Aloe Bonsai, Part 1A, The Bonsai Zone, May 2023

[@RiteOn]

"rules" are the bane of our existence . . . rock on rule breaker!!! 😎

[@TheBonsaiGarden]

Those photos - that’s one alien looking landscape. Thank you for the shout out Nigel. Enjoy the pot 🙏

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Yes, unfortunately it's getting destroyed by tourists now, it used to be closed to the public, but now almost anyone can go.

[@TheBonsaiGarden]

@@TheBonsaiZone that’s the downside of these beautiful places. What makes them popular can be what is their downfall.

[@markkenyon4855]

very cool pot

[@Stettafire]

​@@TheBonsaiGarden Yes unfortunate. A nature reserve near I was born was getting trampled by tourists so us local villagers picked up rocks and built a quasi walled path. It wasn't a solid boundary rather a gentle encouragement to keep people on the path. It mostly worked, but sadly only takes one or two inconsiderate (selfish) people to do a lot of damage

[@hadjosrs1529]

This is just wonderful. ❤

[@zimartiste1]

Nice...well done...

[@empret7704]

I like it already 😊

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

Your dessert roses looking good. To bad the other one died on you. Sand looks good on the little forest. Cannot wait to see part 2.

[@Hydrantchan]

Honestly, I think the new space opened up between the two trees really adds a nice dimension to the desert rose forest, the big rock in the back has a wonderful shape and the removal of the tree that obscured it has really made the whole bonsai very interesting to look at, it'll look great when the leaves come in, I think.

[@FrostBiteBonsai]

Yes, that colour change did wonders! I like the crassula best in there. Is it a Bonsai Crassula? There are a few like that, devil's horn and miniature pine tree etc... But, you haven't prunned the aloe yet, maybe after pruning it will look better. The definition of what a Bonsai is has morphed and grown to accommodate many indoor plants as best suits apartment dwellings. Not everyone is able to have a yard or even balcony now. They should not be denied Bonsai art for because of this. Bonsai has adapted. Personal taste will still favour certain types or forms. That is just human nature. Nicely done Nigel! I love my desert roses! one I got from you and one I got in 2001. The one I got from you grew so fast that it split on the trunk. My other is flowering again. To think, I treated my first as a regular houseplant, not knowing for so many years. Maria's Garden has many helpful Adenium care tips. Even how to save them from rot. She was specializing in Adeniums and watching her videos is how I came to find you! KZbin suggestions.

[@maureenfaulkner4323]

I find myself chatting to you when you discuss moving rocks, adding plants. Love the photos of that island and simplicity is where it’s at.

[@dkstott29]

Me too🤣🤣🤣 I find myself talking with Nigel about branch pruning and agreeing with almost every decision. 👍🌱😊

[@Stettafire]

I often nod or shake my head as he works. I find myself going "go for it" Or "Oh dear" lol.

[@tacobonsai]

The idea of that aloe is really cool! I’ll have to look that up because I do like aloe but the large plants are very hard for me to keep my cat from eating. The smaller one is easier to enclose!

[@has3250]

to growing perennials in trays is a great “canvas” for artistic expression ❤

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

One cool pot from Jason.

[@getintothewildwithjeffruma8777]

I just moved my Desert roses back outside yesterday. So glad winter is over👍

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Me too!!!

[@PatriciaOConnorBonsaiBalcony]

That pot is beautiful! Nigel nice one Jason! The ocean on the sides is powerful and matches the shape well.

[@gloriablanco7856]

Thank you 😊

[@HMAKRIDAKIS]

Amazing video nigel, your original video on the Andenium landscape was the first video of yours I ever saw, and I have been hooked since then. Great work from Australia!

[@thebrightsidepotteryandbonsai]

Interesting discussion regarding succulents as bonsai. I tend to be in your camp. Had a thought... nontraditional thought, probably. Have a look at this video at 21:15 or so.... an island in a tray, in another larger tray, with a rock/landscape in the foreground. Interesting.....

[@gayefanner731]

I think Lithops would be an interesting addition, very very subtle, visible only to the trained eye! And perhaps some small rounded ‘blobs’ of a green sedum? God bless your endeavours 🙏✝️. ✌️🇷🇺☮️🇺🇦✌️

[@brucedeacon28]

👍👌👌

[@doriencasses]

There is literally a small spider crawling around on the side of the pot (any shots after 9:45). Thought it was funny when you said "Maybe it's spider mites," when you are wrecking up the spider's home right in front of it! Great video, love seeing unusual bonsai.

[@ashleybonner5423]

"Some people wouldn't call this a bonsai. I definitely would." Exactly. Bonsai is a state of mind and an art form for me, not a categorisation of plant. And that new aloe you got reminds me of an Aristaloe aristata I once had. The Aristaloe looks a lot spinier though! - Ashley Bonner

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thanks man!

[@t3dwards13]

I believe i saw a spider on the side of the desert rose pot when you first brought it out. I saw it running around and thought it was on my screen. Lol Also, that windswept desert rose is amazing!!!

[@Stettafire]

Maybe an actual one rather than mites then

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

The aloe is a tree in nature. If you look at them in pictures you will see aloe trees with some cool trunks and branches over them. Some 20 foot/6 meters tall. I think it is a good looking tree you are developing.

[@finnf.k.2906]

Great video! Im pretty sure the specimen youre calling Aloe barbadensis is actually an Aloe arborescens (the structure of the teeth and leaves, as well as the lack of spotting), which looks amazing btw, I love how its advancing. And aloe can definetly be bonsais, in my opinion its all about the intent and artistic framing of the plant more than our abstract categorization of it being a tree or not. I recently found a great Aloe chinensis specimen that im going to try and make a bonsai out of, it already has a cascading long stem, im developing roots on it now in a pot to trim down and have some nice aerial roots, seeing the possible bonsai in any plant is much more beautiful and fun than a structured typology.

[@harishahn9039]

Socotra island's tree (bigger one's ) trunk tapering is too good

[@toddstropicals]

I'd call them bonsai Nigel, I grow frankincense and myrrh trees and use some bonsai techniques in growing those and I do consider some of mine bonsai. And look at you! Sporting dreds!😁👍

[@danielpfeiffer4747]

Hi Nigel, have you ever tried to bonsai an olive tree? On the internet there beautiful pictures on mature olive bonsais. I can’t find any in your play list. Cheers Daniel

[@gayefanner731]

Sam Doecke ( Aussie Bonsai Bloke) has them covered!!! ✌️

[@Mitsushiruru]

Do a black kale bonsai im sure your wife has some! Its woody and the do have tiny leaves when regulary cut? Also its pretty much a tree and kinda cool, edable and something new!

[@dkstott29]

My gut tells me that those rocks in the desert rose arrangement stand out because the plants have no leaves. 🤔🤔 In several of the island photos, there are additional trees in the background. Some of your smaller Serissa trees might work nicely.

[@growclipbonsaiforseniors1951]

Your welcome, Nigel. Dragon stone easy to crack if too big for you.

[@martinlehtonen]

I killed my desert 6 years old rose bonsai. I watered it too much in the autumn and it didn't like it. Now I have only a husk of my beautiful multitrunk bonsai. Maybe our finnish dark winters are also too much for it

[@UrbanHafner]

Succulents are always so hard. I think the dark winter shouldn't be a problem, especially if you can keep it cool. The really hard part is not watering even if you see it shrivel up.

[@Tybold63]

I feel with you, I live in Sweden and kind of not dared even trying grow Adenium because we have same conditions. However, I have bought some grow lights this winter we had and many indoor plants really liked it so maybe have a go after all. Don't give up 🙂

[@UncleCloud]

@@Tybold63 My two seed grown adeniums are pretty happy under the grow lights. Our winters are pretty brutal here so they get only artificial light for most of the year, and do great. Trimmed the branches of one, and the other one is just flowering non-stop this spring so I'm letting it have fun.

[@Robert-ij9ih]

@@Tybold63 Jag har lite fröer över, om du är intresserad av Ökenros, tre olika sorter… våra trivs bra i den inglasade balkongen 👍😊

[@Hiphobbit]

Gotta learn to be a little heartless when keeping succulent types in cooler areas. A lot of the time in the hotter areas a common problem is seeing the soil bone dry like the rest of your trees then, watering like a common bonsai tree. Living in California now, I’ve learned to not water based off soil moisture but instead water based on physical appearance/touch. If the succulent looks like it’s bloating and is firm when pinching the trunk, no need to water. The tree is living just fine on stored waters in itself, it’s what they made to do. If the plant looks like it’s wearing clothes way to big for it then yes you can go ahead and water. PS. Prolonged waterings or excess sunlight are things that usually stress bonsai trees sometimes to death. Not with succulents! Highly recommend “stressing” your succulents growth to induce some different adaptations which often result in different growth in leaf size/color

[@stemdeckesupreme164]

I dont think that is aloe brevifolia. Brevie has short stubby leaves. This looks like a hybrid of aloe humilis and some climbing type aloe like brevefolia, juvenna, etch. I've been wondering if you ever got ahold of a dwarf aloe like humilis! Looks great too. you should try to get some aloe bakeries, it's like miniature stemmed shrub aloe

[@emmitstewart1921]

Some aloes do grow into trees with a single stalk that branches well above the ground. your aloe barbadensis is definitely dwarfed. An aloe barbadensis of that age, planted in a garden in a zone where it is hardy would be 2 to 3 feet tall and more than 3 feet across if you count the offsets. the leaves would be about twenty inches long and from 3 to 4 inches wide at the base. Were you aware that the African violets entered into shows are usually dwarfed by the same techniques used by bonsai growers? If the plants were allowed to keep growing and potted up as they grow, they would get to be almost two feet across, which would be unwieldy and take up too much space. They would only be able to place four plants on an 8 foot table. So the growers restrict the plants to a four inch pot. When the pot becomes rootbound, they take it out of the pot, trim back the roots, remove the older leaves on the bottom of the stem, and plant it back into the same size pot, setting it lower into the pot to cover the bare stem where the leaves were removed. Once under the soil line the bare stem quickly sends out adventitious roots. Would you call an African violet treated this way a bonsai?

[@TheBonsaiZone]

In this case I would call it miniaturized, if it is grown in a tree like form, it could be called a bonsai. But I would call the Violets miniaturized!

[@BlueSuedeDude]

I am wondering Nigel, would the/a tall stone potted up look good with your birds nest spruce? Was thinking that when I watched the video and now thinking it again seeing the stone that was gifted to you. As always, really enjoying the channel.

[@jaguardelcielo]

Foist

[@Stettafire]

🍪

[@scharfaced]

That's a pretty bad spider mite infestation. Bonsais look great though!

[@toddstropicals]

Yeah, plants from Socotra are wicked hard to obtain and extremely expensive, I know first hand. I grow many frankincense and myrrh from Socotra and have grown both the dragon tree and Dendrosicyos socotranus (cucumber tree). The only trees from Socotra that might work are two of the native frankincense which I have both are Boswellia socotrana and Boswellia nana the only natural dwarf of the species.

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Thanks Todd, great information!!!

[@michaelcowart6100]

DRs are difficult to grow in a shallow pot due to the water retention

[@TheBonsaiZone]

Yes, not the best pot for these! Thanks!

[@blackswantheory]

I may be wrong but I’m fairly certain bonsai means “tree in pot” in Japanese

[@TheBonsaiZone]

The word “Bon-sai” (often misspelled as bonzai or banzai) is a Japanese term which, literally translated, means “planted in a container”. This art form is derived from an ancient Chinese horticultural practice, part of which was then redeveloped under the influence of Japanese Zen Buddhism.

[@aliendecor]

That small plant in blue pot is not aloe. This is named crassula tetragona)

[@SequoiaElisabeth]

Perhaps a tree is more a form than a function.

[@Stettafire]

Botanically the boundary between "bush" and "tree" is a bit vague anyway

[@strangeorwhatf]

Nigel with that webs on roses you dont know if that is spider or spider mites and D. roses will get spides mites for shure when you give them water so you have to look for it.

[@strangeorwhatf]

ok you spray it just when I end writing.