# About time we, in DFW, merge these two too



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Need I say more?

Who would try it first? Michael? Bill? Me (secret Bonsai owner, have one right smack in the middle of my living room)? Someone new to bonsai but experienced in planted tanks.

Just... I know Ricky will try to Cladophora for the tree "leaves" because he is lazy...

--Nikolay


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Three years ago, my much treasured bald cypress bonsai died, for no apparent reason. I threw out the carcass because I couldn't bear to look at it. Now I wish I had kept it.

The frequent failing of such sunken bonsai I have seen is that they have no nebari. Nebari refers to the root flare at the base of the trunk, and the large surface roots visible above the soil. It is an essential component of bonsai composition because it unites the tree with the soil it grows in, and in turn the container that holds the soil. It is also the hardest part of a bonsai to change or improve.

It so happens that one of my so-so yaupon holly bonsai suffered severe root damage over the winter and also died. This time I saved the corpse, and it is drying in my backyard.

I don't have the room to set up another tank just for a submerged bonsai. Who wants it?

--Michael


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## Tex Guy (Nov 23, 2008)

*Re: I think more of us need to try something like this:*


root over rock by ildarabbit, on Flickr

In bonsai there is a style called "root over rock". When I was setting up my shorty tank I fantasized about having the dominant rock substantially out of the water and mounting a bonsai on top with that style. You can just envision the roots going into the water and being exposed there.

Alas it turns out that this is a multiple-year project for the bonsai side of it. Plus the particular rock I used just didn't look right emersed...

But yes, I definitely think that Michael needs to do this.


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## fishyjoe24 (May 18, 2010)

so are you trying to do a bonsai set up in a tank niko?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

My late, lamented bald cypress was a root over rock, wind-swept tree. I tear up just thinking about it.

Tex Guy, I think *YOU* should do it.


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