Apr 17 2015

Berberbis Bagatelle

I now know the exact name of this Berberis Clump, I found the original label buried in the root mass when I was giving it a clear out a few days ago.

This was it before clearing. I just wanted to remove excess mix from the pot and some of the old garden soil and aerial roots from around the base.

After the clean up I have uncovered about an extra inch worth of base.

Look forward to getting this one into a smaller more manageable pot next year.

Apr 16 2015

One to One: Mixed Bag

I had Ben over for a one to one last Saturday with a van load of trees to discuss and work on, always an enjoyable session with Ben.

These are a few of the trees covered on the day. First up a beech that got a pruning, thread grafting and a repot.

This Beech group on a slate had a few adjustment made to the slate so it didn’t look like it had just been stolen off a roof!

And finally a Yamadori Hawthorn getting it’s first shaping. A strange one to do but we opted to try and recreate an actual Hawthorn image that can be seen throughout Ireland. Typically seen growing the in the middle of a field with cattle lying under it. I suggested this to Ben as a possible accent feature but thankfully he’s wise enough to know that this would be tacky 🙂

Apr 14 2015

Spring Images

Some snaps taken after a shower of rain a few days ago. Spring, my favourite time of year.

Apr 13 2015

A Cracking Night!

Last week I had a night at my garage for the guys who do one to ones with me. I needed a hand getting a large Scots pine bent into shape. This was an old tree collected from a bog back in 2012. This is the tree at the time of collection.

This was it a few weeks ago, sitting outside where it’s been for the last 3 years. It’s been chopped back a few times to remove unwanted trunks and branches and to help chase back the foliage.

The idea was to create a twin trunk image from the remaining foliage. However it’s always good to have a Plan B!!

Here we have the tree placed into the workshop after a 4 man lift. Took a coat of paint off the door on the way in!

Some deadwood will need to be worked.

Help from the chaps in getting the raffia applied.

And then my Plan A went out the window lol. When bending the lighter of the two trunks I managed to snap it beyond the point of repair/survival. I was a bit amazed at the time to be honest as I hadn’t applied that much pressure and the trunk had been raffia’d, taped, and cable-tied. On closer inspection later I noticed a weak point where a branch had died previously, but still…

I was quite pleased with how calm I remained. Nothing I could do to change what had occurred, all I could do was look for options within the remaining trunk to create a tree. The original plans for this trunk had to be dropped and the whole tree evaluated to select another styling option. Once done we again got to work and did a little more bending, this time with no mishaps.

This is how the tree finished before the guys had to head home.

As the branches where all hanging at weird angle with buds pointing towards straight down, I felt that it would be better to fire on and get the tree fully wired so all buds were facing up to help with vigour. In some cases this was exaggerated on the weaker buds. This is how the tree turned out. I actually had another smaller branch break, again with hardly any pressure applied. Some trees just seem to be a pain in the arse!

A first step on a long journey, a lot of back budding will be required but the tree is budding strongly this year. I’m pretty pleased with the result, possibly a better image that I was aiming for with the twin trunk image.

Apr 9 2015

Airlayer it!

Finally got around to sorting a few air layers this week.

First up was this Korean Hornbeam. This is the front as it sits now.

This will be the new front. However the top of the taller trunk is heavy and needs removed. It will make a nice little shohin clump if layered off.

Layer point marked.

Cambium layer removed.

Layer in pace.

And this Cork bark Elm with poor nebari.

And this Zelkova which will make a nicer broom having removed all the tall leaders.

A Chinese Elm that I’m layering for a customer. The tree came to me in poor health and had lost a lot of lower branches. Best option is to layer off the top and use the nice base as a new tree.

Dis a few more but was on a roll and forgot the camera 🙂

Apr 7 2015

Root Over Rock Itiogawa Juniper

After waiting to make sure this Juniper was happy after a recent styling, I finally transferred it over to a new pot. Not the final pot, but one that allowed me to adjust the tree to the proper planting angle.

Before styling in February.

After styling in March.

Repotted now.

Apr 6 2015

Shohin Larch

Little Japanese Larch in a John Pitt Pot.

Apr 5 2015

Berberis Clump Outing

Time for this berberis clump to come out of the poly tunnel. Going to make a nice tree.

Apr 4 2015

Mame Hawthorn Cascade

I’ve had this little tree for 20 years, you’d think it’d be better by now lol.

Apr 3 2015

Hawthorn Adjustments

I was pushing my luck today wiring this Hawthorn so late on. Easy to knock off emerging buds. However if left for another season the branches would have stiffened further making it harder to get the right shape into them. Some deadwood also removed to improve trunk line.