OT1 Guide To Bonsai Mums

[MindSoup]

9 hours ago, Slippy One said:

You mean just below.

 

I've had success in the middle long stalks too, so it doesn't have to be just under a node.

 

So where does the new shoot come from if you take all the nodes? Back at the stem base? 

Edited March 13, 2021 by MindSoup

[MindSoup]

3 hours ago, Maesteg Cannabis Club said:

 

Just tell them it's for cutting bread.  

 

 

10 minutes ago, Wacky Wardrobe said:

I just repotted a couple of bonsai mums. I just clawed away at the root ball by hand till it looked the right size. I was really just mimicking a video I'd seen ages ago on regular bonsai tree maintenance. This method teases out some of the roots that will be straight into the fresh soil.

 

Sounds good mate, might be a bit more stress but I bet the roots bounce back better. Was it that old school bloke, herons bonsai iirc, great watch after a big smoke.

[Wacky Wardrobe]

Just now, MindSoup said:

Was it that old school bloke, herons bonsai

That was very fella :-)

I ended up watching quite a few of his vids. Very inspirational.

[Slippy One]

7 minutes ago, MindSoup said:

So where does the new shoot come from if you take all the nodes? Back at the stem base? 

How small are your mums then? 2 week old seedlings?

 

[MindSoup]

Just now, Wacky Wardrobe said:

That was very fella :-)

I ended up watching quite a few of his vids. Very inspirational.

Haha yeah he's just got a nice way about him, bit like david Attenborough or something, Got absolutely hooked first lock down . Great for comedown snuggle puddles. 

[MindSoup]

Just now, Slippy One said:

How small are your mums then? 2 week old seedlings?

 

Bonsai mums we're taking about? I'm sure in the OP he says to cut the second node of so the first one can re shoot ??? I'm confused, or you are? 

[Slippy One]

It’s hard to visualise  

 

but I cut below the 2nd node from the main shoots. This makes the end strong enough so it doesn’t bend pushing them into your preferred rooting medium

[MindSoup]

Ok I think we're on the same page. The main point I was trying to make was leave the first node and take the second, I personally would always cut just above the first node so as not to leave excess material on the plant that might rot and then trim up the cutting however you see fit. 

Edited March 13, 2021 by MindSoup

[mysticriver]

On 11/03/2021 at 4:33 PM, Keye said:

I found that the actual cutting point gradually gets higher up the plant, yes.

 

I didn't find a way to negate that. If I remember, OT1 describes lignification in the lower branches as an outer bark type growth builds up. I did get that and i noticed this growth didn't 'root'. By that, I mean that of the few cuttings i took of harder branches, the roots always came higher up the stem, from the newer younger growth.

So the bansai mother is getting bigger every time I take cuttings then, if im cutting not the exact same place but higher and higher each time?

In the tutorial, it states the mother providing 10 - 20 (iirc) cuttings every 14 days.

So every 2 weeks its getting slightly bigger, by the size of a node distance from each cutting site.

how the heck do they stay bansai mothers. By my mental arithmetic im left with a hedge inside 12 moon.

[MindSoup]

Yeah its confusing me now.

[Slippy One]

Growth usually still comes from the woody areas, you just have to wait until the shoots are 3-4 nodes up. With my mums in coco, I'm taking them out for feed and pruning nearly every day. Sometimes I leave them alone for weeks, then brutally chop back to keep them small. I also replace my bonsais every 6 months by taking cuts and using the best cut for a mom. The old bonsai's are either given away, flowered or culled.

 

Flowering them is fun but you'll need a lot of support!!

 

It's all in the prune! 

 

I've not noticed any difference in potency or flavour by cloning clones for years. One of my mums never reverted back to symmetrical nodes after accidentally flowering her for 1 week, so asymmetrical inter nodes, but this is mostly genetic (or possibly hormonal) and it makes the flowers easier to trim.

 

 

 

 

[MindSoup]

Oh ok, so its a bit more like pruning a rose or something? Dare I go as far as to say like a buddleia? Just hack it back and it will find somewhere to sprout? (Obviously I'd take a little more care than that) 

Edited March 13, 2021 by MindSoup
Because I edit every post I ever write

[Slippy One]

The sprouts don’t come from nowhere, they’re always there, especially if you cut back every week. I wouldn’t recommend drastic pruning after weeks of no pruning, always leave a few decent growing shoots and trim regular. I can fill a 10L bucket with trim every 2 weeks from 4 mums. 

[MindSoup]

Ok that makes sense. I think its the kind of thing I'll only fully understand after I start doing it.

[latigid aikon]

Don't cut it back so much that there aren't any shoots.

 

It says in the guide:

Quote

Leaving one or two tiny shoots at the tip of each branch to draw sap and keep the branch alive. If all the shoots and buds are removed, 99 times out of a 100 die back sets in-- and once that starts the whole plant usually dies within a month or two. It doesn't matter if the small shoots are yellow from lacking N, they will soon start to grow and green up as the new roots start forming!