My 2 shohin Chojubai are putting on a good display at the moment.
This is how they looked in 2014, when I acquired them.
chojubai
New Spring Growth
With an increase in the daytime temperatures some of my small trees are beginning to wake up from their winter sleep Her are some pictures of the ones that have been re-potted this year.
Acer Palmatum Deshogo shohin
Acer Shishigashira
Chojubai Quince shohin
Old Yamadori Hawthorn in a new Ian Baillie pot
2 more homegrown shohin Hawthorns
2 shohin trident maples. Both these trees suffered a bit last year, each losing a good lower branch due to the long cold winter but they are looking much stronger this year.
My 2 Zelkovas are usually the last of my trees to leaf out. the buds are swelling at the moment but it will be a few weeks before the new leaves return.
And finally today, this isn’t new spring growth but I couldn’t resist showing it anyway. One of my cotoneasters still looking great with a good crop of last years berries still intact.
Lanarkshire Bonsai Club Meeting 02/04/2017
I stopped off today, at the monthly meeting of the Lanarkshire Bonsai Club, for a coffee and some bonsai chat. When I arrived Robert Porch was just finishing his pre-arranged talk.
Here are some pics of the people and trees that were there today
Dougie Smith conducting a potting class
Club member George working on his Deshojo maple
Ian McMaster’s chuhin Chojubai
Gordon’s shohin Chojubai
Robert Porch’s Prunus Spinosa in flower
Autumn has Arrived in my Garden
Autumn has well and truly arrived in my part of the world. Here are some pictures taken today, of trees on my benches, which are looking at their best at the moment.
Chojubai quince
Hawthorn
Japanese Larch
Cotoneaster
2 Shohin Chojubai Quince, seasonal maintenance
I found the time, this week to carry out the seasonal work on my 2 shohin chojubai quince. This species responds better to having the root work done late in the season rather than in the spring. I am doing this work a few weeks later than I did it last year but with the mild weather we have been having and the protection of the greenhouse it should be OK.
This is how the first one looked when in flower in the Spring of last year.
Last Autumn, the roots were reduced a little and it was replanted in this green ceramic pot. It didn’t put on much new growth this season and I suspect that it was because the pot was too small to allow much new root development.
This is how it looks at the moment with the roots reduced a little more, replanted in a slightly larger pot by Eimei at the Yozan kiln
This is how it looked when I acquired it 3 seasons ago
This is how the second tree looked during the flowering period last year.
Last Autumn, the thick roots were reduced further and it was replanted in the same large pot to allow continued fine root development. It grew exceptionally well this season with lots of new fine roots.
This is how it looks at the moment after another re-pot this week. The pot is about the right size to house this tree for the time being but it is not show quality in my opinion, so the search will continue for the right pot over the winter.
This is a reminder of how the second tree looked, when I acquired it 3 seasons ago.
Some Shohin Trees in Spring
Here are some recent pictures of the new spring growth in some of my shohin bonsai
2 hawthorns that were re-potted a few weeks ago
This one was re-potted last year.
My shishigashira maple, always a joy at this time of year
This chojubai was severely root pruned in the 2 previous years yet it has started to flower earlier than ever this year
My buxus sempervirens grown from a cutting taken 14 years ago
Shohin larch in training for 2 years
And finally, a sneak peak at my improvised set up for taking these pictures in natural daylight between heavy showers.
Some Shohin Progressions
As the growing season comes to an end, I like to photograph all of my trees to compare their progress to how they looked when I first acquired them. Here’s a few that have been getting my attention today.
Cotoneaster September 2015
Cotoneaster May 2012
Pinus Parviflora September 2015
Pinus Parviflora May 2012
Pinus Parviflora 2015
Pinus Parviflora 2011
Chojubai Quince September 2015
Chojubai Quince April 2014
2 Shohin Chojubai in Development
I have had these trees for almost 2 seasons now and they seem to be happy in the microclimate of my garden. Each year in April they produce an abundance of beautiful red flowers, which light up my benches but for the rest of the year, when the shoots start to extend, they can look a little untidy. Getting these trees to the stage where they will look good on a show bench, at any time of the year, will take time. My priority, at this time, is to reduce the root mass to a level where it will grow healthily and with vigour in a smaller shohin show pot. This is not as straightforward as it seems as both trees have very long thick roots, which were wound in a tight circle in the training pots during their early development.
This is how the first one looked in April of this year.
and this is how it looked in late August 2015. I have not removed this tree from its pot in the time I’ve had it.
This is how it looks at the moment after a trim, some root reduction and a re-pot into a slightly smaller container.
Side A
Side B
This is how my second Chojubai looked when it flowered this year. This tree was removed from its pot last year and some of the thick roots were removed. The post that featured this work can be found here.
Because this tree had more room for root development the new shoots are very long.
This is how it looks at the moment after pruning and root reduction. Even after last years work, I still had to remove a significant number of large roots this year with a view to planting it in a small shohin pot either next year or the year after. At the moment for stability and to encourage new fibrous roots, I have re-planted it deep, in the same pot that housed it last year.
Side A
Side B
Shohin Chojubai Quince in Flower
The sun has brought out the flowers in my 2 chojubai shohin bonsai
Hopefully both these trees will be re-potted later in the year
Lanarkshire Bonsai Club Meeting 5/4/2015
Today I attended the monthly meeting of the Lanarkshire Bonsai Club at Wattston Bonsai near Glasgow. The main activity for this month was a pine workshop led by Robert Porch. Unfortunately I arrived a little late and missed most of this. For late arrivers like me, it was also an early opportunity to check out Dougie Smith’s new stock from Japan.
Here are some pictures from the day
Nice to see the trees in the open air for the first time this year
Plenty of mice shohin material among the new stock
White Pine
Another nice White Pine
Chojubai over rock
Amelanchier or Juneberry
Ilex Serrata
Robert Nocher Shohin Bonsai 