I collected this Parsley hawthorn, Crataegus marshallii, in February. Though it was a decent piece of material, I knew there were quite a few years ahead of it in order for it to become a presentable bonsai. Then a thought occurred to me. That nice slender trunk emerging from near the base had a ton more character than the relatively straight main trunk. Wouldn’t that make a much better bonsai, and much sooner to boot?
Here’s the tree just recently. Allowing for all those shoots growing out, I’ve made just a few minor snips. Can you see where I cut back?
I cut back the three branches on the slender trunk, and then simply removed the thicker trunk altogether. Does this tree make a statement now? I think it does.
I’ve been making Edible figs, Ficus carica, practically since I got the parent tree from my mother. One I started about five years ago was a twin-trunk. I put it in the ground about three years ago. This year I decided to separate the smaller of the two trunks and pot into a bonsai pot. It’s a pretty nice starter bonsai, don’t you think? The trunk is 1″ in diameter and it’s 14″ tall. And it will fruit in a pot.
I’m very fond of Crape myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica, as bonsai. Not only are they horticulturally simple to grow, they bloom profusely in a bonsai pot. This is a white-blooming variety that I made from a cutting last year. I was able to wire a nice Crape myrtle shape into it and go right into this Chuck Iker round. It’s 14″ tall. I would expect it to resume growth in a couple of weeks, and it just might go ahead and bloom this summer. Time will tell.
I’ll be posting these trees for sale sometime this summer. Stay tuned.