Just took my trees out of the deep shade now that the worst of this heatwave is over (eastern US) and my elm sprouted tons of flyaway branches! Is it alright to just trim these up a bit to restore the general pad shapes and clean him up? Or is there a benefit to letting these little sprouts grow out a bit despite the messy appearance?
Today was Kifu Bonsai’s open house, in East Greenville, PA. I live about 20 minutes away and this was actually my first time there! A lovely time was had. And I of course treated myself to a Japanese White Pine and a small American Holly that seemed to have gotten forgotten about behind some larger specimens. 🥺 enjoy!
Two plants (Black Krim and Cherokee Purple) are exhibiting wilted tops/ends for no explicable reason. They didn’t resolve last night. They are both right next to each other so that might be an additional indication of something in the soil?
I tried the “stream test” and I did NOT see anything slimy, but it could be a false negative or just not enough bacteria…yet.
I’m freaking myself out and just feeling sad for the plants and for the raised bed in which they live.
Male, 32, just hit my goal weight of 185. I’ve been counting calories religiously since January 1 – what started as a sort of stupid “New Years Resolution” just kept going once I saw rapid weight loss during the first few weeks of January.
I’ve been using My Fitness Pal and logging weight using Happy Scale in order to smooth out abnormalities. I try to limit to approximately once a week weigh-ins, otherwise I find myself becoming obsessive, and that scares me.
My diet consists of huge amounts of cottage cheese, eggs, rice cakes, and plain chicken breast. I’m also a type 1 diabetic, so the reduced carbohydrate and generally more predictable diet has dramatically helped me control my blood sugar and improve my A1C.
The most random things I’ve noticed is that my baseball caps are too big now? Who knew that you carry weight on your skull! My shoes are also too big, I guess my feet have shrunk as well.
Might catch some criticism for this, but I have done zero exercise, weight lifting, etc. during this weight loss. Most exercise I get is a daily 1 mile walk with my dog. I’ve NEVER been a sporty or athletic person, so I feel this would be a large lifestyle change that I’m just not willing or able to make right now. Calorie-deficit is enough for me! lol. Change my mind?
Anyway, I’m wondering if I might lose a bit more. I just need to be careful about getting too skinny without muscle. No one like a lanky skinny man 😂😂😂 edit to add: I’m just over 6’1”
Comparison photo just to show off, beginning of January 2026 vs May 2026: https://imgur.com/a/zvxbfGv
Beginner here. I did not expect this thing to have such dense branching, but after some digging it found it actually has two pretty girthy, gnarled and interesting looking trunks. Cleaned it up a bit and now to grow in a large pot this summer. Thoughts?