Bonsai Bar with Nebalee

I've probably talked about it before, but I prefer to give experiences as gifts rather than things. So for Christmas, I gifted Nebalee a sister date at a bonsai bar event. It looked like something she and her green thumb would really enjoy, and any time I can force sister-time, I'll do it. We don't get to spend nearly enough time together anymore.

The event was held at a brewery located between our two houses, so it was perfect. They provided everything we needed, and had 'extras' for sale. When we first got there, we were told to pick a tree that spoke to us. Now, a couple of years ago, I would have laughed at that, but now that I'm attempting to be a gardener, I listened and one chose me. 

We used dwarf jades for our bonsai.

The next step was to name it. Huh. Most of my plants have names, but the little tree hadn't given up his name yet. I told Nebalee that he would tell me eventually. Also, odd that the tree is a he, since most of my plants are female, so I guess he was talking to me a little bit.

Getting ready to dig in.

He didn't want to come out of the pot, but when he did, he reminded me of a Mandrake from Harry Potter. Minus the screaming, thankfully.

I imagine this is how we both looked once
I wrested the tree from his pot.

Everyone, meet Mandrake, Drake for short.

The hardest part, for me, of the whole endeavor was scraping away the dirt and loosening the roots. I'm always afraid I'll hurt the roots and kill the whole plant. Once we'd freed the roots, it was time to put them in their pots.

Again, we had to make decisions. Turning the plant this way and that, we had to decide which was the front, then decide how we wanted it in the pot: straight up and down, or at an angle? So many decisions.

I wanted Drake to be at a sharp angle.

Drake did not, so this is our compromise.

Nebalee's tree, Jasper, liked the angle.

This is a bad picture, but Jasper has a much
more dramatic angle than Drake.

If I thought just repotting was hard, and had a lot of decisions to make, I was in for an awakening! The first prune was easy: trim the leaves a quarter of an inch from the trunk of the tree so we could see the 'bones' of the tree. Then, the decisions got progressively harder: choose one of two opposing limbs to cut off, then start thinning the crown and determining a shape for your tree. 

Fully planted, packed in diatomaceous earth,
ready to begin pruning.

Opposite branches pruned, ready to start the crown.

Once the crown was thinned to our liking,
it was time to shape the tree with wires.

Done. Drake on the left, Jasper on the right,
extra cuttings in the back.

I'm not in love with Drake's shape right now, and would have loved to add more swooshes to his branches, but I'm afraid of hurting him. Once he grows a bit more, I can adjust the wires to give him more shape.

We gathered up some of the cuttings to take home to try to plant some 'mame' (mini bonsai). Of course, the instructors were willing to sell us cute little mame containers for once they rooted, along with the drip trays for underneath our pots, and some special fertilizer. Nebalee took the cuttings home, and she'll be in charge of getting the mame started.

I was worried about where I'd keep Drake, especially when I heard the care instructions. I don't have a lot of sun windows in my house. I initially thought he'd be great in Maggie, but it turns out that she's not quite right for him. Maybe this summer he can go live in there, but even with all of the insulation, she'll still get a bit too cold for him in the winter. I ended up moving my Puerto Rican oregano from my bedroom plant shelf into the kitchen and put Drake in its place, next to my failing succulents.

I wasn't sure how well he'd like it, but the other day, when I was watering him, I saw new growth!

Now, of course, the question is, so I let him keep his new buds, or snip them and force him to continue to establish his roots. Okay, that's not much of a question, because I know the answer, but I'm loathe to clip those cute little buds. I'll give them until his next watering before they get sacrificed for the greater good.