Just a little update- here is the umbrella fusion progression! The leaves are still happy, and some wire has added movement.

From October 31, 2018.

Schefflera. Sheffelera. Sheffleria. Shefarieuaidhek.

Like bougainvillea, this is a tough plant name. I only read it for such a long time with doing research that I never knew if I was pronouncing it right in my head. I still don’t. I live in this ignorance because I pick my battles.

They are also known are Hawaiian umbrella plants, now that is a good name.

I see now that this picture is tragically out of focus. Alas, my blogging skills will increase, I promise. I still didn’t know that I would be making a blog, so these were just quick pictures that I could use as a reference.

I had been dissatisfied with the umbrella selection at Home Depot, but I found this little trio at a Walmart garden center that I visited as a gamble. $4 later, I have them home! Also, it is a precious plastic pot.

These plants were good, but nowhere near bonsai material. They look nothing like trees. So I have turned these into an experiment. There is a bonsai practice called trunk fusion, where you tie multiple plants tightly together with raffia. As they grow, they have no choice but to grow in between the little crevices between the trunks. Eventually the raffia is removed and bam, you have a thicker trunk. Yeah, there will be lines where the two older trunks meet, but if anything, this makes it look older. It is a way to cheat the system and make young plants into usable bonsai material much sooner. Upon the advice of a gardener at Shades of Green, I sliced off a bit of the trunks where they make contact. They naturally release a sticky, scab like fluid. Apparently this helps with the fusion.

With a little wire, it has a shape, whoo hoo. I’m excited to see how this experiment goes!