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bonsai is not my hobby
Join Date: Oct-2001
Location: Egling, south of Munich
Country: Germany
Posts: 1,481
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Vonsgardens,
twhat you have is a typical ponderosa as they grow in the mountains. Now the task is to get it dense to be able to style a decent crown. The main thing in the end will be the phantrastic trunk which has to be underlinded by the crown. Not the other way round.
Most people never get their ponderosas dense. The trick is to forget everything you ever heard about ponderosas.
I lant them in very well drining substrate. I leave them out all year, summer and winter, no winter protection, when it rains for a week without stop. I water agressively. Twice a day on hot days. I water all over the tree, make sure the foliage gets wet and also the trunk and branches. I feed aggressively. Abut every two weeks from end of March to begining of Ocotber. Lots of nitrogene. No such thing as fall feed. The whole thing throuhout the season. Feed that you can buy in any garden center, meant for flowers, vegetables and general garden plants.
You have to do ALL of this. If you miss one you will have big problems very soon.
Here are two pondrosas as of this summer before and after maintenance.
Then the foliage of a ponderosa after eight years of my regime. David cannot believe this.
I would start getting the pondersoa healthy and dense and start styling the beast aftewards. it will take you about five years though to get there.
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