Apr 6 2011

Coral Bark Maple

This is my Coral Bark Maple ‘Sango Kaku’. It was my first Maple bonsai attempt going back to 1994.

I bought it as a garden centre tree that was very root bound and probably over worked it in it’s first few years in my care. It was slow to grow and weak on many branches. It sat in a corner for a year or so and then it was planted out into open ground for about 8 years. Even in open ground it didn’t do much for a long time. It was just starting to gain vigour when I had to clear the ground.

In ground 2004

Two years later and this is where I’m at with it. It is overly tall at the moment but I plan to increase the overall width of the tree. I’m building up the branch structure from the inside to ensure short inter-nodal length and good ramification. I’m not after a quick fix bonsai maple . You see these all the time and when they’re bought the new owner ends up not being able to live with the faults and cuts all the branches off and starts again.

Summer 2010

April 2011

This shot shows the original chop wound on the tree. It’s almost totally healed over. The other little patches are Lichen.

Another chop nearing closure. I’ll reopen it this year to speed the process along.

This is a virtual of the overall size I’m aiming for with this tree. Hopefully with a smaller leaf and more definition and negative space.

Apr 5 2011

What the Hell is it??!!

Just for Mike, I thought I would add another one for the day 🙂 🙂

I was asked to trim a bonsai for a guy about 16 years ago and I took cuttings. I have no idea what it was. It was known as a Chinese Hackberry but I have yet to see a picture of one remotely similar to it. I planted a few of them in open ground for 8 years and they thrived. Now that I’ve a few of them in training at last, I’m hoping to figure out what they are.

The wood is hard and even a small tree feels heavy!! The bark is a dark grey and the cambium layer is very thin, similar to a beech. The leaves are ovate and have a slight silver furry feel to the back of them. It’s very prone to throwing up suckers from the base. Here’s a few photos of new growth today. The tree isn’t great and I have a better one, but it’s not open yet.

Any Ideas???

Apr 5 2011

Hawthorn Muncher!!

I lifted a few hawthorn out of the Poly Tunnel today to check them over. They had been repotted this year and tucked away out of reach. I was very pleased with the new growth. Both had basic branch selection and wiring last year. I removed the tips of the elongated growth before it thickens. I did this last year on a small one at this time of year and the amount of ramification that resulted was fantastic.

I lifted the next one in and was amazed by the back budding on the trunk.

I set about doing the same process as with the first one and noticed one branch that looked weak. No buds had opened and I just assumes that it had been knocked and a crack had dried out causing it to suffer and die. On closer inspection I realised that I had a visitor! Little fecker was helping himself to the nice new tasty leaves.

A catapillar of some description. If it helps you identify it, when you squish it, it’s green on the inside 🙂

The tree after removing all the unwanted shoots.

Apr 5 2011

A few of the little people

Not Leprechauns, a few Mame I having knocking around. The first one is my son’s little Cotoneaster.

Next up is a root over rock Cotoneaster recently repotted into a shallower and longer pot.

A garden centre juniper. It’s been a bit weak over the last 12 months so I’ve repotted it into a slightly larger pot to get some vigour back and it’s worked already.

This is a Chinese Elm yet to be styled. Bought for a fiver in a reject pile, I cut the top 10 inches off and am going to work with the new growth at the bottom.

This is a little Sorbus Reducta that I’ve had for about 15 years. Repotted last month, it’s pushing on now.

Apr 4 2011

Back to Front

I snapped a few pics of these two yesterday. First is a field grown Silver Birch. I popped it into this pot last month. It was lifted from the ground 2 years ago and has only been clip and grow to this stage. I’m reluctant to wire too much as they drop branches for fun after wiring. I plan to build up some ramification this year and then work on the deadwood cuts in the Autumn.

Here’s the front and back, you decide which is which 🙂

This little Yew was also field grown. Out of 15 growing in open ground, this one decided that fattening up wasn’t for him. It remained quite small and I have decided to keep it as a shohin. I styled it last year and I’m hoping for plenty of growth this year to start filling out the image. Again, front and back below.

Mar 31 2011

1,169!!

I started putting videos on you tube back in November for a bit of a laugh and in the hope of promoting the club. I just cast my eye over the stats on some of the videos and am amazed that this one has been viewed 1,169 times in nearly 5 months 🙂

Here’s the tree this week by way of update.

Mar 31 2011

Recovering from dog attack!

Last September my dog Smudge took a fancy to the apples on this Malus. He waited for them to ripen first of course 🙂

Here it is before he munched them.

and after…

and the guilty looking culprit.

This is the tree today. A few of the more mauled branches didn’t have any tip buds to open. I have been watching it for signs of new buds and today I founds loads. It looks as if it will back bud strongly, perhaps Smudge did me a favour 🙂

The back budding. Looks like a little pair of but cheeks at the bottom 🙂

and some of the flower buds. I was going to remove them but to be honest the tree is responding that strongly, I don’t think I’ll bother for now. I might remove the fruit if that changes.

Mar 31 2011

Little Corky

The little Corky Bark Elm I got from Willowbog last time around had budded after repotting into its new pot.

Mar 29 2011

GAWA

That’s Green and White Army in case you are wondering. I took a half day today as I’m going to the Northern Ireland v Slovenia Euro qualifier tonight.

Got the grass cut first and then had time to take a few photos of a few trees opening quite strongly after repotting. First up is Janet’s Juniper. It’s not Janet’s, it’s mine 🙂 I dug it up from my sisters garden 17 years ago just before she emigrated to Perth in Australia. What was once 4 foot tall and 8 foot wide now looks like this.

This maple that I bought as a rescue job last year is responding really well to repotting. Just have to figure out where to go with it!

My little Chuhin Maple is really pushing this week as well.

with Flash!

My Cork Bark Elm is moving faster than the others in the garden too. I just love it’s new (well secondhand) Walsall pot.

I noticed on the Cork bark that some of the wounds need attention to get them to heal right. The one below is sitting a tad proud and will need carved in a little to allow the cambium layer to roll over without causing an ugly bump.

The one below is healing well but the wood at the bottom needs to be reduced to allow it to roll in.

This one is spot on. You can see it’s rolling in evenly the whole way around the wound. Hopefully covered within the year the way this boyo is growing.

I’ll add the Roddie just to keep up the progression of opening flowers.

Mar 23 2011

Crab Apple Flower Buds

I noticed yesterday that this crab apple was flowering again this year. I waited 15 years for it to get it’s act together and was on the verge of giving it away (who would pay for a apple that doesn’t flower?) when it flowered in 2009. No fruit set that year. In 2010 it had more flowers and it held fruit. Lovely little pea size apples. This year it is covered in flower buds. I even put it in a better pot and restyled it over the Winter. Be good to me and I’ll be good to you 🙂

This was it back in January before repotting but after wiring. I can’t find a photo of it in the new pot, you’ll have to wait 🙂