Bonsai Pics from China

A friend of mine & his wife are vacationing in China. He visited me here in Ontario a couple of weeks ago, before his trip & I took him to Eastern Leaf, the Bonsai nursery in Chino. So, he sent me those snapshots taken when they were visiting a Buddhist monastery in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan with a population of over 20 million. It is also famous for the Giant Panda Breeding program. The practice of Bonsai traces its origins to China.

What Did You Do Today?

 Nov. 4, 2025

• Gave Madagascar Dragon Tree a "haircut"; I do this 2-3 times per year.
• Watered & Fed everybody: the plants, the cats, the whole fam-damily..
• Cut my ankle & bled all over the place.

Happy Birthday Pittosporum (Wheelers Dwarf)

 Nov 1, 2025

It is a year since this I brought this dude home, so one day being as good as another, I declare Nov 1 as his birthday. 

    

AFTER

BEFORE

If you want to learn more about this plant & see his transition to the present, click on the Pittosporum Album in the right-hand column.

Miniatures/Succulents - Part 2

My knowledge of &/or exposure to succulents, up until this last year, was limited to Jade plants, that hardy, almost impossible to kill, ubiquitous Jade that back in the day, every good love & peace-nik grew alongside their marijuana plant.

Succulents are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. Succulents are not a species..a given species can have both succulent & non-succulents in their family tree & vice versa, multiple species may be succulent, while not related, such as cacti.

The main attraction for many (me, included) is the ease of succulent propagation; whether from a leaf or root cutting, or seed, most succulents will readily reproduce in a wide variety of potting medium & environmental conditions. One can build a collection of succulent plants quite rapidly, compared to other varieties.

As I grew different types, I was intrigued that many of them looked like "mini-bonsai" or faux bonsai plants when potted..And so, alongside my tree collection, however incongruous it might seem, I've started building a collection of succulents.

And to bring some order to the chaos, I'll create an Album specifically for Miniatures/Succulents, so I have some historical record of each plant..coming soon.

Re-potted Red Caro & New Additions

 Yesterday, I repotted my Red Coprosma..used the same training pot & held off on root pruning except for cleaning-up some exposed roots, as I wanted to minimize any trauma..this plant is recovering from being badly burned by an accidental use of full-strength fertilizer & I am treating him with "kid gloves"

The accident also affected 3 other trees; 1 dead, 1 lived but permanently disfigured, 2 others which are recovering. Lesson learned? Yes!

On a brighter note, also potted some new additions to our succulent collection:

Euphorbia -
Crown of Thorns

Golden Rat-Tail
Cactus

Haworthia