by Zach Smith | Jan 20, 2019 | Care, Collecting, Elms, Oaks, Styling, Water Elm, Wiring
You may remember this Water Oak, Quercus nigra, from last summer. I slip-potted it at that time, as it had pushed a lot of growth and I knew the tree had plenty of roots to survive on.
But the story didn’t end there.
A couple of months later, I came to understand that the tree needed a drastic reduction. Here’s all that was left. There’s lesson on proportion here somewhere.
Yes, Water oaks have the interesting characteristic of holding a lot of their foliage through winter. Green foliage, too. so these leaves will persist until spring.
What’s wrong with this picture? Only subtle things. What’s the leader doing? Why is there an eye-poke branch near the prune point on the leader?
One piece of wire later, and both issues are resolved. I will let the leader run this year, which will thicken the whole thing up and make the transition smoother. I’ll also be able to build the crown of this tree, given how fast Water oaks grow. Stay tuned for updates later this year.
Continuing on with the “watery” theme, this Water-elm, Planera aquatica, was styled a few months back. It’s a good strong tree, but looking more closely there are a couple of obvious problems. Subtle problems, but something has to be done sooner rather than later.
For starters, that odd branch that I made into the leader following collection had a weird left-hand turn in it. Why in the world did I leave it on the tree? For the simple reason that I was hoping for new buds to appear on that very branch. Why? Because it would give me a leg up on building the new apex, since it was already about 1/8″ thick. Sure enough, I got two small shoots off that weird leader. It survived collecting.
The second problem on this tree is that original branch in back. Notice how it juts upward at an odd angle. It may not seem like a big deal, but just wait ….
So here’s what I did. The weird branch in the apex got pruned back. Now there’s a slender shoot that will grow out this year and continue the creation of the crown – which, by the way, will be mostly if not completely finished by the end of the season.
I also put some bigger gauge wire on that unruly branch in back, and simply pulled it down. See how much better it complements the positions of the other branches?
This tree will get a bonsai pot in spring. I predict that by the end of this year, it’ll be almost in showable condition.
Let me know what you think. Leave me a comment below.
by Zach Smith | Jan 6, 2019 | Care, Collecting, Elms, Maples, Potting, Privet, Styling, Water Elm, Wiring
While we were out collecting Bald cypress yesterday, I happened across this Swamp maple, Acer rubrum ‘Drummondii.’ I don’t often collected Swamp maples, because they don’t seem to last in good health longer than a couple of years, but when I saw the fluting of this trunk I figured it was worth the risk. Swamp maples generally don’t have tap roots in the wild, so they’re super easy to lift. I just sawed around the tree 6-8″ from the trunk and pulled.
As I did with the last one of these I collected, I did not remove the native soil from the root zone. All I did was put it into a nursery container and surround it with coarse mix. I sealed the trunk chop, of course. And now I wait.
Last week I had a reader express an interest in Chinese privet, Ligustrum sinense. I had a specimen I’d lifted a few years ago but had been relegated to a lonely corner. As I studied it, I decided there was a really nice trunk line I could cut to. So here it is, chopped and ready for a pot. Notice the fibrous roots! This is the way privet always grows. They are super rooters.
There’s never any issue with going straight to a bonsai pot with a privet. I had this lovely Chuck Iker piece all empty and waiting, so in the tree went. I sealed the chops, of course.
I’ll be able to grow the entire structure of this bonsai to be in 2019. Stay tuned for updates when I get some shoots.
FYI, the trunk base on this specimen is 1.5″, and it’s 8″ to the top. It won’t be a Bonsai South Collection tree, but I’m confident it’ll find a good home sooner rather than later.
I collected this Water-elm, Planera aquatica, back in July. Also not destined for the collection, it’s nonetheless a very nice specimen with great trunk character. I love the interplay between the trunks. Come spring, I’ll slip-pot it into a nice bonsai container and post it for sale.
The base is 4″ across, with each trunk 1.5″ at the base. Height is 16″.
by Zach Smith | Dec 30, 2018 | Care, Elms, Pruning, Styling, Wiring
This Cedar elm, Ulmus crassifolia, was collected in February of 2018. I potted it in April in this lovely Ashley Keller pot. Aside from a little wiring to get an apex going, I just left the tree alone the rest of the growing season.
Here’s the tree as it was earlier today. Growth has been good. In 2019, the tree should flourish. What it needs right now is some direction.
It’s always best to start at the bottom of your bonsai, and that’s what I did here. The first two branches of your tree establish the foundation of the design (not to neglect the importance of the trunk, of course).
This tree has a good slant on it. I didn’t give the tree this slant, at least not directly. When it was first getting established, the rootage on the left side of the tree was relatively weak, and the trunk wanted to lean over. I stuck a rock in the pot, in order to keep it from literally falling over and uprooting itself. The rock stayed there for months. The roots firmed up. The rock was taken out of the pot.
The top of this tree was pretty confusing. Most species are top-dominant, and Cedar elm is no different. So the strong growth presented itself mostly in the apex of the tree. There’s too much there. So I went ahead and shortened the tree to a single leader, and removed unneeded growth in the apex. You can see the angled cut I made. I went ahead and carved it smooth.
More wiring, more editing. The last two side branches are wired and positioned. The rough design is almost complete.
And now the basic structure of this Cedar elm bonsai is set. I’ll get lots of growth in spring, and the ramification is going to come on strong as well. It’s a safe bet that by the time 2019 comes to an end, grow and clip will be the primary styling technique. I love when trees reach that stage.
As I noted a few months back, I’m moving away from smaller material such as this Cedar elm. But I do want to see these trees get into good hands. So this tree is available at our Cedar Elm Bonsai sale page. (The tree has been sold.)
by Zach Smith | Dec 28, 2018 | Bald Cypress, Care, Chinese Elm, Elms, Vines
Chinese elm, Ulmus parvifolia, is commonly called Lacebark elm. This common name was given due to the fact that the species exfoliates its bark annually, revealing a lovely underlayer with a nice orangey-salmonish color. I was cleaning up this specimen today and for the first time since I potted it the tree has shed some of its bark. That’s a milestone in this tree’s life as a bonsai, which began in 2014.
I’ve done some trimming on this tree, and will do a little more before spring. Chinese elms are among the first species to bud out each spring for me. Even though winter just began, I can’t wait for warmer weather!
I potted up this Trumpet vine, Campsis radicans, in 2017. Since that time I’ve just let it grow and recover from lifting. The trunk is nice, as you can see. Today I rubbed off the shaggy bark, leaving the smooth true bark of the species. It’ll put on another layer of shag in 2019, as it continues to grow.
The foliage is mostly off of the Cypresses, but this one is clinging to some pretty fronds. I thought it would be fun to share the image.
In another month or so, I’ll make the year two chop in the apex to continue the development of the tapering transition. When I do, I’ll post another blog on it. 2019 should be a good year in the life of this future bonsai.
by Zach Smith | Dec 9, 2018 | Care, Elms, Pruning, Styling, Wiring
8/4/17
This Cedar elm was slip-potted in August of 2017, when I placed it into this nice handmade Byron Myrick rectangle. The tree had thrown enough buds to allow a nice branch set and leader for training.
8/26/17
A few weeks later, and the tree continued its rampant growth. This is most apparent in the length and strength of the leader. When you’re building a tree from a bare trunk, making the apex and especially the apical transition is vital to making a believable bonsai.
9/10/17
A few weeks later, it’s time to prune back the leader. I could have continued to let it run, but that would have hampered my ability to build taper into the leader itself. This is a balancing act you’ll have to perform over and over again.
Pay particular attention to the new leader I’ve wired up.
11/12/17
Compare this photo to the previous one. That very small shoot has now taken over as the dominant leader. This is that next round of thickening vital to the apex-building process.
11/12/18
Fast-forward a year. In this growing season, I’ve done mostly light trimming and a little wiring to continue directing the development of the branches. The tree is a bit disorganized-looking in this photo … but there’s a plan in there.
11/17/18
The first right branch was allowed to grow upward earlier in the season. Why? This induces faster growth, therefore more thickening. I want this branch to ultimately be about one-fourth to one-third the thickness of the trunk at the point where it emerges. This will produce the appropriate representation of a mature tree in nature.
11/17/18
I went ahead and wired the first right branch, in order to make the tree more aesthetically pleasing. While I was working on it, I noticed that a slight turn of the tree seems to produce a better appearance. I’ll very likely turn the tree slightly in 2019.
12/9/18
A few weeks later, and this tree is just about in hibernation for the winter. Only a few leaves now remain. I did a little strategic light pruning, and a little wiring in the apex. All in all, not a bad show for 18 months’ of effort.
Let me know what you think of this tree. I anticipate offering it for sale next year.
Trunk base 1.75″
Height 18″
Age about 15-20 years
by Zach Smith | Dec 2, 2018 | Care, Elms, Potting
I showed you this tree last week, specifically to demonstrate how far you can come in just a year’s time. The tree was also showing some fall color. Well, a week later and the color has continued to develop. The leaves will be off this tree before long, possibly as a result of a rain or winter storm, and that will be that till spring. But that’s not the point of this post.
In studying the tree recently I found what I think is a better front. From this view the tree seems more “open.” Still a fine branch set and good trunk movement and character, but this view just seems to have more going for it. So that’s a decision made.
The pot’s nice and all, but would the tree look better in this pot? I believe it would.
I’m a brave slip-potter. This one has all the roots it needs to maintain intracellular pressure through winter. So I’m not concerned about moving the tree from one home to another, even at this time of year.
Yes, this is a much better bonsai with the pot change.
The pot is a fine piece by Lary Howard. The rich dark color really complements the tree (nice contrast with the fall color, but it’ll also look great come spring with the fresh green foliage).
So how’d I do?
