Mar 19 2016

Berberis Clump Repot

I had hoped to get to this Berberis Clump sooner to do a little initial wiring but the tree had other ideas. As it’s been in this big plastic training pot for a few years I decided it was still ok to repot now and make it a little more manageable around the garden. I also wanted to get a closer look at the base to help me make my mind up on a front. For some older posts about it see, HERE, HERE and HERE

This was one option for the front. I’d chatted with Peter Warren about the tree when he was last here. He liked this option but said it would always look like a garden tree. He pointed out another option.

This is his option which I also love. Either would make a great tree. Time for a closer look.

Plenty of fine root in there

I didn’t have a lot of pot options but this one actually fitted the bill ok. Loppers show scale of this big fella.

A few alterations

and a few more…

And this is the final result. An even better base that I thought, still loads to do to make a bonsai out of this but I think it’s a keeper.

Mar 13 2016

Mother and Child Hawthorn

Another Hawthorn wired out before bud break. Not the best time to do this with the sap rising and branches being a little more brittle, but I didn’t want to miss another year. I was stabbed repeatedly even after thorn removal. You never get all the little buggers! This was it before.

And afterwards.

and me for scale

Mar 12 2016

Root Over Rock Trident Maple Repot

I bought this Trident back in 2011. This is the pot it was in at the time. I didn’t like the rectangle and I didn’t like that the rock over hung the left side of the pot.

I opted to change the pot to this Walsall Ceramics pot in February 2012.

And there it stayed until last week. I had another pot come into my hands that I wanted to try out and then of course I found another one as a second option. I tried the tree out in each pot.

This was the blue option

and this was the cream/white option.

After some deliberation I opted for the cream pot. It was my favourite of the two anyway but I was also able to twist the tree slightly more in the pot with the extra front to back space allowing for a slightly new front that shows a little of the rock to the right side of the far right root which I think adds to the image.

Better?

Mar 11 2016

North Coast Hawthorn

I gave this Hawthorn collected up the North coast in around 2003 a rewiring last week. It’s been knocking around my garden for years but it’s finally starting to resemble a tree. In about another 15 years it might actually look the part 🙂

This was it in Spring 2010 when I air layer a trunk off.

October 2010

September 2011, starting from scratch branch wise.

I wired the tree out for the first time in Winter 20114/15 and this was the tree in May 2015 after cutting back the first flush of growth.

And this is the tree now in March 2016 after a second wiring. Just need about 10 times the ramification to make a convincing tree image.

Mar 9 2016

Old Joe Yew

This tree is with me until the end of either it or me 🙂 Perhaps not the best material in the world but I have a sentimental attachment to this tree due to it’s provenance. You can catch up with that here along with other links.

As I’m keeping it, I decided it was time for a better pot. I have recently acquired this Walsall Ceramic pot which I think adds to the negative space required to emphasise the height of the tree. It’s a glazed pot but subtle which I like for this tree. I under planted a few small Japanese Ferns to help hide a few issues and also emphasise the height of the tree.

Mar 8 2016

Beech Repot

Have you ever had a tree and you just want a change? I have had this Beech since 1999 and for most of that time it’s been in this pot. I like the pot, I like the tree, especially in Winter image. However I just fancied a change.

I was changing another tree over into a new pot on the same day and decided to use the pot from that tree for the Beech. It’s an old Lancashire Pot I’ve had knocking around for years, a nice pot.

and here’s the Beech in it’s new home, for a few years anyway, until I get bored. When I was listening to Boon on one of the Bonsai Empire videos recently, he mentioned about experimenting with pots, making changes to see how things look and gaining experience in what pot suits what tree. I guess it stuck with me.

Jan 19 2016

Shohin Yew

Yes, another Yew, no fancy yamadori this time. I grew this one from a cutting!

This was it earlier in the year in a training pot.

While over at Bonsai Europa I fell in love with some of the great pots on the Sperling Keramic stand. I had never even heard of Sperling before! A very friendly service with some amazing pots. I picked up this little pot for another tree but wasn’t happy with the match so I’ve decided to use it for this little Yew.

This is it just potted up. A thinning out required this year and some extra shari work.

This was the tree back in 2011 after initial styling.

A few other pots from Sperling Keramic in case you want to see what else came back to Northern Ireland.

Jan 12 2016

Chuhin Yew – Time for a Change

I’ve had this little Yew since 2002 when I bought it as raw material. That said, it was in this pot even then. I love the pot, Ian Baillie only makes good ones but after all this time I felt either the tree had outgrown the pot or I just needed a change.

This is it in the old pot.

And this is it’s new home for the next few years. A nice Japanese pot I picked up with a bit of age about it.. It’s perhaps a little big but the tree could do with a few years of freer root growth as I will now spend a little more time on improving the overall image of the tree.

This was it back in 2003 as raw yamadori material. It’s come a long way but probably has as far to go again!

Jan 11 2016

Shohin Chinese Juniper

I got this little Chinese Juniper in 2010 from a great chap called Bob Snaith.He was clearing out his collection and I got this one at a great price. He supplied me with the first photo below. He’d bought the tree from a chap called Micky Paice who had bought it from Windybank Bonsai back in 1999. Always nice to know the provenance of a tree.

This was it in 2010 as I bought it.

I repotted it and let it sit for a year to gain strength. I then explored the idea of chopping it back to the first branch as I didn’t particularly like the contrived trunk line.

Decision made.

This was it repotted into a smaller pot the following Spring 2012 I think.

It’s been tweaked a few times since then but a few weeks ago I decided to fine wire it and transfer it into a new pot I picked up at Bonsai Europa. This is it prior to wiring.

And afterwards

The new pot and chop mark, Yamaaki.

and now after repotting and a new coat of jin seal applied.

Jan 10 2016

Korean Hornbeam – Changes

I’ve had this Korean Hornbeam for 5 years now. This was how it looked back in July 2010. It was weak and had suffered for a few years and lost a lot of branches. It took 2 seasons to get it on track and build up some ramification.

DSCF1409

This was it in 2013

And here in December 2014.

At this point I decided to make a few changes. Both trunks were parallel to each other in the pot creating a very flat image. The main trunk lacked taper along the last portion of the trunk line and about 2 inches from the top is a swelling that looked ugly and was only going to get worse with age. I opted to layer the top off the main trunk to create a little multi-trunk shohin tree for the future. I also decided that I’d change the front of the tree to offset the two trunk creating more depth.

Below is the tree in December 2015 after the layer was removed. I had give the tree free growth for the year to give me a few more options when thinning out the branches.

This was to be the new angle for the front. I’d lose a little of the width of the base but give the tree a little more character and depth, hard to see that in a photo of course!

I trimmed back unwanted branches and pruned out a few area that had become too heavy.

I then wired out the branch structure creating the basics of two new apexes and got rid of a lot of clutter and crossing branches.

If we are making changes to the front, I might as well repot it. I had a Sylvia Webber pot on the shelf that I love and was itching to use again. I think that’s who the potter is anyway, perhaps someone can confirm from the chop mark below. Is she still making pots? I got this back in 2003.

I transferred the tree over adjusting for the new angle. The pot is perhaps a little shallow looking for such a heavy trunk, but I like it. I was also able to remove an ugly root at the back as a bonus. It’s hard to tell just how much better the image is in a photo, especially as the old front looked good in a photo and this photo isn’t great but trust me, I’m a lot happier with where this tree is going in the years to come. Double the current ramification and I think we have a nice tree in the making. That’s what I love about working on Deciduous trees, there’s no quick image to be had like a conifer, the work has to be done year on year to create a descent bonsai.