huckleberry flower buds are setting
Sneak Peek
With winter closing in fast, most of my deciduous trees are quickly dropping leaves. The Huckleberries are just about bare, but they’re also setting flower buds.
Huckleberry Flower Buds Are Setting
Winter isn’t all bad, though frankly it’s an upleasant time of year and I never look forward to it. Most of my deciduous trees are losing their leaves, with the Huckleberries almost completely bare. But there’s good news – this is the time of year when they begin setting flower buds.
Here’s a small specimen I potted just over a year ago. It has really put on some ramification this year. By next February, it should be full of blooms.
Here’s the after shot. I did some light trimming, removing crossing branches and shortening others that needed it. I also adjusted a couple of the branches slightly, to get the design back to what I had in mind when I started work on the tree.
Next came my large twin-trunk specimen. As with the first one, this one has really kicked in a lot more ramification. It bloomed some early this year, and next year looks like being much better.
A little light pruning, and we’re ready for 2021.
I’m still trying to decide where to go with the leader on the shorter trunk. Luckily, there’s no rush.
This twin-trunk is destined to be a literati bonsai. I just let it grow all this year.
Those low branches are now gone, and with selective pruning I have a shape in progress. The final design isn’t a mystery – the tree made that happen for me.
Finally, the large specimen I blogged about earlier this year. I only did minimal trimming on it. It needs to grow out all next year, to thicken the leader and all of the branches.
Huckleberries root slowly. A specimen this size will take up to five years to build a substantial root system, and it’s extremely fibrous like an azalea’s. Also like the azalea, Huckleberries need an acid soil. This is important to keep in mind during periods of drought.
Let me know what you think of these trees.
