by Zach Smith | Jun 22, 2019 | Bald Cypress, Care, Styling
I started working on this Bald cypress last year. It’s progressing very well, as you’ll see when you compare these photos with the one from last year I included below. We’re into summer now, and you can generally count on cypresses to take on a “shaggy” appearance. Growth slows, and the mature foliage starts to droop. The way to cure this problem is to defoliate the tree. I plan to do that next weekend (it’s a Fourth of July tradition!). For now, I did some clean up so you can see how the structure of the tree is coming along.
Here’s a closeup of the leader, which I’ve allowed to run this year. Notice how fast it’s thickening up!
Here’s a shot from the opposite side. Notice how the callus is starting to roll. I just made this year two chop earlier in the season.
I’ve cleared out all the interior foliage and removed the unneeded shoots and fronds from the trunk. The structure is much easier to see.
And finally, here’s a shot of the tree from almost a year ago. Isn’t it amazing how much the tree has changed! Take special note of the size of the leader, compared to where it is today. Let me know what you think of this tree. I’m in hopes that it’ll be ready for a bonsai pot next year.
by Zach Smith | Jun 17, 2019 | Care, Elms, Pruning, Styling, Water Elm, Wiring
Subject: Water-elm Date: 8/4/18 Stage: Big stick in pot Input: Lift, chop, wash, trim, dust, pot, pray Issues: None, if it lives
Date: 3/17/19 Stage: Big stick with twiggy shoots Input: Select branches, wire and position branches, remove branches that serve no purpose, put into bonsai pot (it’s not too soon, is it?) Issues: Leader is so slight it’s hardly as thick as the wire wrapped around it; are we too soon in the shallow pot?
Date: 5/27/19 Stage: Looking more bonsai-like, but how many years is this going to take? Input: Unwiring and rewiring, trim what needs trimming, leave alone what doesn’t need trimming Issues: Though the tree is in the right spot in the pot, the left-hand side is heavy and it throws off the tree’s balance.
Date: 6/17/19 Stage: Mixed bag of well-developed branches with some ramification and undeveloped branches that need to run; apex in running-wild phase to get thicker Input: unwiring and rewiring, trimming the left-hand branches to reduce heaviness on that side Issues: More apical growth needed, number one right-hand branch needs to catch up to the rest of the tree
In the last photo for today, you can see how I’ve shifted the balance of the tree rightward. You can’t always make this sort of correction when you want to; that’s where patience pays off. The final step in getting the balance of this tree right is going to be accomplished once the lowest right-hand branch fills out. It’s one of those subtle things that will often make your bonsai really stand out. Let me know what you think.
by Zach Smith | Jun 15, 2019 | Care, Elms, Hawthorn, Styling, Vines, Water Elm, Wiring
Today I did a one on one workshop with a new bonsai enthusiast. One of the specimens we were worked on was a three-tree Parsley hawthorn composition, very similar to this one. I love bonsai forests. The three-tree planting is the smallest expression of this style of bonsai. While this may seem like a real challenge, you can evoke a great deal of emotion in a very small space with just a few items. In this group there’s dramatic tension, complementary movement, depth, and perspective. It doesn’t get much better than that.
(This specimen is available at our Hawthorn Bonsai page.)
Here’s a Water-elm that we collected last August. It had a great trunk, with an unusual secondary trunk in a strategic spot. I saw a great upright bonsai in the making.
What did I tell you! We also studied potting bonsai today, and this tree was definitely ready for its initial styling and first bonsai pot. It turned out even better than I thought it would.
I was clearing an overgrown area near my garden and ran across a few nice Trumpet vines. This one has a trunk base of 1.5″, some nice shari and wonderful movement.
Plenty of new growth, just as you’d expect from a vine,
Well, most of that had to go. I see a semi-cascade specimen in this one, so a little wire and some man-handling and it’s going the way I want it to. I’ll leave it alone for a good while now; it’ll probably grow six or eight feet of new vine before it annoys me enough for another pruning.
by Zach Smith | Jun 9, 2019 | Bald Cypress, Care, Collecting, Elms, Potting, Sweetgum, Water Elm
Here’s a nice, slender Bald cypress from this year’s crop. I had planned from the start to hold the tree and make it into a flat-top style. It’s grown out enough now that I can do the initial styling on it.
About 20 minutes later, this is what I ended up with. It’s a good start. I’m going to get a lot of vigor in those two leaders, so I can’t afford to ignore it for long. When you’re making a flat-top, the thickening leader(s) can get away from you very quickly.
The flat-top style for BC is the fastest to make. The reason for this is, you’re playing to the tree’s natural habit of extremely vigorous apical growth. So you basically cut away just about everything but one or two leaders. The tree wants to get very tall very fast, so it pumps everything it has into those leaders. Which is another way of saying, in about three weeks I’ll be unwiring and rewiring the leaders, and wiring the secondary branches that will have grown.
We’re still in Sweetgum collecting season. Yesterday I lifted this nice specimen. It’s got a lot of character considering it’s not all that old, maybe 10 years. The trunk base is 2.5″, and it’s been chopped a few times along the way by the unwitting road crew.
This Bonsai South Collection Water-elm got its first bonsai pot yesterday, a very fine Lary Howard piece. The tree grew naturally this way, all I had to do was cut away everthing that didn’t look like a bonsai. It should continue to develop quickly this year.
And finally, another Bonsai South Collection Water-elm.
You come across trees in the course of your bonsai avocation that just have that special something. For me, this is one of those. Just a great natural specimen. The branching is of course under construction, but should develop rapidly.
What really made this bonsai for me was when this exquisite Lary Howard pot came available. Every great bonsai needs a great pot. It would be hard to beat this composition.
Let me know what you think of all these trees.
by Zach Smith | Jun 8, 2019 | Care, Privet, Pruning, Styling, Wiring
I lifted this Chinese privet, Ligustrum sinense, in Winter 2019. Here is it in late March, just pushing new shoots.
Here we are, two and a half months later. Privet is very vigorous. You literally can’t take your eyes off them for long.
Time for a taming. First the long, long shoots get pruned back.
More pruning, especially the conflicting branches on the inside of the tree. I’ve got that third trunk down to a single leader … and, I’m not sure that trunk does anything for the composition.
Working our way up. That left-hand trunk ended up with only its new leader, and that’s where all of the new growth is needed.
On to the right-hand trunk. This one has some branches to work with.
And a few minutes later, we’ve got our initial design. The tree will push lots of new buds in the next week, so it will flush out again by early July. I’ll post updates, unless of course someone wants to take over. This tree is available at our Chinese Privet sale page.
by Zach Smith | Jun 1, 2019 | Care, Potting, Styling, Vines, Wiring
You may remember this Muscadine grape, Vitis rotundifolia, from last summer. It came out of the ground with two trunks, so I planned to make a twin-trunk bonsai out of it.
Something of a start. There’s a lot of character in the trunk. Major development work needed in the structure of the bonsai (it was pretty ho-hum at this point).
Last fall the smaller trunk died. I have no idea why. But that completely changed my plan for this bonsai.
Here’s the tree with this year’s spring flush of growth on it. Obviously strong, so I’ve got something to work with.
I’m not seeing how I can make a viable upright bonsai from this specimen, given how it’s grown out. So I either have to chop it back and see what happens, or change the design. I’m thinking a semi-cascade may work. Let’s find out. First order of business, change the position of the trunk.
Next, make the leader “semi-cascady.”
Trim back, clear out the overgrowth, find the lines, put on some wire.
Let’s get some movement into the branching.
And finally, repot, reduce the weight of the apex and do a final trim.
I think this bonsai in the making is much better than my original vision. Which just goes to show, when your tree throws you a curve ball just relax and redesign.
Let me know what you think.
