bonsai odds & ends – rip, swamp maple, ginkgo, surprise
Sneak Peek
Spring is in full force, and there’s lots going on around here. Today it’s worth checking in on ‘Rip van Winkle’ the Willow oak, the Swamp maple and Ginkgo I potted late, and a surprise.



Bonsai Odds & Ends – Rip, Swamp Maple, Ginkgo, Surprise
This was the before photo in my last blog – a little Swamp maple in too small of a pot that needed more room. Not looking too bonsai-y.


It’s been two weeks, and this little guy has obviously survived the late repotting. There’s a lot of work to do on this tree, but with more growing room it’ll be easier to do that work and have the tree respond well.
Ginkgo potted late.
Bag on ….


Bag off ….
Another success story – surviving the late potting.
I almost titled this blog “They don’t call me Rip van Winkle for nuthin’.” I can almost always count on this Willow oak to come out last – even after all of the Water-elms have broken bud. Sure as shootin’, this guy is finally waking up. In about a week it’ll be full of new shoots that I’ll be starting to pinch back.


Now for something of a surprise. Last year, in the course of my day job, I was walking a field with a firm doing a Phase I Environmental Assessment, and in a stand of trees noticed some pale orange fruits lying all over the ground. I immediately knew they were native persimmons (Diospyros virginiana). I have never seen one in the wild, though they certainly are around, and that’s most likely because I don’t collect trees in the areas where they grow at the time they’re dropping fruit. I gathered as many of the fruits as I could carry, then last fall I planted them in a pot to let them cold-stratify over the winter. I’ve ended up with a couple of dozen sprouts. Now we see how well they grow, and ultimately what I can do with them. A pleasant surprise ….
Don’t eat the pale orange fruits off the tree. Unripe, they have an unforgettable puckering effect. My girlfriend introduced me to this edible native by handing an unripe one. Memorable experience. We later married.
Fortunately I do know about that. My mother and sister were very fond of persimmons, I never was, but they did talk about what happened when you ate one that wasn’t fully ripe. I always figured the best solution was to make persimmon bread out of them, though we rarely eat bread.
IF you should decide to sell the Willow Oak please keep me in mind.
Will do, Terry.
Willow oak is very interesting — do you have a price on it yet ??
Ginko is special
Well, it’s a personal tree – 50+ years old, in training for 10 years now. If I were going to sell it, I’m not sure what I’d ask for it. It’s the most amazing oak I’ve ever seen.