Hypertufa Bonsai
If you remember my cascading portulacaria afra from many videos ago i have decided to prune it into a bonsai tree.
Hypertufa bonsai. It s cement mixed with perlite and peat moss. Watch me take off all the limbs i grew all winter and spring and make a dwarf. Since i had a tiny flat hypertufa pot that i had previously had outside i cleaned that up and used it for my container. I can only go by what i read on instructional videos and what i see the experts do so i am just winging it.
It is much lighter than cement but can still withstand harsh weather conditions. Because of its natural look a hypertufa container fits right into a rock garden. Planters made from hypertufa have a rough and rustic appearance. You can use almost anything that has an interesting shape for a mold such as an old tub bin or nursery pot.
Hypertufa is very coarse and tend to be thick. It seemed to be about the right size for a tiny bonsai. I am hoping to strengthen them to support a good branch with tiny leaves. Hypertufa can be cast into a variety of shapes which when dry can resemble ancient stone or aged concrete.
The term hypertufa refers to a type of artificial stone and is a conglomerate of the words tufa a natural volcanic rock and hyper a prefix meaning excessively or extremely. Part of hypertufa s appeal is that you can experiment with different textures. Hypertufa is a man made rock like material that can be used for relatively inexpensive garden ornaments. Hypertufa is an artificial stone material that is made of several different aggregates and mixed with portland cement in order to create pots planters stepping stones and more.
Filled with cheerful pink phlox and surrounded by bright white candytuft this trough is an instant focal point. It is primarily used as garden art and is fairly easy and fun to make. Hypertufa are extremely rock like containers. With practice i think one can get the walls only 1 4 inch using the shapecrete.
This hypertufa planter will make a great bonsai dish temporarily while i allow it to grow quickly meanwhile snipping all the leaf buds off the main stems growing out to the sides. Hypertufa is made by combining various aggregates sphagnum moss sand perlite vermiculite with portland cement. It s relatively easy and a lot of fun to make.