Apr 16 2011

Budding Raulii

This will be my first Spring working with this species. This tree was given to me last year as a thank you for holiday care.

It is similar to a Hornbeam but you can see noticeable differences on closer inspection. Yesterday I had a look at the opening buds with a view to pinching out the tip growth. They can extend quite a bit and I want to stop this and produce back budding. I did shorten many of the branches during the Winter but stopped short for two reasons. 1- It was repotted and 2- it’s a new variety to me and I’m unsure how it’ll respond. I can now see some major back budding due to the Winter pruning and will re-evaluate how far to take it back. Some branches are too long without ramification. I took 15 minutes and plucked out what shoots I could get. Some are further behind and the process will need to be repeated next week.

I look forward to making this tree my own. The large carving wound needs work and want to improve branch structure.

This is a bud before pinching out the centre. A few have what look like flowers appearing. I’ll have to wait and see.

Evidence of pinching on the bench.

This is some of the back budding close to the tips. However major pruning is producing adventurous buds on old wood so this might be removed altogether to help fill inner branches with buds.

Apr 15 2011

Display Benches

I spent a few minutes in the garden today shifting trees about from one place to another. I decided to lift a few out of the Poly Tunnel and move a few more down to my display area beside my living room window. This is what I can see now as I type.

Apr 15 2011

Tall Larch

Not the most imaginative name to give it but it’s what I’ve called it for years. I spotted it on the bench this afternoon with the sun just hitting the foliage. Camera in hand I popped out for a few snaps.

Apr 15 2011

Cut Backs Update

Just over a month ago I chopped back two big escallonia cut backs

A month on and the back budding is in full flow.

Apr 14 2011

Video Catch Up

I’m trying to play catch up with the video clips I have taken over the last few months. As yesterday was a wet one, I spent an hour or so putting together a clip from a recent visit to a friend and club members garden. Josh was my inspiration when I joined the club back in 1993. His trees were the best on offer even back then. His skills and experience in developing bonsai in open ground are amazing. He is also one of the nicest people you could meet.

Click on the photo below to link to the video clip. Enjoy.

Josh in full flow

Apr 13 2011

Issy Update

Well my little Potentilla purchased from Willowbog in February has produced it’s first of many flowers.

Here’s a few links to other posts about this tree. I should really start to put these together in the my bonsai section.

https://bonsaieejit.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/issy/

https://bonsaieejit.wordpress.com/2011/03/02/little-issy-repotted/

Apr 13 2011

Escallonia

I took a few update photos of my escallonia yesterday. They seem to becoming quite popular with all the collected ones being shown on the forums of late. I have two more ready for collection next Spring and I have a secret one that’s rather special up my sleeve too 😉

I repotted this one back in November. This would bother some people, but I have found that all the trees I repotted early this year have done really well even after the horrible Winter we just experienced. It all comes down to after care and protection, and this is were a poly tunnel comes in handy.

Apr 12 2011

Hawthorn Raft

Another one trimmed back today was my Hawthorn raft. It had put out quite a few extension shoots that needed curtailed before they thicken. I also had to rub off numerous adventurous buds popping in all the wrong places.

Apr 12 2011

Multiple Maples

I lifted a few of my maples out of the greenhouse today for a closer look and to check a few bits of wire added during the Winter. Some had long shoots that were removed. This first one is the sick one I bought last year in order to save it. The roots were in shocking order and the trunk base rotting. Base now preserved and I think it’s putting out strong root now it’s in a nice free draining mix. It’s certainly putting out leaves!

Next up is the Chuhin Maple that everyone seems to love, me included. It has also responded really well to a better mix.

and lastly is my Stratford Trident Maple. I have decided to lift it out of the greenhouse now that the leaves have hardened off. I usually de-foliate this one 2-3 times in the year. As it was repotted, I’ll hold back this year and maybe go for 1-2 times.

Apr 11 2011

De-Flowering Today

Bonsai that is 🙂

My big Rhododendron has started to drop some of it’s flowers and to make sure I get all the seed pods off, I removed the rest by hand today. If you do it at this stage, it’s easy to spot the little red tips and the emerging shoots below are easy to avoid. If you leave it until all the flowers drop of their own accord, seed heads are hard to spot, you tend to knock off new shoots and it stresses the tree even further.

Here’s it before.

These are what I’m removing. Some have already dropped the flower petals leaving the seed heads.