Bonsai Files
More Collecting, A Couple More Examples
Here's a quick update for today - a balmy Deep South winter day, high 75, meaning the weather wasn't miserable for lifting trees. This triple-trunk Chinese privet, Ligustrum sinense, is actually a connected root specimen. The trunks are nice, with great taper,...
An Early Start On Collecting Season
I planted out some Parsley hawthorn whips a few years ago. True to the old adage, "first year sleeps, second year creeps, third year leaps," this year I've noticed a number of the specimens have put on some heft. A few have reached my minimum for lifting,...
Swamp Maple #2
I recently sold a Swamp maple I've been working on for three years. Among the very nice features of that tree was the fact that it didn't start rotting from the chop down in year three, which had been my experience over the course of many years and many trees....
More Fall Work – Water-Elm
This nice Water-elm got its first bonsai pot in late February of this year (2109). I had collected it as a bare trunk, and chopped it where you see the obvious mark. So here we are, just under 10 months later. There's been a good bit of wiring and trimming...
Bonsai Odds & Ends – Oak, Oak, Sweetgum
Here's a nice smaller Water oak I started working on last year. Water oak is quickly becoming one of my favorite species, featuring small leaves, short internodes and ease of ramification. They are very happy in a bonsai pot. This one budded fairly...
Flat-Top Bald Cypress Design Work
This flat-top Bald cypress is coming along really well for a single year of training. With that said, the design can stand some tweaking and fall is a perfect time to do it. All of the foliage will be off this tree within the next few days, so knocking some off...
A Huckleberry Bonsai For 2020
So it's time for Thanksgiving weekend, and aside from overeating that can only mean bonsai fun for me. I collected this Huckleberry, Vaccinium sp., this past winter. Except for minimal training work, I've just let it grow to get established. With the weather...
Fall Color And Flower Buds – BC And Huckleberry
Here's one of my landscape Bald cypresses that I've grown from seed since 2000. It gets bigger and better each year. Isn't the color just terrific? This one is just starting to put on its bronze for the year. Once the colors start, you've got maybe a week...
Roughleaf Dogwood Styling Work
I recently acquired this Roughleaf dogwood, Cornus drummondii, from a local collector. The great trunk base, taper and movement were what drew me to the tree. The styling is on its way, but there's always more to do. So today I set out to make a few minor...
Fall Color, Pseudo Fall Color, And An Early Hard Freeze
My venerable old Crape myrtle bonsai was challenged this year. After I repotted it in spring, it started to bud out just in time for a good freeze. I mistakenly thought that, since Crapes are quite winter-hardy, the new buds would be likewise. Well, they froze...