Saturday Evening Elms, Then And Now

by | Mar 30, 2019 | Care, Chinese Elm, Elms, Pruning, Styling, Water Elm

This is my earliest photo of what has become a rather nice Chinese elm bonsai. Isn’t it pathetic!

The photo dates back to August of 2014.

Never forget the old adage, “from humble beginnings.”

Five years later, using tried and true bonsai development techniques, and here we are.

Trunk base 2″, height 16″. Beautiful Byron Myrick pot.

A February 2018 collected Cedar elm. This photo was taken three months later, in May. It’s got trunk movement and bark going for it.

Ten months later, this one is shaping up very well. I love the low branch, with the remainder being high up in the tree. I think I’ll have something unique in this specimen.

The trunk base is 1.5″, and the height 22″. The pot is a tremendous piece by Lary Howard.

Beautiful natural Water-elm clump, photo taken in August of 2018.

Just seven months later, here’s Water-elm #35. The growth will quickly bring this specimen to a high degree of ramification this year.

The trunk base is 3″ across, with the height about 22″. The pot is an exquisite piece by Lary Howard.

That’s all for now. Let me know what you think.

Bonsai Odd & Ends: Making Soil & Potting Water-Elm #40

by | Mar 10, 2019 | Care, Elms, Potting, Soil, Water Elm

I’m often asked about the soil I use for my bonsai. Here’s a short blog about how I do it. There are countless formulas for bonsai soil, and the subject is one of the most hotly debated out there. My advice: find out what works for you. Here’s what works for me, and how I go about making it.

First things first. A bonsai soil must do a few things well. Here’s the short list:

  • Water retentive (the roots need water)
  • Aeratible (can help provide adequate air pockets; the roots must have air)
  • Free-draining (the water must not pool on the soil surface when you water – if it isn’t gone in one-Mississippi, you’ve got problems)
  • Not weigh a ton (there’s a limit to how light you can make your soil, and how light you should make it)

The photo at left is the larger-mesh of the two screens I use when making bonsai soil. Simple construction: a 1 x 4 x 8 cut into four equal lengths, assembled with deck screws. A piece of 1/4″ hardware cloth cut to fit and nailed to the underside with staples.

The smaller mesh screen. This one utilizes 1/16″ window screen. So that gives you an idea of the particle size soil I’m after. I use the larger-mesh screen to remove the chunks bigger than 1/4″, and the smaller one to remove the “debris” smaller than 1/16″ (which is sure to contribute to packing of the soil and water-logging plus anoxia for the roots).

If you make your own screens, the small-mesh screen needs to have a trim strip covering the window screen. If you don’t do this, it’ll rip away when you overload it with soil components.

Component 1: pine bark mulch. I buy it in bags from Home Depot. You can make a lot of bonsai soil with one bag of this stuff.

Here I’ve stacked the two screen, large mesh on top of small mesh. In goes a slug of pine bark mulch. It’s gotten wet from all the rain we’ve had lately, so I need to get it dried out.

Spread out on a nice warm day. It’ll dry pretty quickly. Then I lift the top screen and shake out some of the good stuff onto the bottom screen.

Here’s the good stuff, what stays on the small-mesh screen. I pick out any long but narrow pieces, spread it to dry, then shake it until I don’t see any significant small stuff coming through the bottom.

Component 2: Riverlite expanded clay lightweight aggregate. I use a 3/16″ coarse grade. I don’t know of anywhere you can buy this material in small quantities (I don’t sell it, so please no inquiries). You can use Turface(TM) as a substitute. I have used their All Sport(TM) product in the past. If you have a local landscape or sports park supply shop they should have it.

This is still wet from the rain, too, so I spread it out to let it dry.

Dried and ready to have the fines shaken out. This and the pine bark are mixed roughly 50:50.

The final product.

Water-elm #40 is starting to push buds now, so today was an ideal time to put it in a bonsai pot. Am I rushing things? Since I don’t have a lot of work to do in creating a tapering transition in the apex, the branch development work will go quickly even though the tree will now be in a bonsai pot. I know the tree is well-rooted, so the risk is low.

I’ve had this beautiful Chuck Iker pot for several years now. It was one of his first successful pieces sporting this particular glaze, which he calls “ancient jasper.” The color matches the new growth on a Water-elm very nicely.

The tree placed in the pot, and tied down.

And the soil all packed in tight. This tree should be in full leaf in about two weeks. Our weather had warmed up a few weeks ago, but then we had a cold snap that set many trees back a bit. Now it’s warmed up again, and I don’t think we have more than a few cool nights left this season.

I’ll post updates on this tree as it develops this year.

Let me know what you think of this composition. The pot may be a bit heavy for the specimen, but I’ll know better once I get some branch development.

The Wonderful Challenge Of That First Bonsai Pot

by | Feb 16, 2019 | Care, Elms, Potting, Water Elm

I first showed you this Water-elm, Planera aquatica, last month. I did an initial styling on it, as it had grown out well following collection in July.

I mentioned that I would be slip-potting this tree come spring. Today as I was checking the stock, I noticed that one of the Water-elms we collected last summer is pushing buds now. I’m convinced we have an early spring ahead of us, and seeing buds on a Water-elm at this time of year just serves to support that whole idea. The species is not generally one of the first to wake up.

Now, with that said it’s worth exploring one of the more interesting challenges of working with collected trees, and that’s the initial potting. You see, trees in the wild are almost always collected for their trunks. That’s it. Why? Because it’s relatively easy to correct root issues with your trees, and to grow an entire branch structure. This can be done in four or five years. But if you don’t start off with a good-sized trunk with good taper and character, you could be looking at a decade or more to develop these features.

With that said, there’s also another thing to bear in mind when potting your collected tree for the first time. Unless you’ve taken the time to thoroughly document what your tree looks like with naked roots following collection, you will forget any peculiarities the tree came with. Rediscovering those at the time of potting brings a new dimension to the challenge of first bonsai pot.

Now it’s time to select the intended pot. One thing you’ll find out as you gain experience in bonsai (for those of you just starting out) is that there are virtually limitless choices of pots for any given tree you’re working with. Some are better suited, to be sure, but you do have plenty of latitude when you’re making your selection. As long as the pot fits dimensionally, and the color is suitably complementary, go for it! There’s a very high probability that over time you’ll change pots one or more times. Nothing wrong with that at all.

Today my choice was this very nice rustic piece by Lary Howard. I think it’s going to suit this particular tree quite well.

First the tree has to come out of its nursery pot. This is where you find out what lies beneath the soil surface. It’s also where you begin to adjust your ideas about how the tree is going to sit in the pot, for those cases where your original plan just isn’t going to happen.

In this case, both trunks of this twin-trunk specimen are fed from a major root lying under the right-hand trunk. No problem with this horticulturally, of course. But it completely changes how the tree is going to sit in the pot. Actually in a good way, as it turns out.

You can’t see it too well in this photo, but the tree grew a huge amount of root last summer and fall. So much so that I have to remove a significant amount in order for the tree to fit the pot. Is this going to cause any harm to the tree? It shouldn’t. This is spring, after all, and it’s about time for roots to start growing again. I’ve found that when you do a root-pruning and potting/repotting in late winter/early spring, it stimulates the tree to go ahead and push buds and new root growth. So I expect this tree to leaf out fairly soon after today’s work.

How about this! Looking at the first photo above, did you picture the tree getting potted at this angle? I sure didn’t. What’s more, I think the tree has suddenly gained a lot of character and artistry in its configuration in the chosen pot. What was going to be a nice bonsai is now even better, as I see it.

But there are two minor issues with this tree as it sits. The first is, I need it to be closer to the right edge of the pot. This planting position is all right, but not perfect. Given the amount of root on the right-hand side of the tree, there’s a challenge in how close to the right edge I can place the tree. But I need to squeeze it on over.

The second issue is the lean of the tree. It’s certainly not bad – it actually does need to lean. But not quite this much. So I’ll use soil placement to help with this.

I think this looks much better. I’ve tucked some soil under the left-hand trunk, and this has pushed the tree just a little more upright.

I still have the problem with tree placement, however.

Compare this photo with the one above. I’ve managed to slip the tree over to the right just a half-inch or so. It makes all the difference in the world. Now the tree is placed correctly in the pot. Draw an imaginary triangle from the tip of the tree down both sides of the tree to the earth. I think the balance and asymmetry is just right.

Now all of the root space is filled with soil. Always be careful to work the soil into the open spaces. A chopstick is ideal for this work.

Well-placed moss is always helpful in retaining moisture in the root zone. This is especially important when you first pot a tree in a bonsai pot, as they tend to dry out more readily than a nursery pot will. Also in this case, the tree does not yet have its root mass fully established.

And finally, the tree is all watered and ready for spring. The only thing left to do is give it some food, which the tree will need very soon.

Each trunk is 1.5″ at the base, and the tree is about 16″ tall from the soil surface.

Let me know what you think of today’s effort.

Subtle Changes, Big Impact

by | 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.

Bonsai Odds & Ends – Swamp Maple, Privet, Water-Elm

by | 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″.

Water-Elm #38 – “Big Hoss” – Made It

by | Oct 25, 2018 | Care, Elms, Water Elm

This Water-elm, “Big Hoss,” is one of the biggest I collected this year. We brought it home on August 4th. I cleaned it up, chopped back the roots enough to fit the eventual bonsai pot, and potted it up. Then I waited.

It took a few weeks, but a tiny bud appeared near the base. When I say tiny, I mean it took a magnifying glass to verify that it was actually a bud and not some tiny red insect. But I was a happy camper. Bud appears, bud swells, a leaf emerges, shoot appears, shoot gets longer, and you’re off to the races. Only that’s not what happened. That first tiny bud just sat there, and didn’t budge. I checked every day, hoping to see that bud swell. Nothing. And that continued for many weeks. I was pretty much convinced the tree wasn’t going to make it. But I’ve learned through the years to be patient, because you just never know.

Well, right at two months out of the ground, one day I was inspecting that bud and wouldn’t you know, it had begun to swell. A sign of recovery! The bad news was, the warm weather was just about over and that isn’t what you need to promote growth. But hey, you take what you can get.

Water-elms often begin their recovery from the ground up. Sometimes they begin at the top. Usually once the budding begins at the bottom, you’ll soon spot a bud near the top of the tree. That didn’t happen right away with this specimen. It did produce a shoot on the sub-trunk, which told me the tree was alive a third of the way up. But I kept on waiting for the rest of the trunk to show me something.

Today I finally saw that bud near the chop that told me the whole trunk is alive. So Big Hoss is going to be a part of the Bonsai South Collection.

Here are some notes I made today. Big Hoss is an impressive tree, but it comes with a design challenge. The hunky sub-trunk emerging a third of the way up the tree is thrusting toward the viewer. While it’s not exactly an “eye-poke” branch, it does insist on the viewer’s attention and could easily be a distraction from the overall composition rather than a feature.

In this side view, you can see the sub-trunk a lot more clearly. I left the smaller fork coming off the sub-trunk, but as I’ve studied the tree I’ve become convinced it really can’t play a part in the final design. I’m going to have to work with the main part of the sub-trunk, and bring the foliage mass off to the left-hand side of the tree once it grows out.

Next spring, when the tree pops all of the trunk buds I’m expecting, it should be a lot easier to envision a solid design. Stay tuned!

But for now, let me know what you think of this Water-elm by leaving a comment below. I’m really looking forward to the possibilities.