Thanks for the interest everyone. Pauline took this little gem home.

Darren this is pine needle cast: Notice the asymmetrical banding on the needles and the dark spotted areas mid needle. Also the sporadic nature of this and the fact that is it not evenly distributed throughout the needles would argue against overwatering. Daconil spray (available at garden centers / box store) is what is typically recommended. A few treatments will be needed. Cover pot to make sure it doesn't get in roots. Mike Hagedorn has a great blog about needle cast vs. overwatering on his site.

Hey Travis, those little green growths almost look like Irish moss. It grows pretty crazy in my outdoor trees and is a bit invasive. As it matures it makes little flowers that explode and spread their seeds everywhere. You could let them grow some more to see what they end up being it you're curious. I'd advise just pluck them out with tweezers and keep a watchful eye. Andy

I love gambel oak, especially with mature bark. The trunk on this one seems to be large enough to support the leaf size!

Will be in touch Adam... A

Hello Dan :We need to get some folk to make daiza! Here's my stone in a suiban for now...

David, I was reading about this in Mike H. new book and thinking the same thing. I'm not sure there is an easy solution and everything you have discussed are options. Have you noticed any difference from your trees when the pH was modulated?

Ah, very interesting David. Keep the experiments coming. They are valuable to adding to our base of knowledge.

David, certainly not a robust root system as I have seen in ficus in aggregate media. I wonder if the char created hydrophobic regions of poor growth. Mike Hagedorn has an interesting blog post about growing roots in oil-dry type media and poor stringy root systems like this are the result.

This looks great david. I don't have much to add other than the main branch could be oriented with the needles more toward the viewer so we get a better sense of fullness, rather than seeing it in profile. Great work!

Hey Adam, I also have one of my limber pines that looks like it has a similar issue. I have also been using Daconil, but has only been about a month and without success yet A

Mike!! Thanks for the comprehensive tour! This is super cool, and really appreciate the advice about local nurseries. Always happy to help move trees also!

Here's one of mine. Kintzley's Ghost honeysuckle. I got it at Alameda Wholesale nursery (Denver) on a trip with RMBS. You need a wholesale license to shop there (we went with a member who had one) so I didn't include it on the list above. Yellow flowers in June, red berries in the fall. Training it to keep it's climbing nature. Glazed pot by RMBS potter Bill Sample. I think it cost me $18 after tax...

Oh yes we need pictures in this post Dan. Can't believe I forgot that! Great work! I really dig that cool blue pot and yellow foliage!

Thanks Normando! That would be amazing. The chat was pretty full of questions during our presentation last month and members were doing a good job answering them in real time...

Great tree Mike, let us know if you plan to reduce the leaf size! I always find that challenging with deciduous shohin sized trees...

OK, on looking again, the strong root on the right side of the picture provides the correct anchor for the cascade style. #2 wins.

but #1 looks more like the natural habit of a ficus... hmmm...

Cascade #2 is a classic look...

Hey! From your post it sounds like you are interested in more developed bonsai that have seen some training. I know of a few RMBS members who are may be interested in selling some of their collections. These tend to be on the more expensive side, but will be well cared for and better than anything you can get at a garden center or online. Let me know if you are interested, and I can send along emails and phone numbers. Andy andrb0304@gmail.com