Some Winter Images

We’ve had sub zero temperatures in southern Scotland for a few weeks now, but today we had our first significant snowfall of the winter.

Work doesn’t stop completely at this time of year; there’s still plenty to do, but the cold certainly slows down progress. Gerry and I are still meeting regularly and we bring a few trees inside to work on but we spend most of the time chatting, drinking coffee and trying to keep warm.

Todays’ snow was accompanied by a slight rise in temperature, which enabled me to open the greenhouse door, which has been frozen shut for about a week; so I brought a few deciduous trees inside to photograph them in their winter image. I do this every winter so that I can compare the change in ramification with previous years.

Deshojo maple shohin

This is how it looked in 2013

This is how my Shishigasira maple is looking at the moment

And this is how it looked in 2013

Japananese Larch winter 2017

Same tree in 2012

Trident maple 2017

Trident maple 2014

Here’s another shohin trident in winter image. I acquired this one at the beginning of the year so I have no earlier images to compare it to…..yet!

 

 

 

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Shohin Deshojo Maple in Spring

I love the new Spring growth on Deshojo Maples. This little shohin that I’ve been working on for 4 years is looking particularly nice at the moment

When I re-pot it next year, I may change the front slightly to highlight the widest part of the nebari

This is how it looked when I acquired it 4 years ago.

Some New Material for the New Season

I paid a visit to my local bonsai supplier ( Wattston Bonsai) yesterday, to get an early look at the newly arrived stock from Japan. The new stock this year consists mainly of small and medium sized specimens of partly developed material,reflecting the current popularity of shohin and chuhin sized trees. The species represented are all ones that do well in our challenging climate and include seigen, deshojo and trident maple: prunus, callicarpa, pyracantha and rhododendron indicum; as well as the usual junipers and pines.

 

Lots of new tools and pots

An impressive selection of new Japanese pots by makers including Eimei, Bunzan, Shuho, Yamaaki, Bigei and many others

Here are a few trees that grabbed my attention

Shohin Trident Maple with nice movement and ramification

Deshojo maple shohin

Shohin Trident with an impressive nebari

Shohin white pine with a good nebari

Exposed root Callicarpa Japonica

Chuhin Rhododendron Indicum with a great trunk and great taper

2 nice glazed pots by Eimei

Green glazed Yamaaki oval with a floral motif

 

 

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.

 

Defoliating Deciduous Bonsai

The process of defoliation is an essential technique in the development of deciduous bonsai. It allows light into the interior of the tree, which encourages back budding resulting in denser ramification of the branches. The second flush of new leaves that are produced as a result of defoliation are normally much smaller than the first flush.

Trees can be either fully defoliated or partially defoliated. It is a stressful process for a tree to have all or most of its leaves removed during the growing season and it should only be carried out when you are sure that the tree is strong and healthy. Full defoliation is the more stressful of the two. It’s a useful technique to use on a finished tree, when you are thinking of putting it into a show and you want the leaves to look as small and as fresh as possible. Partial defoliation is less risky and is the ideal option for tress in development.

Here are some trees that I have partially defoliated today.

Trident Maple before

Trident Maple after

Small Trident over Rock before

Small Trident over Rock after

Kiyohime Maple before

Kiyohome Maple after

Deshojo Maple before

Deshojo Maple after

Small Deshojo before

Small Deshojo after

 

More Spring Growth on My Shohin Trees

Here are some photographs of a few more of my shohin trees, which are looking good at the moment with the new spring growth.

Deshojo Maple in a yellow Shibakatsu pot

Kiyohime Maple in a pot by Heian Kosen

Cotoneaster in a red pot by Eimei

Deciduous Shohin in Late Winter

Now that the winter maintenance on my larches has been completed for another year it’s time to start work on my deciduous trees. Here is a group picture of some of the better ones I will be working on this week, weather permitting of course.

The daytime temperatures in my greenhouse are beginning to rise and the buds are starting to swell but with night time temperatures likely to fall below zero, extra vigilance is required to ensure that no damage is done. This is the riskiest time of year for small trees in small pots.

Deciduous Shohin, New Spring Growth

Some of my tender deciduous trees are now in full leaf and beginning to look good this week. It’s still a little cold and wet to leave them outside day and night, so they are still spending most of the time in the sheltered environment of the greenhouse at the moment.

Deshojo Maple in a Shibakatsu pot

Another smaller Deshojo in a pot by a maker who is unknown to me.

Trident maple in a pot by Walsall Ceramics

My Corked Bark Elm in an Erin pot