Bali Bonsai Bonus - As Good As It Gets

Dypsisdean

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An incredible collection of Bonsai at this hotel on Bali. Many are 50+ years old.

Such a soulful way to garden - but out of hundreds of gardeners who I know, no one has concentrated on this incredible and ancient passion.

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I can appreciate the skill and dedication of those who Bonsai. Being a life long Floridian, manipulating and stunting a tree for years & years just has never appealed to me. Without constant care... I'm sure they hate any neglect.
 
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I can appreciate the skill and dedication of those who Bonsai. Being a life long Floridian, manipulating and stunting a tree for years & years just has never appealed to me. Without constant care... I'm sure they hate any neglect.
Moose - I think it is a kind of carefully planned neglect. Playful
 
Moose - I think it is a kind of carefully planned neglect. Playful

I'm not sure its a planned neglect. Pruning just right, enough water to survive without spurning on heavy growth. Just enough mineral supplements to prevent deficiencies but preventing spurts of growth. Its definitely a science. I've seen them with moss on the crust of the soil that looks like a lush micro lawn.

Just seems like much effort when hey, grow a full size tree and enjoy the shade. I respect the abilities that those who bonsai have to possess, it just has never tweaked my interest. I did enjoy seeing the results of their efforts in your photos.

By the way, I'm reading a book by David Fairchild right now about his travels to Bali in 1940 just prior to the outbreak of war with the Japanese.
 
Such a cool art. My neighbor has some Bonsai that were passed down to him from family members. I know some are centuries old. I have several that I am working on now.
 
I have a few oldies that I've kept going over the decades,and a couple just old. A Schefflera arboracola and Ficus benjamina you can see them on Dave's Garden (bay area tropics)..But I have a oldie Ficus nitida that I cut back this spring,and last too mention is a Ficus 'Emerald Island '..precariously hardy after 2007 and this Decembers cold. Recovers thank goodness. What I gave up on is trying to force them into "cloud shapes"..they fight that,and one dense canopy is the usual result. But..the roots...hard to find equal in the temperate plants to a Ficus.
 
Well,my point is that both do well here. The temperate species- from Spruce and Pine and Junipers...to the real tropical species like the Ficus. Most of the types popular in Hawaii grow here too outdoors in little pots. Right next to the Mugo pines.
And then,we have the fat plant Bonsai too. Succulents with massive trunks. Like little Baobabs. I think,you can grow them more easily as Bonsai then in the ground. I have Dorstenia gigas-Pachypodiums do fine outdoors all year.
 
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