More Pheonix Grafts

[alpinebonsart]

These were set several months ago from very young nursery stock .They have been power fed with Tomato starter fertilizer ,N.P.K approx' 7 - 7- 7 and the results are very good .I have been using this fertilizer on all my entire stock ,Bonsai , trainers and seedlings with astonishing result compared to other fert's used over the many years playing Happy gardener

[taffyman]

Phoenix grafts can transform a skinny 'stick' into a good looking Bonsai in a relatively short time.
Interesting about the Tomato fertilizer - might have to try that myself.

[alpinebonsart]

Phoenix grafts can transform a skinny 'stick' into a good looking Bonsai in a relatively short time.
Interesting about the Tomato fertilizer - might have to try that myself.

Brunnings Tomato and Vegetable starter fertilizer
ACTUAL N.6.3 - P.3.7 - K. 6.0 - S.5.5 -Ca.7.4 . Its the closest fert to 7 -7 -7 or 10- 10- 10 i can find in Aus without buying a Metric tonne .I'm getting 2 to 3 new growth burst out of pines , cedars and conifers , something i have never seen in 1 season . Good to excellent results on most deciduious trees except Jap Maples .Possibly has something to do with my new bonsai mix i'm trialling with with all my trees .Cheers

[taffyman]

Thanks for that info Alpine - I'm sure going to try it.
What new Bonsai mix are you trialling?

[alpinebonsart]

Hi Taffyman , the blend has been used for potting collected trees and seedlings for the last 12 months , as in pines with very poor roots .Results are excellent on the smaller material and better than any other mix i have trialled over the past 15 years ,stimulating roots as quick as 4-6 weeks .At first i was a bit dubious but now i'm convinced i have a magic mix which i will use on all my trees , trainers and seedlings.

Mix Ratio is 60- 30- 10
8mm minus "soft red scoria" it is water retaining to a certain extent , not the "red marble scoria" which is not water retaining . Wash through a fly wire mesh to remove the dust , then sieve down to 3mm .Keep the course for pines and larger trees and the fines for smaller seedlings , seed raising and propagation.

Aged pine bark , this i collect from the plantations 2 years after the machines have gone through and stockpiled the logs . Purchased material has not been as successful ,i dont believe its aged bark as in left on the ground for a couple of years ,but from trees used at the mill here in Myrtleford , sold and bagged as aged bark. These products are still full of resins. Mulch and sieve from 8mm to 3mm as above ,washed to remove dust .

Amgrow "Organix" "NutIi Blend 5" It contains cow manure , poultry manure, worm compost , blood & bone and biological activator . Use this product carefully . If it dries out it can be harmful to your breathing ability , moisten the contents however dont store the product to damp it decays and the fumes are damaging also .

Blend all ingredients thoroughly , pot you plants and submerge the pots completely .If potting or repotting trees in large numbers be sure to keep the water diluted in the tub as it get very strong with continued use . Don't fertilize your plants for 3 months during winter then power feed with Tomato starter every 4 weeks at the rate of 1 teaspoon per pot .With such an open blend the ferts are washed out very quickly

Results of which i have never seen in my time trying different mixes each and every year including commercial blends .This is what i will be using from now until i can find a better blend .All my plants in this mix have astonishing growth compared to the last 15 seasons .Cheers