Dec 9 2011

Batten Down the Hatches

On Wednesday I took an hour and placed the remaining trees that require protection in the poly tunnels. Temperatures are to drop again at the weekend and the wind is getting to dangerous levels! I didn’t want to leave the tunnel door open any longer in case it took off!!!

Here’s the new tunnel. a little space left but I still want to have access to the trees at the back.

Door closed

The other tunnel.

A little space left here too but I have young Jamie from the club’s trees coming for a few months for protection.

I still have a few trees outside tucked under the bigger benches. Nothing that I’m worried about so, do your worst Winter 🙂

Dec 8 2011

Dawn Redwood Group

These are 4 Dawn Redwoods that were field grown for about 8 years. They are nothing special and I thought the best way to make something from them would be to put them together in a group. This is it after 1 year in a pot with basic primary branch structure being created.

Four trees in a group I hear you say… I only had 4 but, as one is a twin trunk, I count it as five 🙂 The pot is totally unsuitable to create the best effect but I’m worried at this point. They have a very long way to go.

I gave it a light trim.

Some carving work required over the Winter.

Dec 7 2011

Quick Removal of Leaves Method

Instead of lifting all my Cork Bark Elms out of the Poly Tunnel for leaf removal, I opted for the fast method. As they have lived a sheltered life, they have kept their leaves to the point were they are brown. Wind would have sorted this long ago outside on the bench. I opted for the garden hose method.

and there you go, it’ll still need to do a clear up to keep the place clean and tidy but it saved me a bit of time.

Dec 6 2011

Shohin Corkbark Elm

This is the little Corkie that I got back in February. It was repotted and then cut back hard to try and improve the ramification in a more organised way. Here are the photos during the year showing it’s progress.

February

Here’s a close up of the offending moss.

March

Leggy branch structure that needed improved.

May

After pruning…

September

Has been trimmed back several times between May and September.

and now…

It’s a slow process but hopefully worth it in the long run.

Dec 5 2011

$1,000,000 Bonsai, Don’t drop it!!!

How many people does it take to lift a $1 000 000 bonsai?

I make it 7 Japanese and Peter Warren 🙂

Dec 5 2011

First Snow of the Winter

Last night saw the first snow to lie here where I live this Winter. It was only -2 °c last night but it’s only reaching about 5°c during the day.

This was my display area this morning. As you can see the snow was light and I only had one tree remaining on the bench, a stubborn Trident Maple that is refusing to drop leaves! This might make it’s mind up 🙂

Dec 5 2011

Korean Hornbeam Winter Tidy

I braved the garage yesterday to tidy up a few more trees for Winter. Weather has well and truly gone to pot. Last night saw our first snow here.

The Hornbeam was still holding on to a few leaves but this was soon sorted out.

After leaf removal.

Another important step was to remove the moss to stop pests hiding there. I removed it from the Hornbeam and found quite a few leather jackets lurking there. No wonder the Blackbirds where showing so much interest!

The white stuff is Mycellium which I was surprised to see so much of on a Hornbeam.

This was the tree before placement in the poly tunnel for Winter.

Dec 4 2011

From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

Youtube offers up an abundance of bonsai clips. Some are short some are amazing and some are just pure pants!!

Yesterday I saw both ends of the scale. The sublime has to be this exciting new Bonsai Youtube channel with top notch editing and visual effects. I have watched all of Concept99’s recent clips and was was impressed with the quality of production. Yesterday he released a trailer for what’s to come in 2012. After you have watched his trailer, try watching some of his fast forward clips.

and now for the ridiculous …….

I really thought long and hard before adding this. I despise bullying and I would hate to be thought of as picking on someone, but this guy….!!!!

Here we have someone who has a very limited knowledge of bonsai sharing his thoughts on Youtube. Not the first and won’t be the last but, the difference here is his very poor attitude to constructive help and his willingness to slaughter well respected folk in the bonsai community. Oh, and he’s racist, which means the gloves are off! I hate the thought of him being encouraged by the extra hits on his channel so make sure you hit the dislike button to draw attention to his poor advice. I have refrained from joining the list of those who have felt compelled to tell him he’s an idiot, but feel free to express yourself as you see fit. I found out about this tube on the lively IBC post about him.

Plenty of other videos on his Bonsai Comedy Channel if you feel the need. Enjoy….

Dec 3 2011

Loading the Tunnel

I popped over to see Phil and his trees on Thursday. I had left my camera at my arse and was only able to grab a few phone shots.

He was in the process of cleaning up his trees and placing them into the Poly Tunnel. Most have been placed onto the hot bed. They had to be, it’s 3×2 metres!

Some trees still outside awaiting attention. Bigger tunnel??

Dec 2 2011

Meteorological Winter Starts Today

Obviously Mr Madden doesn’t like getting misquoted, and who can blame him. Therefore I’ll let him talk for himself in this clip. I will say that it is bloody cold this morning and de-icer was required on the car for the school run!