Apr 4 2012

Shohin Japanese Maple

This little maple is about to come into leaf.

I recently read somewhere that if you remove the stipules from the bud as it opens it allows the stalk to dry out faster which causes the inter-nodal length to become shorter. A desirable feature in shohin maples.

Here you see the stipules at the point of my scissors.

This is how it looks with the stipules removed. I will hold judgement on the technique until I see if there is any beneficial results.

Anybody used this technique before?

Apr 3 2012

Oak Air Layer Removal

I layered this oak last year and decided to leave it in place over the Winter. All the other layers last year had produced enough root to allow for an Autumn removal. This oak however was lacking in roots at that stage. Some where visible but not enough in my opinion.

Today I removed the cover and was happy with what I saw. The layer was budding very strongly and the roots in the moss were moving again as white tips were showing.

This was my first layer on an oak and was more about gaining knowledge than producing a great tree. Both the parent tree and the layer are nothing special but at least I know it’s worth giving oak a go in the future.

Mar 29 2012

Cork Bark Elm Air layer Repot

Another Air Layer from last year. I decided to repot this one also. I was amazed just how flared the nebari had become in a short time.

This was the layer last year, full post HERE

This was it at the weekend before repotting.

Again with the roots raked out and the layering moss removed.

Before potting up I was able to removed the stump at the bottom. This helps flare out the nebari even more.

Due to the roots still being delicate, I used bamboo canes over the outer spread to hold the tree in place. These will eventually rot away in the pot.

Potted up and a bit of a trim.

Feb 23 2012

Ben’s Beech Group

I plan on looking back at a few of the trees worked on over the weekend, as does Peter on Willowbog Chat. As Peter didn’t get a chance to work on this one, I thought it was safe to share.

This was a beech group that Ben had in a pot for 4 years. They are young trees but even still they can make a nice image. Ben had brought the group to a meeting and I suggested that they would look better on a slate. It just so happened I had one lying under a bench that was big enough, and gave it to Ben. I also suggested that a few thicker trees would greatly improve the image as well.

Ben took me at my word and brought it along on the Sunday along with a few Beech that were recently liberated from a garden.

If it was just a matter of lifting the existing planting out of the pot and popping it onto the slate, it would have been easy. No tie wires even needed as the trees were all meshed together after a few years in a pot already. Our problem was that a few new and bigger ones had to be added. I had 2 choices, split the whole group up and start again or fit the new ones in around the existing trees. I opted for a bit of both. I liked the positioning of the original trees but I split the group in two creating a gap for the new ones. I drilled the slate and wired these in place and also added a few tie lines for the original trees as well. The whole lot where then covered in keto and then moss.

Ben was pleased with the result and I feel the slate works far better than the pot in this sort of forest planting. Now he just has to keep the birds away from the moss 🙂

Here are a few photos of the action. Sorry no starting shot of the original group. I honestly thought I had one somewhere from the meeting Ben, ah well.

Ben me and Ovidiu doing a little manoeuvring.

My secret technique of using the force to position the trees 🙂

Ben checking that the work is up to standard.

Adjusting the heights of a few trees to make a better design.

The finished forest at the end of the day. The new trees are slightly darker bark for now but this will even out with equal exposure to the sun.

Ben emailed these photos taken in 2007 when he put the original group together. I believe it was his first attempt at a forest.

Nov 7 2011

Clean Up and Tuck Away

I started the process of cleaning up a few of the bits of raw material to tuck away into the poly tunnel for Winter Protection.

This little Hornbeam was field grown and has only been the victim of my chop and grow procedures.

Dead leaves removed. I don’t want any hiding places for little beasties over the Winter.

The original chop will need some carving work to look more convincing.

This Wild Pear was also put away. I will be leaving the branches to extend further next year to thicken before cutting back next Autumn.

Nov 3 2011

New Tunnel Step by Step

Over the last few days I’ve been getting ready for the arrival of my new tunnel.

This is the area where it’s going to be. The bench you can see is falling apart and this is the time to make better use of the garden.

Bench cleared ready for destruction!

Timber!!

Now the problem is the overly tall Hawthorn hedge to the back of the garden. This will shade out a lot of the tunnel.

The frame of the tunnel was put together yesterday by my son and I. Pretty straight forward and the heavier frame on the Pro version seems to be worth a little extra.

3m x 2m x 2m.

A quick lift over the fence into it’s new home. I haven’t made my mind up what angle to place it at as yet. The wind was strong yesterday so I wasn’t going to chance putting on the cover. That is a job for today.

Sep 24 2011

Hawthorn Air layer Update

This is the layer that I took off the previously posted Hawthorn last year. I lifted it in to the garage on Thursday to remove unwanted shoots.

This is probably closer to the final potting angle.

I know it doesn’t look like it, but there is some pretty good movement in the trunk line of this tree. The Spring foliage was shortened back in June after it flowered. The new shoots you see are all on a chop made in the middle of the tree. These will all have to be removed as this will have to be carved away.

This was it after removing the unwanted branches. I left the low branch on, I think this might make a nice feature.

This is the stump for carving. By the feel of the pot and how steady the tree is, I think there is sufficient roots for this work to be carried out during the Winter.

Considering I was going to just chop this off and bin it, I’m glad I waited for an Air Layer. I have another big Hawthorn that I now plan to layer next Spring.

Sep 21 2011

Hawthorn Update

This Hawthorn was repotted in the Spring after being the parent plant of an air layer removed last year. I gave it fee growth this year to help it establish roots. Like most of my Hawthorn here, it has come into Autumn early. Only a few tip green leaves remain on some of this seasons late shoots.

The story of how this tree was air layered can be read here. Hawthorn Air Layer

Most of the branches produced this year are now too thick and stiff to position with wire into a desirable shape. Others are in the wrong place. These, for example, are growing from the inside of a bend.

Most of these are unusable as well.

I quite liked this as a possible new front.

I removed the unwanted branches and left those that can still be of use in the design of the tree next year. The area where the air layer had been removed will need carving. It takes away from what is actually nice movement in the tree. Also, some deadwood at the base where old roots had been torn at some point in the trees past.

Now that the tree has become better established in it’s new pot, next year I will direct any new shoots early while they are still flexible. I hope to see plenty of adventurous buds appearing in the Spring.

Jun 27 2011

Rigeda Juniper Deadwood

I finally got around to cleaning up the deadwood on my Rigeda Juniper. I defined the limits of the live veins, tidied it up a little with a wire brush and treated with two coats of lime sulphur diluted to 1:5 ratio.

This was after one coat of Lime Sulphur.

and after the second coat. I reduced a long heavy branch at the bottom left and shortened a few branches in the apex that had reached the desired thickness.

This is the back of the tree. The deadwood needs a lot of refining here to improve a very flat boring area. However there is one branch at the back that isn’t connected to the main vein and I wanted to avoid working in this area. To be honest it’s hard to tell where the live vein is for this branch. It may have a slight crossover from the front. Any way, no rush. Tree will be left now for the rest of the year to get used to my garden and my care.

Jun 26 2011

Fuji Cherry Update

I did a bit of an experiment on this Fuji Cherry back on the 23rd of May.

Fuji Cherry Experiment

I hadn’t heard of a cherry being defoliated and this one was prime for it as I needed to de-wire it. This is the tree now over a month later. It was slow at first but has really pushed hard this last week. It’s been in my Poly Tunnel in this time and seems to love the humidity.

I’ll keep you posted with details on how the Autumn colour turns out this year and if it has any affect on the flowering next Spring.