Bonsai Diary #2: Saving My Sea Buckthorn
I dug an interesting sea buckthorn cutting out of my mother's garden. However, it is planted inappropriately.
🤓 What do I have in mind today?
💫 When I started my bonsai hobby a quarter of a year ago, I had hardly any idea what I was doing. But since spring was already in full swing, I wanted to collect some Yamadori.
So I visited my mother in her garden to legally collect my first Yamadori. In doing so, we came across a small sea buckthorn shoot.
🌱 It turned out that a sea buckthorn root had grown to the surface at this spot and a small shoot had grown here, which was cut off year after year and became stronger and stronger.
I was not well prepared for this find. I had a training pot left over, but no suitable substrate. I was also not aware of how important the right substrate is.
🤔 How can I solve the problem?
Now I want to mix my own substrate. For this I mainly use sand, some potting soil and a succulent substrate, which consists of different volcano stones and clays so that the water can drain well.
Because sea buckthorn does not like waterlogging!
There are many instructions and opinions on the right substrate on the Internet. Even if you look for a specific tree species, you will find the most diverse suggestions.
Since I want to keep it cheap, I have come up with the following mixture: 2 parts sand, 2 parts potting soil and one part succulent granulate. This consists of volcanic rock and clay.
This gives me a sandy soil with good drainage, which can still store some liquid and, above all, nutrients.
🌲 How is the tree doing now?
Unfortunately, I couldn't see any roots when I repotted the plant. I'm still not sure if any roots will even develop here. However, the tree does not seem to be dead yet, as new leafes have formed.
☔️ I will now take it into the apartment for a few days so that it can recover from the repotting. Then I will observe it for a few more months and see if it comes to life.
Because of its unique shape, which it has received from the strong root, it has a lot of potential to grow into a beautiful tree.
If you want to know how this tree and my other trees develop, then feel free to follow me on Substack.
You are welcome to support me with a small donation at Ko-Fi. This helps me to buy new bonsai equipment and to share further experiences with you. 🙂
Do you already have experience with sea buckthorn as a bonsai? Write it in the comments! Feel free to also ask me questions about the topic or give me your tips on what you would have done differently.
Do you think that there is still some life in this tree? Let me know!
Until the next post,
Your Sebastian