This Chamaecyparis Pisifera plumosa dumosa attracts algae to the bark and was in for yet another clean up. My little Japanese power washer was one of the best purchases I ever made and made short work of it.
It’s also a tree that creeps along growth wise and needs work several times a year to keep definition in the foliage mass. Cleaning the underside of branches and keeping subtle space is important or it reverts to a green helmet very fast. It was dewired in the Spring and over the year the bottom pads had crept up a little. I applied some structural wire to reinstate the spacing.
After workThe infamous bottle of Guinness for scaleFoliage detail
Had this Hawthorn for quite a few years now but 2020 saw it repotted at a more acute angle giving it more of a windswept feel.
A few reasons for doing it. 1. I love windswept Hawthorn in nature. I think they are one of the most “Irish” representative tree images and are a common sight along our coastline. 2. After several repots and root workings I’m just not able to deal with the heavy root running along the front of the tree right to left. Normally they chase back and allow for a more compact root system. This one is connected to one of the main feeder paths running up the tree and has yet to product any significant backrooting after 15 plus years. On this tree the more acute lean right to left has allowed me to drop that root deeper in the pot and hide its ugliness.
I still need to deal with the ever creeping moss running up the trunk, but while working the tree I noticed tiny little mushrooms popping out of the little ecosystem along the upper trunk line. I think laying it over has helped create it’s own little world on top.
Running along the top centre of the trunkline is the beginnings of a natural Shari. The tree is pretty much split into two main live veins with the dead patch in the middle. Instead of going in there and clearing it out, I’m just going to let it decay at it’s own rate for now and enjoy watching it change year to year.
This Pine had an average year with some difficulty getting water into the root mass. There’s loads of soil mass in there but a narrow opening into which it’s planted.
Possibly as a result, the lower extending branch to the left got weaker to the point were it was unlikely to bounce back. This was a branch that I was 50/50 on keeping anyway design wise and combined with Shore Pines trait of dropping lower branches, was unlikely to have stayed the course long term.
Before branch removal After removal the little trunk to the left comes into its own more. Another angle
A long way to go in development but a few years in I’m happy with the result so far. I’m planning a better option for watering next year.
This tree belongs to a friend but was in my care until it sold. During the last storm it took a leap off the bench and smashed its training pot. I’d always said it needed an angle change and with permission from the owner I removed a few unnecessary branches and placed some primary and secondary branches to set a structure for the future. I worked the deadwood stumps as well. They aren’t to my taste but I’ve left them on for the new owner to decide what their tastes are.
The tree wasn’t actually potted into the grey pot, just set in there during work and a tighter brown oval selected for the final pot. Even then I didn’t remove roots just adjusted to the new angle. The tree can be repotted properly Spring 2021/22.
Bonsai Eejit 