After a most successful Joy of Bonsai convention, organizer Louise Leister and Mike Rogers, President of the Kawa Bonsai Society, sponsor of the event, took Diane and me to a special visit to see ancient Bald cypress. The location is out in the wilds, where “men are men and sheep are weary” on Lake Disston. Designated as an “Outstanding Florida Water” by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Agency, Lake Disston is in its natural state, leaving the land surrounding the lake sparsely populated of homes and with very few boats on the waterway.

We took three kayaks on the lake which was smooth glass. The weather was a warm 70F with a clear blue sky and no wind, a bit different than the -10F weather we left in Rochester, and will return to tomorrow. The calm water provided for some interesting reflections.

These ancient Bald cypress trees had tremendous character…

I sell a lot of native European Yamadori all of the trees are very old and of the best quality, trees that I would have in my own collection. I select trees on the hill that I believe will make great bonsai and leave those that have no or little potential. With every tree except pine I bare root, removing all the mountain soil and replace with my own mix suitable for growing new roots and establishing the tree in a pot. I also endeavour to plant the tree in the smallest container whilst still maintaining the future health of the tree. This makes transplanting to a bonsai pot a lot easier without the usual dangerous root ball reduction that sometimes takes place after establishing.

Usually the planting position in the ‘training’ pot is not the ‘finished’ angle or position that the tree will be styled, when purchasing I advise…