Rewiring a Literati Scots Pine

I had a visit from my good friend Gerry earlier in the week. He brought along a Scots Pine to get some advice on the next stage of its development. I have had a close involvement with this tree over the past 3 years. We agreed some time ago that the best way forward for this tree would be to train it as a Literati pine.

This is how it looked before this weeks work. After much deliberation we decided that the lowest right hand branch should be removed to emphasise the trees’ natural movement to the left

The next picture shows the lower right branch with foliage removed and the remainder of the branch jined. The lower left branch has also been thinned and wired into place. This is as far as we got during Gerry’s visit

He kindly left the tree with me and I was able to finish the wiring at the weekend

This is how it looks at the moment

This is how it looked after the previous wiring in 2015

And this is the earliest picture I have of the tree taken in 2014

Re-Potting some Shohin Hawthorns

With the recent warmer weather, the buds on some of my hawthorns are beginning to swell which is a sure indicator that it’s time to re-pot those that were missed last year.

The first is an air layer that was severed from the parent tree 2 seasons ago. At the time, it didn’t have many roots so it was planted deep in a clay training pot to strengthen it up. The first picture is a reminder of how the roots looked before planting in the clay pot.

With the tree out of the pot, you can see that there are a lot more roots now and the tree is ready to be placed in its’ first bonsai pot.

I have chosen a nice cream oval by Walsall Ceramics for this one. I love the quality of this range of pots; plenty of holes for drainage and the securing wires.

I’ve used a 50/50 mix of pumice and akadama to pot these trees. The nebari on this one is buried in the soil  for now to make the tree more stable on the pot. It will be raised above the soil when the roots have developed further. This is how it looks at the moment.

This is how it looked in 2012

I am developing this second tree from a contorted root. It hasn’t put on much new growth in the past 12 month and I suspect it is because the tree has become pot bound.

With the tree out of the pot and the roots trimmed ready for re-planting.

This new pot by Eimei is a little larger than the previous one so I should see a lot more growth on this tree in the coming year

This is how the second tree looked in 2012

Cotoneasters in Late Winter

2 of my shohin cotoneasters have managed to keep hold of their berries throughout the winter despite the best efforts of a huge flock of fieldfares and redwings that invaded my property for 2 days just before Christmas and devoured every other fruit in the garden

As the days begin to get warmer, it will soon be time to remove them and prepare the trees for the coming season but for now, they are a joy to see on a dull winters day

Some Shohin Maples in Winter Image

Here are a few recent pictures of some of my shohin maples in winter image. The first one is a trident maple in a Japanese pot by Eimei

Number 2 is an Acer Palmatum Deshojo in a yellow pot by Shibakatsu

The third is an Acer Shishigashira in a pot by Walsall Ceramics. The buds on this one are starting to swell, so it will soon be time to re-pot it.