Cloning A Bonsai Tree.

W

wilt

Well-Known Member
Hi, somewhat stupid question but I was wondering if its possible to clip off a cuttling from a bonsai tree ( healthy one ) and have that clone take root or survive at all. I just attempted this with my moms bonsai tree and I planted it and I'm just trying to see if I'm wasting time. I think it would be pretty cool if it works out. I might start a bonsai clone business. :)
 
trentcannon

trentcannon

Well-Known Member
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depends on a lot of things...most important is tree type.. Willow is self rooting, meaning you need no hormone. But Willow bonsai are undesirable and hard to train. It is possible to take a cutting from some types of bonsai and root with some sort of hormone. Remember bonsai trees are REAL trees, they are not shrubs they are trees that would be large if planted in the ground, what makes them a bonsai is the small root system and the pruning that keeps them small. Some of the most beautiful bonsai are thirty foot wild growing trees that have been trained and contained to be small mirrors of what they look like in the wild. Good luck with your business, sounds like your mom's tree has some work ahead of it.
 
W

wilt

Well-Known Member
Haha. I don't know what kind of bonsai it is. I'm going to try and identify it today. I did use hormones anyways just to see if it helps. If it servives I might replant it outside or should I just keep it indoors with its mom?
 
W

wilt

Well-Known Member
And thanks for the information trent. I'm going to research this some more. I hope it lives and isn't dead when I get home.
 
W

wilt

Well-Known Member
Damn. I'm pretty blunted and just read that and I thought about how deep that was. That's wild. My "bonsai clone" is most likely going to die. Some what yellowish. Gonna throw him out tommorow if a watering doesn't help.
 
barrgemike

barrgemike

Well-Known Member
Heres an idea.Look around your yard and find a cool tree, find out what it is, and read about it. then if you think you can provide it's needs take a clone from the tree,TIP: when you pick/cut your clone from the tree, stand there and try to find the best looking one that already has a cool shape and is healthy. i have three Bonsai's i've been growing sence i was 7 and i'm 18+ now. they're great plants. if you find out what kind of tree you want to bonsai i would gladly help you find critical info on the plant. Just let me know.
 
trentcannon

trentcannon

Well-Known Member
pretty much right.. just make sure the clone you choose is not extremely woody.. there is a technique I use that I find very beneficial to the mother and the clone. I have seen it adapted for MJ, but never actually seen it used in a journal/real life. Its where you wither bury a small portion of a limb (the portion you want roots on) and roots will grow on it. also, using clear plastic a couple pieces of string and soil you can tie a "bandage" on the plant, roots will form and you can take the clone. Remember, not all trees will make good bonsai.. If you find one you like and you don't know the name..post a pic. me of the best places to find wild bonsai are harsh conditioned areas such as on rocks while hiking, or in the gravel around rail road tracks (this is illegal.. not like it matters on this site).. anywhere the trees growth could be slightly stunted... clones are nice, but you want a real thick trunk.. the thicker the trunk the older the tree LOOKS. A good method to getting a large trunk from a clone is to take your clone and then plant it in the ground for about a year or more.. controlling height by pinching sprouts.. this will give you a hefty trunk that would take many years in a small dish.. Bonsai is fun, but its slow. Imagine how impatient you are for your :leaf: plants to grow.. times that by about ten or twenty. Most importantly.. you WILL kill trees.. but this is how you learn.. get a good soil mix (mine has no organics) nothing too heavy.. no miracle grow, etc. and start giving it a try..

good luck man.:joint: let's see that mother.
 
trentcannon

trentcannon

Well-Known Member
wow... that was horribly written. I think I'll proof read before I post sometime. Hopefully you got the just of that.
 
mokety

mokety

Well-Known Member
and there another way to clone instead of cutting it down you can just strip the bark out of the branch you want to be clone wrap it with dirt in a plastic bag pack tight and then poke few holes in it you can put rooting power on the fresh strip branch before wrap it in dirt keep the dirt moist and in about 1-2 weeks there will be root develop at that part and you can cut it out and plant it on it own....you can do that with bigger tree and have great result....good luck!!!
 
alexdunaba

alexdunaba

Well-Known Member
trentcannon said:
...


depends on a lot of things...most important is tree type.. Willow is self rooting, meaning you need no hormone. But Willow bonsai are undesirable and hard to train. It is possible to take a cutting from some types of bonsai and root with some sort of hormone. Remember bonsai trees are REAL trees, they are not shrubs they are trees that would be large if planted in the ground, what makes them a bonsai is the small root system and the pruning that keeps them small. Some of the most beautiful bonsai are thirty foot wild growing trees that have been trained and contained to be small mirrors of what they look like in the wild. Good luck with your business, sounds like your mom's tree has some work ahead of it.
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Dude, what are you talking about?? You can clone ANY bonsai. Willow is one of many trees which doesn't require any type of rooting hormone. It's only hard to train if you are using some type of thin copper wire (i.e. RJ11 et cetera). Bonsai are not limited to ONLY trees. Don't fool yourselves with the title of 'bonsai trees.' I have been growing bonsai for years, and I use a number of juniper, holly, and other shrubs/bushes to create such plants. According to: bonsai - Definitions from Dictionary.com

...it is a ..."a tree or shrub that has been dwarfed, as by pruning the roots and pinching, and is grown in a pot or other container and trained to produce a desired size/shape." It is nothing more than a dwarfed plant... not a tree. With the proper humidity (in say a clone dome), and the right rooting gel/powder/compound, you can clone any tree/shrub/plant. I've even cloned apple cuttings, cara cara cuttings, and california redwood cuttings (1/2" thick). It's all about the technique.
 
trentcannon

trentcannon

Well-Known Member
alexdunaba said:
Dude, what are you talking about?? You can clone ANY bonsai. Willow is one of many trees which doesn't require any type of rooting hormone. It's only hard to train if you are using some type of thin copper wire (i.e. RJ11 et cetera). Bonsai are not limited to ONLY trees. Don't fool yourselves with the title of 'bonsai trees.' I have been growing bonsai for years, and I use a number of juniper, holly, and other shrubs/bushes to create such plants. According to: bonsai - Definitions from Dictionary.com

...it is a ..."a tree or shrub that has been dwarfed, as by pruning the roots and pinching, and is grown in a pot or other container and trained to produce a desired size/shape." It is nothing more than a dwarfed plant... not a tree. With the proper humidity (in say a clone dome), and the right rooting gel/powder/compound, you can clone any tree/shrub/plant. I've even cloned apple cuttings, cara cara cuttings, and california redwood cuttings (1/2" thick). It's all about the technique.
Click to expand...
Did you even read what I wrote? You pretty much repeated what I just said..

"it's only hard to train if your using some sort of thin copper wire" ... WHAT? Thats the only hard way to train a willow bonsai? Let me see if i can think of one.. You can hand it upside down and glue pennies to the branches if you want them to grow upward.. that sounds easier:roll:. Show me a picture of a willow bonsai that actually looks desirable.. you're into bonsai so I assume you know the five basic styles (windswept, formal upright, informal, cascade, and variation). Show me a picture of a willow that shows any of these styles. I have only seen one desirable willow bonsai.. EVER. Get on any bonsai forum and ask them if they like willow bonsai, you'll get laughed at.

I never told you you couldn't clone an apple tree. Fuck dude, you can clone anything, just ask Samuel Wood.

"It is nothing more than a dwarfed plant... not a tree." Read the first line of that definition you posted; "A tree or shrub..." By the way a tree is a shrub and visa versa..the only difference is characterization by size. "The tree form has evolved separately in unrelated classes of plants, in response to similar environmental challenges, making it a classic example of parallel evolution." -Wikipedia.

I too use junipers, they are easy, cheap and don't make you cry when you kill them. Keep in mind the most desirable and expensive trees are the ones that show classic style, age, and grown tree characteristics.

:joint:
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alexdunaba

alexdunaba

Well-Known Member
trentcannon said:
Did you even read what I wrote? You pretty much repeated what I just said..

"it's only hard to train if your using some sort of thin copper wire" ... WHAT? Thats the only hard way to train a willow bonsai? Let me see if i can think of one.. You can hand it upside down and glue pennies to the branches if you want them to grow upward.. that sounds easier:roll:. Show me a picture of a willow bonsai that actually looks desirable.. you're into bonsai so I assume you know the five basic styles (windswept, formal upright, informal, cascade, and variation). Show me a picture of a willow that shows any of these styles. I have only seen one desirable willow bonsai.. EVER. Get on any bonsai forum and ask them if they like willow bonsai, you'll get laughed at.

I never told you you couldn't clone an apple tree. Fuck dude, you can clone anything, just ask Samuel Wood.

"It is nothing more than a dwarfed plant... not a tree." Read the first line of that definition you posted; "A tree or shrub..." By the way a tree is a shrub and visa versa..the only difference is characterization by size. "The tree form has evolved separately in unrelated classes of plants, in response to similar environmental challenges, making it a classic example of parallel evolution." -Wikipedia.

I too use junipers, they are easy, cheap and don't make you cry when you kill them. Keep in mind the most desirable and expensive trees are the ones that show classic style, age, and grown tree characteristics.

:joint:
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Click to expand...
wow, apparently you have not thought about what I actually typed. You can in fact train the trunk of a willow, so you were incorrect in your o so valid assumption. Secondly, I did not repeat what you said, as you so boldly stated that a bonsai is in fact not a shrub, but a tree. Get your facts straight, bub. I have a number of japanese maples, roughly 20 years old which I have beautified in the style of jin.

Don't get your panties in a knot, if you reflect upon your first posting you stated that ..."depends on a lot of things...most important is tree type..." that was interpreted by myself (and I am sure others)that you were referring to only certain types of trees as being propagable.

I'll leave this thread in only saying you are obviously knowledgeable, however your posting was not as informative as you probably intended. As being such, I commented on it. I had no intention of belittling you, so there was no need for hostility. Take care and grow well.
 
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