by Zach Smith | Aug 20, 2016 | Care, Pruning, Styling, Water Elm, Wiring
When we think of great times of the year for bonsai, it’s not likely that the month of August comes to mind. No surprise, right? August is (often dangerously) hot. Even if you do some collecting in August, you generally feel like you need a head examination afterwards. No matter what work you do on your trees, you know that growth for the remainder of the season is going to be muted at best.
But don’t despair. There are bonsai activities you can do in August that not only make sense, they can actually move the development of your trees forward that extra step. Let’s look at a couple:
Rewiring
When we wire our trees in spring, the strong growth into summer usually makes new branches push hard against their wires and this begins the process of setting them in place. So we typically must unwire our trees by late spring, to avoid potential wire scars. As happens with most species, the new branches will continue to grow and slowly but surely point themselves upward. Apical dominance is natural, and one reason we wire trees is to overcome it.
Here’s a classic example. This water-elm, Planera aquatica, got its first round of wiring in spring when all the new young shoots were ready to be initially positioned. The last of that round of wiring was undone about three or four weeks ago. The tree has responded by sending a whole host of new growth pointing upward. This is not going to make for a good bonsai, so it’s time to reapply the wire. Not only will I get the benefit of re-establishing the design I have in mind, when fall approaches all of these branches will swell with stored food. As you might surmise, that means all of the wire I apply now is going to come off by the end of the growing season.
Here’s the tree about 15 minutes later. If you compare this photo with the first one, you can see the design has been re-established. The upward trend of the branches is no more. Now, this fight isn’t over yet. It’ll continue throughout the life of the tree as a bonsai, just in a different way. In time it’ll only be the smallest shoots that grow straight up.
If you don’t currently do any late-summer wiring, you may want to add the practice to your bonsai development techniques. A lot of design work can be accomplished at this time of year – the hard month of August.
Cleaning
Another problem that can arise during the growing season is accumulation of grime on the trunks of your trees. This is mostly due to our watering regimes, and in summer the added issue of lack of air circulation (for those of us in non-breezy locations). Mold can easily set in, in such circumstances.
In this closeup photo, you can see I’ve got a bit of mold buildup – this despite the fact that the tree has been in full sun all year. Time to pull out the vinegar-water mix. I use a 50:50 mixture of household white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. I spray this mixture on the areas of the trunk (and, if needed, branches) that need cleaning, then scrub with either an old toothbrush or stainless steel brush. For trees with fragile bark, it’s best to use only a soft-bristle toothbrush and scrub gently.
And here’s the after photo. Cleaning the trunks of your trees will bring out their beauty, plus it’s good for their health. The bark of trees is designed to allow for gas transport via tiny pores called lenticels. When mold or grime builds up, this gas transport is hampered and the tree comes under stress. So a periodic cleaning is advisable.
Now this water-elm is ready for the remainder of the growing season. The next thing I’ll do is remove the wire in fall – so other than the necessary watering, it’s back to benign neglect.
This is a superb water-elm specimen that will make a great statement in anyone’s collection. It’s available at our Elm Bonsai page, and ships now.
by Zach Smith | Aug 14, 2016 | Care, Collecting, Pruning, Styling, Water Elm
Who doesn’t love the idea of working with trees collected for bonsai? Absolutely no one! Great collected bonsai material is just as inspiring as collected treasure, because that’s really what it is. Every one of us has at least a little treasure hunter in them. When you combine this with the idea of spending 10 to 100 years less time developing the material than if you grew it from seed or cuttings, there’s no better shortcut to our goal.
Let’s start with the basic benefits of the collected tree, namely, age and character of the trunk. Now, what can sometimes misdirect the beginner bonsai collector in the wild is ramification. In my 30 years of collecting trees, I’ve seen this phenomenon countless times. There are many agents in nature that will give rise to the ramified small tree – think of cattle browsing or the fencerow whacking that a road crew or property owner may do. This can easily give rise to the ramified, twiggy and, alas, unsuitable specimen. The beginner is easily fooled by such specimens. As you gain experience, you learn to look beyond natural ramification for the tree’s trunk. It’s here where you find great bonsai. If you don’t like collecting your own, but rather purchase them from various purveyors (such as yours truly), look closely at the trunk. Why is this? Because both roots and shoots can be grown in just a few years. A large trunk with great character and bark may take 20 to 100 years to grow. This is where you get a great bonsai from a collected tree – in the quality of the trunk.
Now, let me state here one of the very few exceptions to this rule, namely, the bald cypress. There’s no substituting an old trunk for buttressing roots in a collected BC. They can’t be created in a few years. It usually takes a trunk diameter of at least two inches to start getting root flaring on a BC; it takes at least three inches, almost always more, to get real buttressing. The deep, deep buttressing comes about when the trunk diameter reaches five inches or more.
Okay, so you have this Water-elm trunk (populated with some brand-new shoots). If you ignore the shoots and focus solely on the trunk, you can easily see that it exhibits a lot of great qualities for bonsai. The base has a nice flare where it emerges from the soil. Check. The trunk has good movement starting near the base and running all the way up. Check. The trunk (which has been chopped to the smaller of two leaders) has excellent taper, which is essential to creating the forced perspective necessary to fool the brain into thinking the tree is taller than it really is. Check. Given the size of this tree, it’s estimated that it could be as old as 75 years. There’s really no way to create the character of this trunk in just a few years, so this points up the great benefit of hunting (or acquiring) great collected stock.
Now we move on to the next phase of creating a great bonsai from a collected tree. If you study this photo carefully, you can notice a number of things that are going on. Let’s start at the base. Compare the base of the tree in this photo versus the base in the photo above. Notice that there’s an even nicer flaring to the base? One of the techniques utilized with newly collected large specimens for bonsai is burying the lateral roots to prevent their drying out. This helps promote the growth of new roots, which usually emerge at the chopped ends of the larger roots. The larger lateral roots are chopped back hard, to ensure they fit in the eventual bonsai container.
Another thing to notice about this tree, moving upward from the base, is the new branch structure that has been created from the adventitious shoots the tree re-grew. When collected, the tree was much taller, perhaps 10 feet or more. Most of the foliage on the tree was near the top, due to shading from nearby trees. The trunk was chopped back to about two feet. This forced the tree to push new growth down the trunk, which it was eager to do – it only needed chopping and sunshine. Remember, a tree doesn’t really care how tall it is; it only cares that it can gather enough sunshine to produce enough food and other biochemicals to survive and thrive. By the same token, a tree doesn’t much care how many leaves it has – it only cares how much leaf surface area it has, to gather sunshine. This is the secret to ramification.
The next thing to notice about this tree is the area of the trunk chop. This is one of the most challenging spots on any collected tree to develop properly. It’s at this point that the tree must make a suitable tapering transition from the original trunk diameter into something much smaller, then terminate in the apex by way of a trunk line that continues to taper quickly and smoothly to what is essentially a vanishing point. This takes time, but by no means more than 3-10 years depending on the size of the trunk. Again, this is something that can be done relatively quickly, much more quickly than creating trunk size, taper and character starting with a seedling or cutting.
It’s almost always the case that more than one thing is going on at the same time during development of a great bonsai from collected material. Just as in the photo above we were creating a juvenile branch structure from new shoots, in this one we’re creating the beginnings of ramification while continuing development of the tapering transition in the tree’s apex. You may also notice in this shot that a new shoot popped on the trunk below the others. I’ve taken advantage of it to create a new number one branch – so it’s not as far along as the others, having only leaves along its length rather than secondary shoots. Moving up the trunk, I’ve wired secondary shoots and positioned them, bringing this part of the tree into the next stage. The new apical leader has thickened, has been cut back and has now produced secondary branching that will ultimately result in a full crown.
In this most recent photo of the tree, every part of the tree is fuller than it was just a month prior. It’s actually been pruned back to a nice silhouette prior to this photo being taken. The foliage density is about double what it was. The primary branches continue to thicken. At the site of the original trunk chop, the new leader continues to thicken as well, which in time will produce the illusion that the tree is much taller than it measures. Notice also that I’m in the process of rounding the crown – this is a more natural appearance for deciduous trees than a pointed apex which is typical of pines.
It won’t take but another couple of years to really bring this beautiful collected tree to a good state of refinement – to make it a great bonsai. The key to it all, in my opinion, is the established character that only time in the wild (and a good eye at collecting time) could produce.
Here’s a newly collected Water-elm that came home last month. As in the example above, it’s only a trunk. But it’s got good character and good rootage (buried at present to protect it). All it needs is to grow some shoots suitable for a branches and a new apex, and then undergo those tried and true development techniques illustrated above.
And here’s step number one, in progress.
Are you routinely working with great collected material? If not, you can use techniques you already know to add some great bonsai to your collection.
by Zach Smith | Jul 31, 2016 | American Elm, Care, Chinese Elm, Elms, Pruning, Styling, Water Elm, Wiring
There’s nothing like developing a bonsai. Sure, we all have or want “finished” trees in our collection for sheer viewing pleasure, but no destination is fun without the journey to get there.
We’re well into the depths of summer now, and my trees have put on a lot of spring and early summer growth. For material newly in development, it’s time to finish up the first phase of their journey and get them ready for completion of year one. This is a combination of techniques, involving unwiring and rewiring and trimming. These won’t all be done at the same time, even on a given tree. You’ll find that your branches will develop at different rates. You’re likely to remove the wire from your new leader before any of your branches, since that’s where the strongest growth is almost certain to be. And as the weeks roll on, you’ll remove wire successively until it’s all off – at which point it’s time to put wire back on most of those branches.
Here’s one of the big Water-elms I’ve been showing you. From trunk buds this April, here we are with tremendous leader and branch growth in less than three months. At this point I’ve removed all of the wire from the branches; a new round or wiring is coming soon. The wire was removed from the new leader a few weeks ago; it’s been trimmed a couple of times now and I’ve applied new wire to get the shape I want.
And after a good trimming. When you’re building your branches, you want to create the taper that mimics the taper of the trunk by growing and cutting back in stages. Now, these branches are a bit long even though they’ve been trimmed back pretty hard. With water-elm I know this will work fine. In the next year I’ll have much thicker branches, and they’ll have nice taper.
Size really doesn’t matter when it comes to developing bonsai. Even in a small tree, you go through the same stages. Now, there is one significant difference to be aware of when working with small material in development. Though the process of creating the crown of the tree is more or less the same, in the small bonsai it represents a much bigger part of the tree. This means you have to get it exactly right!
Here’s a small Chinese elm I’ve been working on this year. The trunk base is only 1″ near the soil and it’s less than 10″ to the trunk chop, meaning the finished height of this tree will be not more than about 12″. Contrast that with the Water-elm above, which will end up 30-32″ tall. Now, I will need to do a good job on that tree’s apex, so don’t misunderstand my point. It’s just that the small bonsai has to pack a lot into a very small space.
Here’s the next stage in this small bonsai, six weeks after the shot above. Notice how nicely the leader thickened up – so much so that the wire is no more. Notice that I’ve already got some ramification on the branches. Great progress!
One more thing to notice is that I cut the new leader a couple of internodes too long. This is to ensure I don’t have a problem with rebudding. I’ll get a new shoot in each of the leaf axils on the shortened leader. I plan to pick the lowest one, because that will ultimately produce the best tapering in the trunk. But I didn’t cut to the lowest node at this time because I didn’t want to risk the new leader drying out and dying.
This American elm is similar in size to the Chinese elm above. Here we are in early July, with a branch set wired and a new leader doing its thing. Doesn’t look like much at this stage, does it? Oh, it’s got a nice lower trunk, and you can see the potential. But it’s just an early stage bonsai in the making with a lot of miles left to go.
And four weeks later, here’s where we are. Nice growth in the leader, which will need to be even shorter than I’ve trimmed it once I get new buds. The wire has been removed. I don’t yet have any ramification in the branching, but that’s just a matter of time. For now, I need to continue to build the rest of the trunk of this tree and the apical branching.
Bonsai development is all about simple steps. As long as you do the right one at the right time, it’s pretty much like A-B-C.
by Zach Smith | Jul 24, 2016 | Care, Elms, Potting, Pruning, Styling, Water Elm
As I’ve written on at least a couple of occasions, sometimes our best intentions when collecting or working on trees just don’t pan out. Sometimes a tree will die, but just as often a tree may die only partly. You can’t always make something out of these unfortunates, but then again sometimes you can.
A couple of years ago I collecting this Water-elm, Planera aquatica. It started re-budding within a week … at which point I knew it probably wouldn’t make it. As a general rule, at least for Water-elms, if the collected trees starts budding out a week after you collect it it ends up dying. Two to three weeks after collection is a good sign. In the case of this tree, I fully expected it to die. However, it actually put out new growth down the trunk (in more places than you see here), so I kept it watered and ignored it.
Here we are two years later, and part of this tree wants to live. Ordinarily you’d look at what’s here and think, “No way anything will come of it.” So did I, actually. But it was easier to ignore the tree than to unceremoniously pull it from the pot and toss it, so I left it alone.
Fast-forward to 2016, and the tree has put on a four foot-long shoot. What’s not alive on this specimen is rotting away. But there’s a definite clinging to life, so I couldn’t help but think “Maybe I can make something out of it.”
In this photo, you can see more clearly the living vein of wood that’s sustaining the nice little clump of shoots (five, to be exact; I’m liking that prospect). The next order of business will be to cut away all the dead wood. I need to get down to the lemonade in this lemon.
First went the upper trunk; all dead and rotting away.
Now I split off the wood surroun
ding the live vein.
Just about all the dead wood has been cut away in this photo. Although it looks like I could make an upright bonsai out of this remaining material, I’ve got other plans.
First, here’s the root mass associated with this tree. Not bad considering most of the tree died! Now, on to the “finished” product.
I thought that using a stone might be the best way to showcase this survivor. As for the stone, it’s actually a fossil. Over 20 years ago my daughter and I, while creek-walking near our home, stumbled across a number of pieces of petrified palm wood. I still have a good bit of it. While it’s not the sturdiest petrified wood you’ll ever run across, certain pieces of it are fairly tough. For this tree, I was able to make use of a lengthier piece of the stone. I draped some roots over and into the soil, and covered most of the exposed root with moss to keep it from drying out. Only time will tell if the roots decide to grab hold of the stone.
I also need to do considerable work to the three branches I left on the live vein from above, which now forms the main trunk of this tree. But that’s for another time. For now, I’ll just feed and water this unusual Water-elm landscape planting.
I’d love to hear any feedback you might have. Just leave a comment below.
by Zach Smith | Jul 17, 2016 | Care, Elms, Pruning, Styling, Water Elm
This monster Water-elm, Planera aquatica, named Dragon, has really outdone itself this growing season. Certainly the size of the tree and the growing room it has have contributed to this rampant growth. The shoots are by no means at their ultimate desired thickness, but I’ve got a good start and I need to bring them back in so I can build taper. You’ll recall I completely wired this tree earlier in the spring, then had to unwire it in stages as the growing branches started binding. It’s now in need of cutting back.
A few strategic snips later, here’s all that’s left. The only branch I haven’t taken way back is the lowest back branch, which hasn’t thickened enough yet to be pruned. I suspect it’ll get there by fall. Between now and then, I’ll get ferocious back-budding on these branches (you can see I’ve left leaves in place to protect dormant buds in the leaf axils) and will certainly have to do some additional trimming. I’ll post an update later in the season.
by Zach Smith | Jul 9, 2016 | Care, Elms, Water Elm
There’s nothing quite like collecting trees during a heat advisory. This is where it’s over 80° at daybreak and only gets worse from there.
Alas, this is the time of year when it’s best to collect Water-elms (Planera aquatica), so you pretty much have to forge on through the heat, no pun intended.
We did well regardless, and here are a few examples that I hope will survive collecting.
Here’s a nice informal upright specimen. The trunk base is 2.5″ in diameter, and it’s chopped at 12″.
I love the trunk movement of this one. It splits off pretty low, so I kept both trunks. This is going to make a super bonsai. The trunk base on this one is 3″, and it’s 13″ to the tallest chop.
This is the hunky masculine winner for this trip. The trunk is 3.5″ and it’s 14″ to the top chop. I see an awesome broom-form specimen with this one.
All of these trees have terrific radial roots which have been cut back enough for their ultimate bonsai pot. In two weeks I should be seeing new buds if they come through all right.
If you don’t have a water-elm bonsai in your collection I highly recommend the species. They have beautiful glossy dark green foliage that reduces without any effort on your part, they ramify well and you can literally go from a collected trunk to a showable tree in three years. The bark exfoliates every few years on older specimens, which is another nice feature. They are not much bothered by pests and diseases, and you can’t overwater them as they can spend months completely submerged in the wild. There’s really nothing not to like about water-elms.
