Last year I cut back a Juniper growing at my Dad’s place. Today I decided to pay a visit and get it lifted. I also wanted to have a look at a few others that have interested me.

This is the Juniper, it’s one of the golden varieties with scale foliage. It’s growth habit seems to be quite tight which should be suitable for bonsai.

I also spotted this really old berberis in another flower bed. Very straight but with a chop and a decent nebari, it might be worth a closer look.

Next for a look was this large Escallonia tucked away in a corner beside a garden shed. It will have a massive base hidden in there and with a few chops on the multi trunk, there’ll be options for carving. I think this one will be cut back this year and collected in Spring 2012 with new and tighter growth. I have found that major pruning can lead to severe dieback with these. If I collect next year the new tighter growth should ensure sap flow is maintained.

Last up is this  monster Ceanothus. Not commonly used for bonsai that I can see, but I thought I would give this one a go as an experiment. It was cut back in Summer 2010 but suffered badly this Winter with all leaves dying in the cold. It’s not a hardy shrub. I’ve seen gardens full of dead ones after the last two Winters here. This one, even with dead leaves has survived. All branches underneath are green. There is some amazing deadwood on this that has suffered from rot. I feel that if I am going to do anything with this tree , I’ll have to lift it this Spring. If these Winters keep up, It’ll need Winter protection every year. Here are a few photos, some taken last year in Summer and the rest today.

Summer 2010

Summer 2010

February 2011

The icy wind today would cut you in two, so I opted to collect the Juniper and leave the rest. Wimp! Honestly, it wouldn’t have fitted in the car anyway 🙂